History Commons^™

Rethinking Slavery And Freedom (Book Reviews), Edward L. Ayers

History Faculty Publications

Review essay of the following books:

Many Thousands Gone: The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America by Ira Berlin.

Freedom's Soldiers: The Black Military Experience in the Civil War edited by Ira Berlin, Joseph P. Reidy, Leslie S. Rowland.

The Elkhart County Guards : Company G, 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Eugene D. Watkins

Master's Theses

In July 1861, 101 farm boys and shopkeepers left northern Indiana to do their part to save the Union. These men, who formed Company G, 19th Indiana Infantry, served with distinction in the famed Iron Brigade. They received their baptism of fire at Brawner's Farm in August 1862. They served for four years, suffering on such battlefields as Antietam, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness. Twenty-five soldiers never returned home as they died during their service. The rest scattered across the country, living out their lives struggling with disabling illnesses and wounds. This study provides a micro-history focusing on a small group …