One of the things that researching and writing Searching for Black Confederates has done is shifted how I think about slavery and the Confederate army. More specifically, it has forced me to reconsider how to approach the relationship between the Confederate soldier and slavery. Historians such as James McPherson have written extensively about the defense Read more

You can now pre-order Searching For Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The order page is still in the process of being completed, but the basic information about the book is included. The book is already a #1 New Release at Amazon five months before publication, which Read more

Over the years the neo-Confederate community has relied on a short list of narratives purporting to demonstrate the existence of significant numbers of loyal black Confederate soldiers. One of them centers on an interview Nathan Bedford Forrest gave in 1868. When I entered the army I took forty-seven Negroes into the army with me, and Read more

Update: The book will be available for pre-order on or about May 1. At that point you should be able to order from your preferred online retailer. Of course, I will keep you up to date. Other than holding the actual book there is nothing quite like seeing your manuscript set for the final printing Read more

There really is nothing quite like looking at the dust jacket design for a forthcoming book for the first time. It’s the first real indication that all of the years of research and writing will soon result in something tangible that you can share with the rest of the world and that will hopefully spark Read more

As I mentioned the other day, Searching For Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth (UNC Press) will hit the shelves late August/early September. I know it might seem early, but I am already thinking ahead to planning a book tour. Over the past two weeks I have received a couple of inquiries about Read more

Update: Looks like the post has been removed. I am going to chalk this up to another example of simply not knowing how to respond to my critique. To say that I am excited for the New Year and the publication of my book, Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth (UNC Read more

Update: A few people have speculated that the image below may have been Photoshopped. I can confirm that this is not the case after receiving additional photographs this morning. I came across this photograph yesterday on twitter that was posted by a user named @farradawg101. This is the first that I have heard of what Read more

This morning The New York Times published an interesting piece that raises the question of whether ‘interracial love was possible’ in the South during the Civil War-era. The story will likely raise strong feelings that either affirm or deny the possibility of genuine other-regarding emotions between master and slave during this period. The very question Read more