Near the end of the war the idea of using black soldiers was debated. In 1864, General Patrick Cleburne suggested enlisting black slaves into the army. The idea was considered, but it raised the question by at least one Southern politician: "What did we go to war for, if not to protect our property?" Another said: "If slaves will make good soldiers, our whole theory of slavery is wrong." General Robert E. Lee knew he needed soldiers. He stated: "We must decide whether slavery shall be extinguished by our enemies and the slaves be used against us, or use them ourselves." Lee suggested the slaves be freed in exchange for their service as soldiers. But that condition was not in the bill that was approved by the Confederate Congress on March 13, 1865. Only a few thousand blacks enlisted before the war ended. By that time over 200,000 African Americans had served with the Union army.