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Bob Luke
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Soldiering For Freedom: How the Union Army Recruited, Trained, and Deployed the U.S. Colored Troops (How Things Worked) Kindle Edition

by Bob Luke (Author), John David Smith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 out of 5 stars 12
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This Civil War history provides an in-depth look at the impact and experiences of African American men fighting in the Union Army.

After President Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, many enslaved people in the Confederate south made the perilous journey north—then put their lives at risk again by joining the Union army. These U.S. Colored Troops, as the War Department designated most black units, performed a variety of duties, fought in significant battles, and played a vital part in winning the Civil War. And yet white civilian and military authorities often regarded the African American soldiers with contempt.

In Soldiering for Freedom, historians John David Smith and Bob Luke examine how Lincoln’s administration came to the decision to arm free black Americans, how these men found their way to recruiting centers, and how they influenced the Union army and the war itself. The authors show how the white commanders deployed the black troops, and how the courage of the African American soldiers gave hope for their full citizenship after the war.

Including twelve evocative historical engravings and photographs, this engaging and meticulously researched book provides a fresh perspective on a fascinating topic.
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  1. Part of series
    How Things Worked
  2. Print length
    144 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Johns Hopkins University Press
  6. Publication date
    June 6, 2014
  7. File size
    4449 KB
  8. Page Flip
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  9. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

Review

In Soldiering for Freedom . . . independent scholar Bob Luke and historian John D. Smith attempt not to break new ground, but to familiarize a wide readership with the findings of current scholarship on black soldiers in the Union Army. For the most part, their succinct book admirably achieves this aim.
―Donald R. Shaffer, Michigan War Studies Review

This brief and useful study synthesizes a welter of important scholarship on race, soldiering, emancipation, and the quest for citizenship by African Americans. . . Besides analyzing experiences of African American, Luke and Smith expertly explain civil war Army life and the soldier's craft.
―Choice

This book is a perfect introduction to its subject for undergraduate students. Interwoven as it is with larger questions of race and masculinity, military organization and professionalism, and nationalism and citizenship students will be introduced to the complexities that surrounded emancipation and the meanings of freedom and the war.
―David Carlson, Civil War Book Review

Detailed introduction to this important topic.
―Kathryn Shively Meier, North Carolina Historical Review

. . . There is much to admire in Soldiering for Freedom. Luke and Smith have produced an account of wide potential interest for a diverse readership. They combine sound research with a lucid writing style, free of jargon, and uncluttered by digressions into the debates and trends in Civil War literature.
―The Journal of African American History

About the Author

Bob Luke is the author of The Baltimore Elite Giants: Sport and Society in the Age of Negro League Baseball, also published by Johns Hopkins.

John David Smith is the Charles H. Stone Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and author of Black Judas: William Hannibal Thomas and "The American Negro."

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00MABNC66
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Johns Hopkins University Press (June 6, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 6, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4449 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 12

About the author

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Bob Luke

Bob Luke

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Bob Luke's life-long passion for baseball reached its peak on the field when he captained his Montgomery Blair High School's baseball team as a centerfielder in Silver Spring, Maryland. After graduating from Colgate University and earning a PhD in sociology from the University of Maryland, he turned to a career in Human Resource Development. In retirement his interest in the history of baseball, especially the history of the Negro leagues, led to two biographies of Negro leaguers, Willie Wells and Effa Manley, one book on the history of the Baltimore Elite Giants, and, most recently, a book about the integration of the Baltimore Orioles. His first book traced the life and career of his childhood next door neighbor, Bill McGowan, an American League umpire from 1924 to 1954. He has also published a book about the role that African American soldiers played for the Union in the Civil War.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
12 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2018
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lyndonbrecht
5.0 out of 5 stars A brief, well-written and fairly thorough account of black soldiers in the Union army in the Civil War. Not a battle account.
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2016
This is the first book in this series that I have read. It is not an in-depth study, but is an excellent introduction to the subject of the USCT--UNited States Colored Troops. At just over a hundred pages, it's a fast read. The writing is clear. It's aimed at the general reader, but might also be useful to students looking for topics.

According to Luke, some 200,000 served in USCT, and around a third died, primarily from disease--actual battle casualties among these and other solders was considerably lower than lives lost to diseases. The book says 68,000 died and of those 2,751 in combat. I had not seen that 1/3 figure before, but it seems credible. It would mean that black soldiers accounted for more than a tenth of overall Union casualties.

The book starts with a general chapter on how racism impeded recruitment--racism was widespread and military authorities were as racist as others. The need for men merged with the strong abolitionist views of some officers, and the swarm of escaped slaves coming into Union lines to create informal then finally formal units. Chapter 2 discusses how slaves and freedmen "earned their brass buttons" and covers such topics as recruiting; there were many volunteers but some impressment, too.

Chapter 3 deals with officers, largely white officers commanding black troops. Potential officers often were required to pass exams and intensive questioning by panels of officers before being given command of black troops. Not all passed. An officer (or NCO who wished to become an officer) would get a boost in rank on joining USCT. They may have on balance been better officers because white troops often elected their officers and popularity did not always equal effectiveness. One interesting detail for me is finding out that at least 265 of the 7,100 officers were foreign born, including Germans, Austrians and at least one Argentinian. Blacks were not permitted to become officers then--or for decades to come.

Chapter 5 looks at training, weapons, camp life and other topics. USCT sometimes were issued inferior weapons and other equipment. Chapter 6 discusses USCT in combat. They were paid less than white troops but faced more dangers: Confederates threatened to either kill or enslave captured black troops and hang their white officers. Union officers threatened reprisals so USCT captured were sometimes treated like other soldiers. There were instances of wounded and captured USCT soldiers being massacred on the battlefields like the Crater and Poison Springs. There were also a few cases where black soldiers gave Confederates no quarter.

The Epilogue covers--briefly--reconstruction and the establishment of the "Buffalo Soldier" regiments on the Western frontier.
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Civil War Librarian
5.0 out of 5 stars USCT: Clear, Concise, Cogent and Accessible
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2014
Soldiering For Freedom: How The Union Army Recruited, Trained and Deployed the U.S. Colored Troops is a superlative introduction to the USCT for advanced placement high school and undergraduate students. Basic information is providded on the raising of African American troops, the Bureau of Colored Troops, contrabands, discrimination, the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and Abraham Lincoln. Additionally, the narrative offers an addresses the issues of race, soldiering, emancipation, nationalism, citizenship. Overall, Soldiering For Freedom is clear, concise, cogent and accessible to students and general readers.
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