Firebrand of Liberty: The Story of Two Black Regiments That Changed the Course of the Civil War Book

A pretty interesting book about two black regiments of the Union army that aren't as well known as others, such as Robert Shaw's more famous 54th Massachusetts. The author indicates that the capture of Jacksonville and the related raids carried out by the regiments had much greater military significance than was considered at the time. Basically, his case is that the moderate success of the mission heavily influenced the decision for the full-scale employment of black soldiers to go ahead. The evidence, while pretty good, seems mostly circumstantial to me.

At first, it was assumed, even by their commander, Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson, that perhaps it wasn't the best idea because the white soldiers had issues with fighting alongside black ones. The White soldiers entertained themselves at the expense of blacks and using racial slurs. A strong reaction from the black soldiers could have caused many problems. The black troops, however, tended to ignore them and go about their business of freeing their fellow slaves. In addition, in the towns that black troops entered , the White citizens frequently had issues, such as white women complaining of being insulted by the black soldiers. It hardly ever panned out as described and more frequently, the black soldier had reacted to some slur from the white person.

Higginson's men carried themselves bravely through the capture of Jacksonville, Florida and there was not one incident of personal cowardice among them. Even though General Hunter withdrew the troops before the mission was complete, their outstanding performance encouraged President Lincoln to rethink the idea of regularly enlisting black soldiers, thus changing the face of the Civil War.

Ash has written a sensitive, interesting history of black soldiers during the civil war. He writes of their hardships, their courage when everything was against them, the racial discrimination they had to endure and their determination to win. He describes how they attempted to find others like themselves and free them, bringing them back to their encampments. It is a history well worth reading to understand just how this country operated during the Civil War.

Not only does Ash describe how Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginson took charge of these men and molded them into a competent and disciplined military unit, but he shows how the colonel developed his plans to put these men to the test in terms of their military ability. This book demonstrates that Higginson hoped that these troops would prove that the idea of recruiting African-Americans was not folly and that these men could and would fight as well as anybody else. He hoped this local campaign would have national consequences.

The book is not long, at 204 pages, plus an epilogue and an appendix, but it covers the subject very well and in-depth, especially once it got into the story of the expedition, yet it does so in a pleasing, readable way. It is good scholarship, but without the purely academic style of writing that many history books feature.