A History of the Negro Troops in the War of the Rebellion, 1861–1865 by George Washington Williams (published 1888) was a major book-length academic history of military history of African Americans in the American Civil War. [1] Carter G. Woodson called it "one of the most valuable accounts of the Civil War." [2]
Williams himself served with the U.S. Colored Troops. [3] Williams has been described as "the finest black prose stylist of his day" and his History showcases this skill. [4] Williams' book has been called the most important of a trio of histories of 19th-century African-American military histories written by black authors, alongside Williams Wells Brown's The Negro in the American Rebellion and Joseph T. Wilson's The Black Phalanx. [5]
Williams' historiographic use of newspaper reports, soliciting records of local groups through newspaper advertisements, and oral histories, including traveling to interview soldiers, was pioneering. [2] The creation of the book is considered a part of the "birth of black studies." [6]
See also
References
- ^ Lee, Ulysses G. "Book Review: The Negro in the Civil War, by Benjamin Quarles". Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. p. 128.
- ^ a b Franklin, John Hope (1978). "George Washington Williams and the Beginnings of Afro-American Historiography". Critical Inquiry. 4 (4): 657–672. doi: 10.1086/447961. ISSN 0093-1896. JSTOR 1342950. S2CID 162368037.
- ^ Smith, John David; Williams, George Washington (2012). A History of the Negro Troops in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-4042-5.
- ^ Mohr, Clarence L. “Bibliographical Essay: Southern Blacks in the Civil War: A Century of Historiography.” The Journal of Negro History, vol. 59, no. 2, 1974, pp. 177–95. JSTOR, doi: 10.2307/2717330. Accessed 4 Apr. 2023.
- ^ KINNAMON, KENETH (1975). "The Political Dimension of Afro-American Literature". Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 58 (1): 130–144. ISSN 0038-1861. JSTOR 41177950.
- ^ Smith, William David (Spring 1975). "Black Studies: Recommendations for Organization and National Consideration". The Journal of Negro Education. 44 (2): 170–176. doi: 10.2307/2966652. JSTOR 2966652.
External links
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