The Sword Of The Union

The Civil War changed the United States in many ways—economic, political, and social. Of these changes, none was more important than Emancipation. Besides freeing nearly four million slaves, it brought agricultural wage labor to a reluctant South and gave a vote to black adult males in the former slave states. It also offered former slaves new opportunities in education, property ownership—and military service. From late 1862 to the spring of 1865, as the Civil War raged on, the federal government accepted more than 180,000 black men as soldiers, something it had never done before on such a scale. Known collectively as the United States Colored Troops and organized in segregated regiments led by white officers, some of these soldiers guarded army posts along major rivers; others fought Confederate raiders to protect Union supply trains, and still others took part in major operations like the Siege of Petersburg and the Battle of Nashville. After the war, many of the black regiments took up posts in the former Confederacy to enforce federal Reconstruction policy. Freedom by the Sword tells the story of these soldiers' recruitment, organization, and service. Thanks to its broad focus on every theater of the war and its concentration on what black soldiers actually contributed to Union victory, this volume stands alone among histories of the U.S. Colored Troops.

Many books have explored in depth the firearms, uniforms and paraphernalia carried by combatants in the American Civil War, but the swords carried by Union and Confederate enlisted men and officers have never been completely examined in print--until now. Swords of the American Civil War is a complete photographic survey of all the swords--Union and Confederate--used in the Civil War. It contains more than 700 magnificent photographs showing every type and style of sword, including more than 300 Union and Confederate regulation swords, 45 swords presented to Union and Confederate generals, 40 Union and Confederate presentation-grade swords, 60 Union and Confederate swords engraved with the owners' names, and 150 Union and Confederate identified presentation swords along with the presentee's Civil War records. A fantastic chapter on the Civil War activities of Gen. George Armstrong Custer includes more than 30 never-before-published photos of Custer's presentation sword, dress uniform and personal equipment captured by Confederate cavalry at the Battle of Trevilian Station. The appendix provides additional little-known details on the fate of Custer's personal effects. This book is an essential reference for all collectors, historians, researchers and students.

John Langellier''s study examines the uniforms and equipment of Abraham Lincoln''s soldiers as they appeared in the field during the Civil War. The study covers the artillery, cavalry and infantry.

Includes Civil War Map and Illustrations Pack – 224 battle plans, campaign maps and detailed analyses of actions spanning the entire period of hostilities. In this work, Dr. Howard Hensel has analyzed the national objectives, grand and national military strategies, and theater operations of the United States government and the Union army during the four year conflict. In addition to contributing to a better understanding of these aspects of Federal war policy, Dr. Hensel has drawn generalizable conclusions from the actions of the Washington politico-military leadership. Of particular interest is the typology of offensively oriented, generic military strategies constructed from the experience of the Federal high command and its armies during this traumatic war.

From late 1862 to the spring of 1865, the federal government accepted more than 180,000 black men as soldiers, something it had never done before on such a scale. Known collectively as the United States Colored Troops and organized in segregated regiments led by white officers, some of these soldiers guarded army posts along major rivers; others fought Confederate raiders to protect Union supply trains; and still others took part in major operations like the siege of Petersburg and the battle of Nashville. After the war, many of the black regiments garrisoned the former Confederacy to enforce federal Reconstruction policy. This book tells the story of these soldiers' recruitment, organization, and service.

In Entitled to Nothing, Lisa Sun-Hee Park investigates how the politics of immigration, health care, and welfare are intertwined. Documenting the formal return of the immigrant as a “public charge,” or a burden upon the State, the author shows how the concept has been revived as states adopt punitive policies targeting immigrants of color and require them to “pay back” benefits for which they are legally eligible during a time of intense debate regarding welfare reform. Park argues that the notions of “public charge” and “public burden” were reinvigorated in the 1990s to target immigrant women of reproductive age for deportation and as part of a larger project of “disciplining” immigrants. Drawing on nearly 200 interviews with immigrant organizations, government agencies and safety net providers, as well as careful tracking of policies and media coverage, Park provides vivid, first-person accounts of how struggles over the “public charge” doctrine unfolded on the ground, as well as its consequences for the immigrant community. Ultimately, she shows that the concept of “public charge” continues to lurk in the background, structuring our conception of who can legitimately access public programs and of the moral economy of work and citizenship in the U.S., and makes important policy suggestions for reforming our immigration system.