A Great Sacrifice : : Northern Black Soldiers, Their Families, and the Experience of Civil War / / James G. Mendez.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Fordham University Press Complete eBook-Package 2019
• VerfasserIn: Mendez, James G.,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : Fordham University Press, , [2019]; ©2019
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Series: The North's Civil War
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (304 p.) :; 15

A Great Sacrifice is an in-depth analysis of the effects of the Civil War on northern black families carried out using letters from northern black women-mothers, wives, sisters, and female family friends-addressed to a number of Union military officials.Collectively, the letters give a voice to the black family members left on the northern homefront. Through their explanations and requests, readers obtain a greater apprehension of the struggles African American families faced during the war, and their conditions as the war progressed. The original letters that were received by government agencies, as well as many of the copies of the letters sent in response, are held by the National Archives in Washington, D.C.This study is unique because it examines the effects of the war specifically on northern black families. Most other studies on African Americans during the Civil War focused almost exclusively on the soldiers.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1 Life in the North: Before the War -- 2 A Grand Opportunity: 1861 and 1862 -- 3 The Forming of Black Regiments and Success in Battle -- 4 The Unequal Pay Issue -- 5 Violence on Two Fronts -- 6 Information Requests -- 7 Discharge Requests -- 8 The Conclusion of the War -- 9 After the War: A Different Kind of Battle -- 10 Even Farther Away from Home: Occupation Duty Continues -- 11 Home Again -- Appendix: Northern Black Regiments -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Cited Literature -- Index