Black Troops, White Commanders and Freedmen during the Civil War

Back Cover

BLACK TROOPS WHITE COMMANDERS AND FREEDMEN DURING THE CIVIL WAR Howard C. Westwood Foreword by John Y. Simon BLACK TROOPS, WHITE COMMANDERS, AND FREEDMEN DURING THE CIVIL WAR Westwood Southern Illinois University Press Civil War / American History / African American Studies In the ten probing essays collected in this volume, Howard C. Westwood recounts the often bitter experiences of black men who were admitted to military service and the wrenching problems associated with the shifting status of African Americans during the Civil War. Black Troops, White Commanders, and Freedmen during the Civil War covers topics ranging from the roles played by Lincoln and Grant in beginning black soldiery to the sensitive issues that arose when black soldiers (and their white officers) were captured by the Confederates. The essays relate the exploits of black heroes such as Robert Smalls, who singlehandedly captured a Confederate steamer, as well as the experiences of the ignoble Reverend Fountain Brown, who became the first person charged with violating the Emancipation Proclamation. The late Howard C. Westwood was a senior partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm Covington & Burling. He published carefully documented articles on the Civil War for more than thirty years and served as a director of the Ulysses S. Grant Association. Southern Illinois University Press 1915 University Press Drive Mail Code 6806 Carbondale, IL 62901 www.siu.edu/~siupress Cover illustration: detail from Shaw Memorial, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Photograph by Warren Hopkins Ford. Printed in the United States of America $21.95 USD ISBN 0-8093-2881-X ISBN 978-0-8093-2881-9 Westwood-Black Troops-NIP.indd 1 5/13/08 12:03:12 PM ...