| Description |
228 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
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text txt rdacontent |
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unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
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Occupation/field of activity group: occ Historians lcdgt |
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Gender group: gdr Men lcdgt |
| Series |
Civil War America |
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Civil War America (Series)
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| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
The camp slaves' war -- Camp slaves on the battlefield -- Camp slaves and the lost cause -- Camp slaves and pensions -- Turning camp slaves into black Confederate soldiers -- Black Confederates on the front lines of the Civil War sesquicentennial. |
| Summary |
"In addition to tracking the evolution of the black Confederate myth, Levin explores the roles that African Americans performed in the army with a particular focus on the relationship between officers and their personal body servants or camp slaves. In contrast to claims that these men served as soldiers in racially integrated regiments, Levin demonstrates that regardless of the dangers faced in camp, on the march and on the battlefield their legal status remained unchanged. Even long after the guns fell silent Confederate veterans and other writers remembered these men as former slaves and not as soldiers. Levin offers an important reminder that how the war is remembered often runs counter to history"-- Provided by publisher. |
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More than 150 years after the end of the Civil War, scores of websites, articles, and organizations repeat claims that anywhere between 500 and 100,00 free and enslaved African Americans fought willingly as soldiers in the Confederate army. But as Kevin M. Levin argues in this carefully researched book, such claims would have shocked anyone who served in the army during the war itself. Levin explains that imprecise contemporary accounts, poorly understood primary-source material, and other misrepresentations helped fuel the rise of the black Confederate myth. Moreover, Levin shows that belief in the existence of black Confederate soldiers largely originated in the 1970s, a period that witnessed both a significant shift in how Americans remembered the Civil War and a rising backlash against African American's gains in civil rights and other realms. Levin also investigates the roles that African Americans actually performed in the Confederate army, including personal body servants and forced laborers. He demonstrates that regardless of the dangers these men faced in camp, on the march, and on the battlefield, their legal status remained unchanged. Even long after the guns fell silent, Confederate veterans and other writers remembered these men as former slaves and not as soldiers, an important reminder that how the war is remembered often runs counter to history. -- From dust jacket. |
| Subject |
Confederate States of America. Army -- African American troops.
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African Americans -- Confederate States of America.
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Slaves -- Confederate States of America.
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African American soldiers -- History -- 19th century.
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United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Participation, African American.
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Confederate States of America. Army. (OCoLC)fst00539981
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African American soldiers. (OCoLC)fst00799366
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African Americans. (OCoLC)fst00799558
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Armed Forces -- African American troops.
(OCoLC)fst01351728
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Military participation -- African American.
(OCoLC)fst01353696
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Slaves. (OCoLC)fst01120522
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United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
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United States -- Confederate States of America.
(OCoLC)fst01205435
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African American soldiers.
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United States -- History -- 1861-1865, Civil War.
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American Civil War (United States : 1861-1865) (OCoLC)fst01351658 |
| Chronological Term |
1800-1899
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| Genre/Form |
History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
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| ISBN |
9781469653266 (hardcover alkaline paper) |
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1469653265 (hardcover alkaline paper) |
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9781469653273 (electronic book) |
| Standard No. |
40029387487 |
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