The Negro in the American Rebellion: His Heroism and His FidelityIn 1863, as the Civil War raged, the escaped slave, abolitionist, and novelist William Wells Brown identified two groups most harmful to his race. "The first and most relentless," he explained, "are those who have done them the greatest injury, by being instrumental in their enslavement and consequent degradation. They delight to descant upon the 'natural inferiority' of the blacks, and claim that we were destined only for a servile condition, entitled neither to liberty nor the legitimate pursuit of happiness." "The second class," Brown concluded, "are those who are ignorant of the characteristics of the race, and are the mere echoes of the first." Four years later, Brown wrote the first military history of African Americans, The Negro in the American Rebellion. This text assailed those whose hatred and ignorance inclined them to keep blacks oppressed after Appomattox. This critical edition of The Negro in the American Rebellion, one of Brown's least-analyzed texts, is the first to appear in more than three decades. In his introduction, historian John David Smith identifies the text's Anglo-American abolitionist roots, sets it in the context of Brown's other writings, appraises it as military history, analyzes its interpretation of black masculinity and honor, and focuses closely on Brown's assessment of contemporary racial tensions. Largely ignored by scholars, The Negro in the American Rebellion, Smith argues, is a powerful transitional text, one that confronted squarely the neo-slavery of the Reconstruction era. "Whites," Brown wrote, "appear determined to reduce the blacks to a state of serfdom if they cannot have them as slaves." His important text was a call to arms in the ongoing race struggle. Smith's analysis, framed within recent scholarship on slavery, emancipation, and African American participation in the U.S. army, is long overdue. |
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... William Wells Brown , first published 1867 by Lee and Shepard , Boston . Ohio University Press books are printed on acid - free paper 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 54321 Cataloging - in - Publication Data Brown , William Wells , 1815-1884 ...
... William Tillman re - captures " The S. G. Waring . " - George Green . — Robert Small captures the Steamer “ Planter . ” — Admiral Dupont's Opinion on Negro Patriotism CHAPTER XII . 25 28 31 33 38 41 GENERAL BUTLER AT NEW ORLEANS ...
His Heroism and His Fidelity William Wells Brown John David Smith. CHAPTER XXI . BLACKS UNDER FIRE IN SOUTH CAROLINA . Expedition up the St. Mary's River . - The Negroes long for a Fight . Their Gallantry in Battle 91 CHAPTER XXII ...
His Heroism and His Fidelity William Wells Brown John David Smith. CHAPTER XLI . PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON . Origin of Andrew Johnson . - His Speeches in Tennessee . - The Negro's Moses . - The Deceived Brahmin . — The Comparison ...
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Contents
I BLACKS IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND IN 1812 | 1 |
II THE SOUTHCAROLINA FRIGHT | 7 |
III THE NAT TURNER INSURRECTION | 10 |
IV SLAVE REVOLT AT SEA | 14 |
V GROWTH OF THE SLAVEPOWER | 21 |
VI THE JOHN BROWN RAID | 25 |
VII THE FIRST GUN OF THE REBELLION | 28 |
VIII THE UNION AND SLAVERY BOTH TO BE PRESERVED | 31 |
XXV HONORS TO THE NOBLE DEAD | 106 |
XXVI THE NORTHERN WING OF THE REBELLION | 110 |
XXVII ASSAULT ON FORT WAGNER | 113 |
XXVIII THE SLAVEMARTYR | 122 |
XXIX BATTLE OF OLUSTEE FLORIDA | 124 |
XXX BATTLE OF POISON SPRINGS ARKANSAS | 129 |
XXXI THE MASSACRE AT FORT PILLOW | 135 |
XXXII INJUSTICE TO COLORED TROOPS | 142 |
IX INTELLIGENT CONTRABANDS | 33 |
X PROCLAMATIONS OF FREMONT AND HUNTER | 38 |
XI HEROISM OF NEGROES ON THE HIGH SEAS | 41 |
XII GENERAL BUTLER AT NEW ORLEANS | 46 |
XIII THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FREE | 52 |
XIV THE BLACK BRIGADE OF CINCINNATI | 56 |
XV PROCLAMATION OF FREEDOM | 61 |
XVI THE NEW POLICY | 72 |
XVII ARMING THE BLACKS | 75 |
XVIII BATTLE OF MILLIKENS BEND | 79 |
XIX RAISING BLACK REGIMENTS AT THE NORTH | 82 |
XX FIFTYFOURTH MASSACHUSETTS REGIMENT | 85 |
XXI BLACKS UNDER FIRE IN SOUTH CAROLINA | 91 |
XXII FREEDMEN UNDER FIRE IN MISSISSIPPI | 94 |
XXIII BATTLE OF PORT HUDSON | 96 |
XXIV GENERAL BANKS IN LOUISIANA | 101 |
XXXIII BATTLE OF HONEY HILL SOUTH CAROLINA | 146 |
XXXIV BEFORE PETERSBURG AND RICHMOND | 152 |
XXXV WIT AND HUMOR OF THE WAR | 157 |
XXXVI A THRILLING INCIDENT OF THE WAR | 163 |
XXXVII PROGRESS AND JUSTICE | 167 |
XXXVIII FOURTHOFJULY CELEBRATION AT THE HOME OF JEFF DAVIS | 171 |
XXXIX GALLANTRY LOYALTY AND KINDNESS OF THE NEGRO | 178 |
XL FALL OF THE CONFEDERACY AND DEATH OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN | 186 |
XLI PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON | 189 |
XLII ILL TREATMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE SOUTH | 198 |
XLIII PROTECTION FOR THE COLORED PEOPLE | 204 |
XLIV CASTE | 207 |
XLV SIXTH REGIMENT UNITEDSTATES VOLUNTEERS | 214 |
NOTES | 219 |