An intimate, authoritative history of the first black soldiers to fight in the Union Army during the Civil War
Soon after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, abolitionists began to call for the creation of black regiments. At first, the South and most of the North responded with outrage-southerners promised to execute any black soldiers captured in battle, while many northerners claimed that blacks lacked the necessary courage. Meanwhile, Massachusetts, long the center of abolitionist fervor, launched one of the greatest experiments in American history.
InThunder at the Gates, Douglas Egerton chronicles the formation and battlefield triumphs of the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantry and the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry-regiments led by whites but composed of black men born free or into slavery. He argues that the most important battles of all were won on the field of public opinion, for in fighting with distinction the regiments realized the long-derided idea of full and equal citizenship for blacks.
A stirring evocation of this transformative episode,Thunder at the Gatesoffers a riveting new perspective on the Civil War and its legacy.
Douglas R. Egertonis the Merrill Family Visiting Professor in History at Cornell University and a professor of history at Le Moyne College. The award-winning author of seven previous books, he lives in Fayetteville, New York.
Co-winner of the 2017 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize
Egerton brings the stories of three black regiments together, exploring their origins, their wartime service, and the post-war lives of their soldiers and officers... This is a deeply and impeccably researched work....Egerton's is a brisk and personable narrative history that will reach a wide audience, with its vivid portraits of lives both on and off the battlefield.
2017 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize l3)
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