Why were blacks denied the chance to be in combat during the early part of the Civil War?

Officials did not trust in them.

There were not enough of them.

They were believed to be inferior.

It was thought they might rebel

They were believed to be inferior.

The Civil War might've been fought for slavery, but that didn't necessarily mean that people believed that blacks were on equal ground with whites. It just meant that they thought the concept slavery was immoral.