Civil War

Children's Literature - Elizabeth D. Schafer

The title of this "African American History" series volume is misleading because only one-fourth of the text features the Civil War. Stating that 185,000 African Americans fought in the United States Colored Troops, and 18,000 served in the Union navy, this text notes most African American troops were segregated from white comrades, received less pay, and had poorer weapons, food, and training. Notable battles at Fort Wagner, Milliken's Bend, Island Mound, and Fort Pillow, in which African Americans fought, are described. The text quotes from African-American Civil War veterans' diaries but does not provide citations for them or other resources. Organization of information is problematic in places and might confuse readers unfamiliar with this topic; for example the book tells about the October 1859 Harper's Ferry raid after discussing secession, which occurred in 1861. Typographical errors include misspelling secession as "Succession" and concluding the section discussing pensions with a sentence fragment without explaining how pension disputes were resolved. Neither first black Medal of Honor recipient, Robert Blake, nor Frederick Douglass' two sons fighting with the 54th Massachusetts Regiment are mentioned. This book does not discuss Juneteenth, still celebrated by freed slaves' descendants. Images of recruiting posters supplement the text. Read Wallace B. Black's Slaves to Soldiers: African-American Fighting Men in the Civil War (1998) or James M. McPherson's Marching Toward Freedom: Blacks in the Civil War, 1861—1865 (1991) instead of this book. Reviewer: Elizabeth D. Schafer