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Title: The Gray and the Black: The Confederate Debate on Emancipation by Robert Franklin Durden ISBN: 0-8071-2557-1 Publisher: Louisiana State University Press Pub. Date: May, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Could there have been a Confederacy without slavery?
Comment: Prof. Robert F. Durden here examines one of the Confederacy's little known episodes: the effort to recruit black slaves and freemen as Rebel soldiers.
Prof. Durden has, within limits, done an outstanding job of presenting the evidence on this controversy. He shows what people said at the time, and while he doesn't hesitate to let you know where he stands, he never mixes his judgements with the evidence.
I do have a few criticisms. Durden doesn't always print the documents in chronological order, resulting in potential confusion about what the state of opinion was when. And he relies far to much on 'official' sources, rather than the privately expressed views of Southerners in their letters and diaries.
That last is important because one of the great issues of the debate was what effect recruiting black soldiers would have on whites: would they stand for it? Durden quotes various memorials some soldiers made urging the govt. to recruit slaves as soldiers, but I wonder how many dissenting opinions were surpressed by the pressure of officers desperate for troops? James MacPherson's book WHAT THEY FOUGHT FOR suggests that the picture in the Confederate Army was not nearly as one sided as the one Durden's documents present.
There are many other fascinating questions worth pursuing in this area: how many blacks would have volunteered (some did), and how well would they have fought? If the fateful step had been taken in time, how would it have affected the war, and postwar relations between blacks and whites in the South? Durden doesn't attempt to answer these questions, but I wish someone would.
It's sad that after over thirty years so few have sought to follow Durden's pioneering inquiry. This book is still the only extended treatment of this subject I've found. But even if there were dozens, I believe I'd still recommend it highly. A very good work indeed.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Finest Compendium of Civil War-Era Opinion
Comment: In a brilliant book unparalleled in quality, Professor Robert F. Durden provides the reader invaluable insight into the Confederate struggle over whether to free, and arm, their slaves.
This reviewer has read many history books and is a researcher by trade. The book is among--if not the--finest history book he has ever come across. Professor Durden acts as a genial host who introduces the individuals and context, and then steps back into the shadows to permit speeches, letters, and newspaper editorials describe, debate, and unfold. Professor Durden's selection of sources, incredibly well organized, clearly shows the debate over the question of the day: should the South arm the slaves, or should the slave states maintain their Southern "institutions" and perish?
This book is a critical resource for individuals interested in "Afro-Confederates" mentioned in other books, and trotted out at the drop of a confederate symbol. The book clearly indicates that the South depended upon its slave system both economically and politically, and many a southerner simply could not imagine Negroes as either Confederate citizens or armed troops. The leadership in much of the Confederacy could never tolerate the concept of Negro soldiers, and would not agree to free even those slaves who might volunteer. Yet by late 1864 many a white soldier in the ranks (including Lee) were apparently willing to accept reinforcements no matter the color. But Negroes in Virginia were not even permitted to carry arms until 1865, at the very sunset of the Rebellion. Those few souls organized at the end of the war never saw combat.
Without doubt the finest Civil War book read by this reviewer, there are no criticisms to levy. The "Gray and the Black" is impressively researched, with an excellent historiography and valuable index. The analysis, organization, thoughtfulness and dedication that went into this book are humbling. Those that purchase this book will be thrilled and enlightened.
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Title: Black Confederates and Afro-Yankees in Civil War Virginia (A Nation Divided: New Studies in Civil War History) by Ervin L., Jr. Jordan ISBN: 0813915457 Publisher: University of Virginia Press Pub. Date: February, 1995 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
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Title: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom by Conrad Black ISBN: 1586481843 Publisher: PublicAffairs Pub. Date: November, 2003 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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