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book reviews283 period, finding them too "noxious" to deserve attention. Yet, in light of the fact that slavery continued in Massachusetts for another eighty years, one suspects that the defense of slavery as it was mounted in these years cannot be too easily ignored. The weakest pieces in the collection are those that look at art and painting. One essay presents a panorama of images of the black Civil War soldier in literature and art. Originally done as a lecture in 1980, the essay contains seventy-eight visual images, but fails to offer a critical evaluation of the subject. Kaplan never really explains why and how these images changed during and after the war. Nor does Kaplan fully explore the ambivalent emotions which characterized white society's views of a fully armed and heroic African-American fighting man. Again, he seems more concerned with uncovering an enlightened cultural legacy than in dealing with tensions and uncertainties. The essay on the Negro in American painting provides a little more analysis, but readers will be frustrated because only ten of the eighty paintings discussed by Kaplan have been reproduced in the volume. Aside from these shortcomings, readers will find a wealth of fascinating information throughout Kaplan's essays. And, although the analysis might not always be penetrating, the subjects and issues raised by Kaplan are ones that continue to interest and demand the attention of American historians. Nina Silber Boston University Editor's Note There is an error in J . Tracy Power's essay on the Battle of Secessionville (June 1992). The information in paragraph 3, page 159, should read: Brig. Gen. Isaac I. Stevens's Second Division . . . was the first unit to land. It landed on Sol Legare Island, adjacent to James Island, and established a camp there. Stevens was followed closely by Brig. Gen. Horatio G. Wright's First Division, . . . which camped at Thomas Grimball's plantation on James Island. ...

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