Other editions of book Army Life in a Black Regiment

"One of the great source documents in human history, but one of our greatest Americans. . . . Thrilling reading." ? Tillie OlsenIn 1862 military necessity enabled Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to pry from a hesitant President Lincoln the authority to enlist black troops in the Union army. The pioneer regiment of ex-slaves was to secure the beachhead tenously held at Beaufort, off the South Carolina coast. Within a year, Lincoln was to hail the enlistment of black soldiers, which he had earlier resisted as "revolutionary," as the "heaviest blow yet dealt the rebellion." The abolition of slavery, unthinkable in 1861, was to be inevitable by 1863. The commanding officer chosen for the First South Carolina Volunteers was Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a militant human rights activist, writer and lecturer, and former Unitarian minister. "In all the land," writes the historian Ray Allen Billington, they "could have found no one better for this assignment." Higginson was an excellent strategist and administrator who combined firmness with warmth and charm. Closely watched in the nation's press by both friends and foes of the undertaking, he soon shaped a first-class regiment. Army Life in a Black Regiment is Colonel Higginson's stirring account of his two years at Camp Saxton, recording the immediate effect of a decision that proved crucial to our survival as a nation and that ultimately shaped constitutional history. It is both a literary masterpiece and a unique historical document.

Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a Unitarian minister, was a fervent member of New England's abolitionist movement, an active participant in the Underground Railroad, and not only corresponded with John Brown before the ill-fated raid on Harper's Ferry, but was part of a group that supplied material aid to Brown. When the Civil War broke out, his reputation, enhanced by his impassioned articles about Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner in the Atlantic, made him the perfect candidate to head the first regiment of emancipated slaves, and in 1862, he was commissioned as a colonel for the troops training in the Sea Islands off the coast of the Carolinas. Army Life in a Black Regiment is Higginson's stirring account of his wartime experiences. Shaped by American Romanticism and imbued with Higginson's interest in both man and nature, the narrative ranges from detailed reports on daily life to a vivid description of the author's near escape from cannon fire to sketches that conjure up the beauty and mystery of the Sea Islands.

Army Life in a Black Regiment Chapter 1. Introductory These pages record some of the adventures of the First South Carolina Volunteers, the first slave regiment mustered into the service of the United States during the late civil war. It was, indeed, the first colored regiment of any kind so mustered, except a portion of the troops raised by Major-General Butler at New Orleans. These scarcely belonged to the same class, however, being recruited from the free colored population of that city, a comparatively self-reliant and educated race. "The darkest of them," said General Butler, "were about the complexion of the late Mr. Webster." The First South Carolina, on the other hand, contained scarcely a freeman, had not one mulatto in ten, and a far smaller proportion who could read or write when enlisted. The only contemporary regiment of a similar character was the "First Kansas Colored," which began recruiting a little earlier, though it was not mustered in the usual basis of military seniority till later. These were the only colored regiments recruited during the year 1862. The Second South Carolina and the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts followed early in 1863. This is the way in which I came to the command of this regiment. One day in November, 1862, I was sitting at dinner with my lieutenants, John Goodell and Luther Bigelow, in the barracks of the Fifty-First Massachusetts, Colonel Sprague, when the following letter was put into my hands: BEAUFORT, S. C., November 5, 1862.

"One of the great source documents in human history, but one of our greatest Americans. . . . Thrilling reading." €”Tillie OlsenIn 1862 military necessity enabled Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to pry from a hesitant President Lincoln the authority to enlist black troops in the Union army. The pioneer regiment of ex-slaves was to secure the beachhead tenously held at Beaufort, off the South Carolina coast. Within a year, Lincoln was to hail the enlistment of black soldiers, which he had earlier resisted as "revolutionary," as the "heaviest blow yet dealt the rebellion." The abolition of slavery, unthinkable in 1861, was to be inevitable by 1863. The commanding officer chosen for the First South Carolina Volunteers was Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a militant human rights activist, writer and lecturer, and former Unitarian minister. "In all the land," writes the historian Ray Allen Billington, they "could have found no one better for this assign

Thomas Wentworth Higginson was an American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, and soldier. He was active in the American Abolitionism movement during the 1840s and 1850s, identifying himself with disunion and militant abolitionism. During the Civil War, he served as colonel of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, the first federally authorized African-American regiment, from 1862-1864. Following the war, Higginson devoted much of the rest of his life to fighting for the rights of freed slaves.

Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Harvard graduate, aboliishinist and Unitarian took a challange that most in his position would have shied away from. He organized the first South Carolina Regiment made up of Black slaves. This is his story told by him of the trials and endurance of his people as they struggled to learn all that a soldier needed to know. They were more than up for the task. As you read Higginson's diary it is clear how his preconceptions are erased as he comes to know these men. This is a wonderful account by a white officer of his experience with Black troops. A volume not to be missed by the Civil War buff.

ARMY LIFE IN A BLACK REGIMENT is an authoritative account of the First South Carolina Volunteers, the first slave regiment mustered into the service of the United States during the Civil War. The First South Carolina Volunteers was composed of escaped slaves from South Carolina and Florida and commanded by white officers, including Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who wrote their history and recorded their beliefs and customs, including use of the Gullah language. Introductory Camp Diary Up the St. Mary's Up the St. John's Out on Picket A Night in the Water Up the Edisto The Baby of the Regiment Negro Spirituals Life at Camp Shaw Florida Again? The Negro as a Soldier Conclusion Index

Thomas Wentworth Higginson was an American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, and soldier. He was active in the American Abolitionism movement during the 1840s and 1850s, identifying himself with disunion and militant abolitionism. During the Civil War, he served as colonel of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, the first federally authorized African-American regiment, from 1862-1864. Following the war, Higginson devoted much of the rest of his life to fighting for the rights of freed slaves, women and other disfranchised peoples.

This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare s finesse to Oscar Wilde s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must-have addition to any library.

This Civil War memoir is a must read for anyone interested in the trials and tribulations that black soldiers faced fighting in the war. From the preface: "These pages record some of the adventures of the First South Carolina Volunteers, the first slave regiment mustered into the service of the United States during the late civil war. It was, indeed, the first colored regiment of any kind so mustered, except a portion of the troops raised by Major-General Butler at New Orleans. These scarcely belonged to the same class, however, being recruited from the free colored population of that city, a comparatively self-reliant and educated race. "The darkest of them," said General Butler, "were about the complexion of the late Mr. Webster." The First South Carolina, on the other hand, contained scarcely a freeman, had not one mulatto in ten, and a far smaller proportion who could read or write when enlisted. The only contemporary regiment of a similar character was the "First Kansas Colored," which began recruiting a little earlier, though it was not mustered in the usual basis of military seniority till later. [See Appendix] These were the only colored regiments recruited during the year 1862. The Second South Carolina and the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts followed early in 1863.

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