In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

.. . . . . . . . . . . ........................................... preface Some years ago, while working on North Carolina’s black Civil War soldiers , I made use of the extensive Burt Green Wilder Papers at Cornell University, including Wilder’s Civil War “diary.” The author’s account of life in the 55th Massachusetts during the early summer of 1863 certainly allowed me to better understand life in General Edward A. Wild’s African Brigade, but it also offered much more that was valuable to anyone interested in the Civil War. At the time I was struck not just by the historical value of Wilder’s comments but also by the literary quality of his writings. I understood, as a Civil War historian, that his writings provided important additions to the literature left by the war’s participants , but, in all honesty, I was as captivated by his stories of Miff and Billy as I was by his accounts of the regiment’s military activities. He was clearly an uncommon man in many ways, and his entries concerning the black soldiers in the 55th Massachusetts reflected an uncommon perception by a white American of African Americans through the Civil War era. Further research on Wilder and his career after he had left the 55th Massachusetts reinforced my conviction that he was an extremely important nineteenth-century figure whose life could serve as a prism to focus light on a range of critical topics relating to both the war and its aftermath . Long after the war, as he successfully established his scientific credentials , he used his experiences and his research while surgeon in the 55th Massachusetts to counter the scientific racism that was increasingly pervasive in much of American life. His life among the soldiers of the Massachusetts regiment had left him with the obligation, he strongly felt, to do justice to his black comrades, and this attitude reinforced and underpinned his professional training. By the time that Wilder retired from Cornell University in 1920, he was convinced that the story of the men of the 55th Massachusetts provided a crucially valuable lesson that Americans, in an era of Jim Crow, needed to learn. He then started to prepare an account of his experiences with the 55th Massachusetts. While he published widely, including a very small history of the regiment, he never finished his planned work on his service in Massachusetts black regiment. I would like to think that he would be pleased by this work x : preface While much of the actual historical research for any book can be a lonely and isolating activity, the conceptualizing, drafting, and redrafting of a manuscript requires extensive feedback and advice from many colleagues and friends. This book reflects that collaborative aspect of the historical profession. Along the way I have received help and support from a large number of scholars and archivists. Elizabeth Ewan read the preliminary draft of the diary and gave me important feedback and reinforced my belief in the value of the project in its initial stages. Tara Abrams, a historian of science here at the University of Guelph, helped me position the postwar Wilder in the context of growing professionalism of American scientists. Diane Purdy, who helped me prepare the diary for publication, was as captured by the personality of Miff as I was. Other colleagues here and elsewhere put up good-naturedly with my constant discussion of Wilder and his activities. To all of them I owe a dept of gratitude. Their help has enabled me clean up numerous errors while forcing me to clarify many of my ideas. I am sure that any flaws still in the book are the result of my not being an “active listener.” During my various research trips to Cornell University, the staff at the Carl A. Koch Library was always helpful, courteous, and professional in all their dealings. I particularly wish to thank the University Archivist, Elaine D. Engst, for all her assistance in helping me trace what had happened to the Wilder material, from his death in 1925 until the University Library received possession of the documents after 1953. We share the same belief that the importance of Burt Wilder as a scientist and an educator has for too long been overlooked. My final thanks go to the staff at the University of Massachusetts Press, to Clark Dougan and his faith in the value of Wilder’s writings and to Carol Betsch for all her help in getting the manuscript into the shape that it is. As...

Share