Here is a little taste of my forthcoming book, Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth, which was published last week at Smithsonian. I re-worked a few pages that focus on the role of camp slaves during the Gettysburg campaign. All too often we try to draw a distinction between the importance Read more

During the summer months I devote part of my time to leading student tours of Boston. Some of those tours, like the one I led this morning, are through a collaboration with a large tour company here in town. The tours I lead are specifically focused on the history of the black community that thrived Read more

I recently learned that Keith Poulter has resurrected North & South. The magazine was in production from 1997 through 2013 and for a long time offered high quality articles from some of the top historians in the field. Unfortunately, the quality of the publication suffered greatly following the departure of Terry Johnston, who went on to Read more

A reminder that you can now pre-order Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth at your preferred online retailer: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, UNC Press. Click here for information about my Fall book tour. S. Jonathan Bass, Blessed are the Peacemakers: Martin Luther King, Jr., Eight White Religious Leaders, and the Read more

Like many of you I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of historian and journalist Tony Horwitz. I am in the middle of reading his latest book, Spying on the South. In fact, I took it with me last week as I traveled through Georgia and Alabama with thirteen students to explore historic Read more

Those of you following me on Twitter know that I am in the middle of a 5-day civil rights journey with 13 high school students. We started off in Atlanta on Sunday and have since spent time in Montgomery and Selma. Today we travel to Birmingham to focus specifically on the state’s criminal justice system Read more

I can already anticipate the response to Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth in certain quarters. I am going to be asked to respond to newspaper accounts in northern newspapers referencing armed black men; pension documents that upon closer inspection are clearly marked for former body servants or camp slaves; muster Read more

You can now pre-order Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth direct from the University of North Carolina Press at a 40% discount. Use the discount code 01DAH40 on the purchase page. With the discount you pay $18 + shipping, which is a great deal, especially for those of you who are Read more

My goal in the first two chapters of Searching for Black Confederates was to try to understand the role of enslaved labor in the Confederate army, in camp, on the march, and on the battlefield. In doing so I offer a picture of how the challenges of military life shaped and on occasion stretched the Read more