A Great Sacrifice: Northern Black Soldiers, Their Families, and the Experience of Civil War

James G. Mendez

Published by Fordham University Press 2019

A Great Sacrifice

Northern Black Soldiers, Their Families, and the Experience of Civil War

James G. Mendez

In the series The North's Civil War

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780823282524

Overview
Contents

About this book

This study analyzes the effects of the Civil War on northern black families as they sacrificed for a Union victory. This book especially studies the effects of the war on these families as they and their soldiers fully supported the Union war effort and strived to gain full American citizenship.

Focuses on the home front experiences of black military families and highlights the connections that linked soldiers to their families, even during the war: how families were affected by battlefield events, and soldiers by events at home

Author / Editor information

Mendez James G. :

James G. Mendez is Associate Dean of Student Affairs and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Education at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.James G. Mendez is Associate Dean of Student Affairs and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Education at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Reviews

Mendez’s work is soundly structured, following current trends in the field to meld the battlefield and home front and take seriously Union occupation during Reconstruction.

In this deeply researched and revealing book, James G. Mendez seeks to recover the experience of northern black soldiers and their families during the Civil War era in order to discover the ways they engaged the governments of their day both to recognize and respect their service and sacrifice during the war and to count the costs northern blacks paid out in impoverished families, wartime casualties, and unfulfilled promises... Mendez’s book deserves our attention and appreciation.

Liz Regosin, Charles A. Dana Professor of History, St. Lawrence University:
A Great Sacrifice offers readers new insight into the lives of African American men and women from the North in the era of the Civil War. It will make an important contribution to the literature on the Civil War in general, as well as to the literature on African Americans in the Civil War era and on the northern home front.

Author James G. Mendez... has allowed his readers an enlightening ear to the voices of black families left at home during the Civil War. They are an essential part of the northern homefront and deserve this attention. A Great Sacrifice goes a long way toward this effort.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
List of Figures Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1 Life in the North: Before the War Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
2 A Grand Opportunity: 1861 and 1862 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
3 The Forming of Black Regiments and Success in Battle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	28
4 The Unequal Pay Issue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	44
5 Violence on Two Fronts Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
6 Information Requests Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
7 Discharge Requests Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	120
8 The Conclusion of the War Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	130
9 After the War: A Different Kind of Battle Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	135
10 Even Farther Away from Home: Occupation Duty Continues Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	156
11 Home Again Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	178
Appendix: Northern Black Regiments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	185
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
Cited Literature Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	237
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	249

Language: English
Publisher: Fordham University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 304
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 15
- Other: 15
Keywords: Civil War; Black Women’s History; Black Troops; Citizenship; 54th Massachusetts; unequal pay; Home Front; Race Riots; Reconstruction; Occupation Duty

eBook

Published: February 5, 2019
ISBN: 9780823282524