Update: In 2010 the Georgia Historical Society dedicated a marker commemorating the 44th USCT and their treatment at the hands of Confederate soldiers near Dalton, Georgia. As Confederate officials in Richmond and citizens throughout the country debated whether to recruit slaves into the army as soldiers, black Union soldiers were being massacred on battlefields throughout Read more

There is nothing quite like holding a copy of your own book for the first time. Yesterday UNC Press sent along a single copy of Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth and it looks amazing. The cover art is stunning. I am still feeling overwhelmed over the fact that this book Read more

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

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

I haven’t written about Earl Ijames on this blog in quite some time. The curator at the North Carolina Museum of History is notorious for his presentations and even film about what he calls “Colored Confederates” – another misnomer that distorts the legal status and role of the vast majority of black men who labored Read more

The Confederacy’s reliance on slave labor throughout the Civil War is easily explained. The difference in population between North and South necessitated the mobilization of as many black bodies as possible. Enslaved people were needed on the home front to harvest crops for the army. They labored in mines, constructed rail lines and earthworks, and Read more

Yesterday New York Times Op-Ed writer, Charles Blow, posted a short video about the First Louisiana Native Guard on his twitter page. His interest in the subject appears to be connected to a current book project. Unfortunately, Blow offers a rather misleading interpretation of the men who volunteered and briefly served in the unit. BETRAYAL Read more