Warrior in Two Camps: Ely S. Parker, Union General and Seneca Chief (review)

BOOK REVIEWS177 from the point of view of its victims, the slaves; and he analyzes and evaluates an important, but neglected, body of primary source materials. This study is based on the slave narratives produced from interviews with former slaves conducted by the Federal Writers' Project in the 1930's. The author also uses narratives produced by interviewers working under the auspices of Fisk University. Escott subjected these sources to methodology drawn from the traditional canons of history and supplemented with computer technology. His goal was to present a "systematic, not merely impressionistic, analysis of the slavenarratives" (p. 183). The resulting study ranks with the works ofJohn Blassingame, Eugene Genovese, Leslie Owens, Herbert G. Gutman, and Albert J. Raboteau in furthering our understanding of the slaves as active participants in the shaping of American history. The narratives as sources present a number of problems to the student of slavery. For example, those interviewed did not constitute a random sample of slaves. Many were too young to have directly experienced the full impact of slavery, a disportionate number of those interviewed had been house servants, and many of interviewers werewhite persons. The author found that some problems were not as serious as anticipated and the others did not "present insuperable difficulties." So, one of his aims in writing this book was to foster "greater use and examination of the slave narratives" (p. 17). He makes convincing arguments in support of his position. The author's major conclusions confirm what other scholars have found, using similar sources. Slaves created an Afro-American culture in the slave quarters based on race and common experiences. Through this group consciousness they were able to preserve their humanity in the face of oppression. "The testimony of the former slaves," Escott concludes, "proves that if men have a body of culture on which to rely, they can endure conditions that are very unfavorable indeed. . . . That the slaves were not crushed and achieved as much as they did is a tribute to them as well as a source of encouragement to all who ponder man's future in a troubled world" (p. 181). Arvarh E. Strickland University of Missouri-Columbia Warrior in Two Camps: Ely S. Parker, Union Generaland Seneca Chief. By William H. Armstrong. (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1978. Pp. 244. $11.95.) This book chronicles events in the public life of Ely S. Parker, a Seneca who grew up on the Tonawanda Reservation in western New York during the second quarter of the nineteenth century. A central theme evolves from the weight of evidence; Parker was distinguished from other prominent Indian leaders of that era for his success in overcoming 178CIVIL WAR HISTORY racial and cultural barriers to achieve national prominence by nonIndian standards. While a young adult, he met influential people and learned political techniques around the national capital during a struggle to defend his tribe's land. He also earned national recognition as the collaborator of Lewis Henry Morgan while the distinguished anthropologist researched his studies on Iroquois culture, and Parker prepared himself for public service by reading the law. Through these experiences, plus active participation in Masonic activities, he soon won appointments as a civil engineer and as a Treasury Department superintendent for the construction of customshouses along the Mississippi River. From there he moved to the influential posts of assistant adjutant general and personal secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War. Following the surrender ofRobert E. Lee at Appomattox, Parker joined federal expeditions that went out to negotiate peace among the Great Plains tribes, and after voicing his support for acculturationism in this work he received the distinction of becoming the first Native American to hold the office of Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Parker acquitted himself admirably at the head of the Indian Office through the early years of Grant's administration until a confrontation with reformer William Welsh, followed by a congressional investigation of his annuity purchase practices, brought his career in federal service to an abrupt end. Thereafter he enjoyed brief success in business, then spent the remainder of his productive life as a clerk for the police department in the city of New York...