Sale!

Thunder at the Gates: The Black Civil War Regiments That Redeemed America

Amazon.com Price:  $20.11 (as of 06/05/2019 15:02 PST- Details)

Description

An intimate, authoritative history of the first black soldiers to fight in the Union Army all over the Civil War
Soon after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, abolitionists started to call for the creation of black regiments. In the beginning, the South and a few of the North responded with outrage-southerners promised to execute any black soldiers captured in battle, at the same time as many northerners claimed that blacks lacked the necessary courage. Meanwhile, Massachusetts, long the center of abolitionist fervor, launched some of the greatest experiments in American history.
In Thunder at the Gates, Douglas Egerton chronicles the formation and battlefield triumphs of the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantry and the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry-regiments led by whites but composed of black men born free or into slavery. He argues that an important battles of all were won at the field of public opinion, for in fighting with distinction the regiments realized the long-derided idea of full and equal citizenship for blacks.

A stirring evocation of this transformative episode, Thunder at the Gates offers a riveting new standpoint at the Civil War and its legacy.

Home » Shop » Books » Subjects » Arts and Photography » History and Criticism » History » Americas » United States » African Americans » Thunder at the Gates: The Black Civil War Regiments That Redeemed America

Recent Products