Additional information
by John David Smith (Editor)
Inspired and informed by the latest research in African American, military, and social history, the fourteen original essays in this book tell the stories of the African American soldiers who fought for the Union cause.
An introductory essay surveys the history of the U.S. Colored Troops (USCT) from emancipation to the end of the Civil War. Seven essays focus on the role of the USCT in combat, chronicling the contributions of African Americans who fought at Port Hudson, Milliken's Bend, Olustee, Fort Pillow, Petersburg, Saltville, and Nashville. Other essays explore the recruitment of black troops in the Mississippi Valley; the U.S. Colored Cavalry; the military leadership of Colonels Thomas Higginson, James Montgomery, and Robert Shaw; African American chaplain Henry McNeal Turner; the black troops who occupied postwar Charleston; and the experiences of USCT veterans in postwar North Carolina. Collectively, these essays probe the broad military, political, and social significance of black soldiers' armed service, enriching our understanding of the Civil War and African American life during and after the conflict.
The contributors are Anne J. Bailey, Arthur W. Bergeron Jr., John Cimprich, Lawrence Lee Hewitt, Richard Lowe, Thomas D. Mays, Michael T. Meier, Edwin S. Redkey, Richard Reid, William Glenn Robertson, John David Smith, Noah Andre Trudeau, Keith Wilson, and Robert J. Zalimas Jr.
Front Jacket
Fourteen original essays reveal the varied contributions of the African American soldiers who fought for the Union cause during the Civil War. There were around 179,000 black soldiers; close to 70,000 of them died during the war. The book includes analyses of the major battles and engagements in which African American soldiers fought and discusses the U.S. Colored Cavalry, the recruitment of black regiments in the Mississippi Valley, the use of the USCT as occupation troops, and USCT veterans.
Author Biography
John David Smith is the Charles H. Stone Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
