A Regiment of Slaves: The 4th United States Colored Infantry, 1863-1866 (review)

Edward Longacre's A Regiment of Slaves is similar to earlier monographs on the contributions of African-American soldiers during the Civil War. Much like previous publications, Longacre attempts to illuminate our understanding of the sacrifices, hardships, courage, determination, and fortitude of black soldiers. He further demonstrates the steadfast commitment that many white officers displayed for the rank and file and how revolutionary the decision was to recruit and organize units of the United States Colored Troops (USCT). But Longacre's work goes further. According to the author, "A Regiment of Slaves is one of the first works to study an outfit raised in a border state (Maryland), one that featured an intriguing mix of free blacks and fugitive and liberated chattels" (p. x). While previous studies have focused on regiments organized in the North, composed primarily of freemen, or of personal accounts of white officers, Longacre tells his story "through the eyes, and in the words, of the 4th United States Colored Infantry (USCI) enlisted force" (p. x).

The first several chapters focus on recruiting, training, and leadership of the 4th USCI. While several well-educated freemen such as Christian Fleetwood and A. Ward Handy were offered the rank of noncommissioned officer upon enlistment, Colonel William Birney understood that freeborn recruits would not provide him with an adequate number of volunteers. He therefore "intended to augment freeborn recruits with fugitive or liberated slaves. Many of these he assisted in escaping from their masters; others he and his officers forcibly removed from farms, plantations, and slave pens" (p. 14). Field Commander Major General Benjamin Butler and many of his subordinates were abolitionists who championed the belief that colored soldiers could make a valuable contribution to the war.

The latter part of the book examines combat experiences of the 4th USCI. After months of training and anticipation, the regiment eagerly engaged the enemy at Spring Hill near Petersburg, Virginia. After withstanding several unsuccessful charges from the enemy, the regiment walked away with much more than its first victory, unit pride. "Not a man left his post for the rear even when exposed to fearsome cannon fire" (p. 75). Throughout the war, the 4th USCI continued to distinguish itself as a formidable fighting force. At New Market Heights near Richmond, Virginia, and during the Fort Fisher campaign near Wilmington, North Carolina, the regiment sustained heavy casualties but played a vital role. The regiment ultimately "boasted more Medal of Honor recipients than any other USCT outfit" (p. x).

A Regiment of Slaves is a well-written and fascinating book that will appeal to Civil War enthusiasts as well as military historians. It provides the reader with yet another example of how African-American soldiers not only contributed to the Union victory, but how runaway slaves, educated freemen, and white abolitionists banded together and "proved themselves equal to white men" (p. 179). Longacre's study is a valuable addition to the history of African Americans in the Civil War.