![]() ![]() The author also emphasizes how these soldiers overcame what one of their commanders called “stupid, unreasoning, and quite vengeful prejudice” and shows how General Butler, a supporter of black troops, gave the unit opportunities to prove itself in battle, resulting in a combat record of which any infantry regiment, black or white, could be proud. Longacre goes beyond the battlefield heroics of the 4th USCT, blending his unique insights into political and social history to analyze the motives, goals, and aspirations of the African American enlisted men. ![]() From May to December 1864, the 4th saw action in the Bermuda Hundred and Richmond-Petersburg campaigns, and in early 1865 helped capture the defenses of Wilmington, North Carolina, the last open seaport of value to the Confederacy.Ĭiting recently discovered and previously unpublished accounts, author Edward G. Butler’s Army of the James, whose mission was to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond. The regiment-drawn largely from freedmen and liberated slaves in the Middle Atlantic and New England states-served in Maj. The 4th United States Colored Troops (USCT) regiment saw considerable action in the eastern theater of operations from late 1863 to mid-1865. Longacre is the award-winning author of numerous books on the Civil War, including The Cavalry at Gettysburg, Lincoln's Cavalrymen, and Custer and His Wolverines. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |