A renowned collector of Civil War photographs and a prodigious researcher; Ronald S. Coddington combines compelling archival images with biographical stories that reveal the human side of the war. This third volume in his series on Civil War soldiers contains previously unpublished photographs of African American Civil War participantsmdash;many of whom fought to secure their freedom. During the Civil War; 200;000 African American men enlisted in the Union army or navy. Some of them were free men and some escaped from slavery; others were released by sympathetic owners to serve the war effort. African American Faces of the Civil War tells the story of the Civil War through the images of men of color who served in roles that ranged from servants and laborers to enlisted men and junior officers.Coddington discovers these portraitsmdash; cartes de visite; ambrotypes; and tintypesmdash;in museums; archives; and private collections. He has pieced together each individualrsquo;s life and fate based upon personal documents; military records; and pension files. These stories tell of ordinary men who became fighters; of the prejudice they faced; and of the challenges they endured. African American Faces of the Civil War makes an important contribution to a comparatively understudied aspect of the war and provides a fascinating look into lives that helped shape America.
#2880827 in eBooks 2008-12-08 2008-12-08File Name: B0099JIRZI
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Several wonderful stories and pictures in the bookBy Home Depot customerVery excited about this book. I lived in Tennessee for elevens years. three of which were in Erwin. My daughter was born in Champaign County and I started working at The Clinchfield Railroad while living there. Several wonderful stories and pictures in the book. one of which I took while living there.