Civil War Photo Friday: Black Union soldiers kidnapped for the Neo-Confederate cause

This photo shows a unit of black soldiers and their white officer. It's obviously a Union unit because of the officer's uniform and a belt buckle saying "US" on one of the figures. I've zoomed in on him; he's the man in the center in the photo below. The uniforms on the soldiers look very light, but often Union troops wore a light shade of blue that appears gray in these old photos.

Nothing is otherwise known about this photograph or what unit it represents. That's what gave it new life.

In an article titled Retouching History, Jerome S. Handler and Michael L. Tuite, Jr., describe how a doctored version of this photo was put up for sale by a self-styled "Rebel" website as a photo of the First Louisiana Native Guard, a Confederate unit in New Orleans made up of free blacks that never saw action and was opposed by many Confederate officials. It isn't even clear if they were ever fully equipped. It seemed they were only kept around for the propaganda value. When New Orleans fell to the Union, some of these men joined the Union army.

This is retouched the photo:

As you can see, that pesky Union officer has been cropped out. A closer inspection of a larger-format version of this photo (which you can see in the original article) shows that the US belt buckle has been blurred over. Also, the font is a modern one called "Algerian", developed in 1988.

Neo-Confederates assert that thousands of blacks fought for the Confederacy. This is used to bolster their claim that the war wasn't about slavery, despite the fact that Confederate officials repeatedly said it was about slavery and that there is no evidence whatsoever for thousands of black soldiers fighting for the South. Did a few blacks (like maybe a dozen) fight for the South? Yeah, probably. Does that change what the war was about? Nope.

Since most of my readers are American, Canadian, or British, let's play an imagination game. Imagine you're surfing the net and see a photo of one of your relatives who fought in World War Two, but the photo has been doctored so he now wears a German uniform. The caption says, "An American volunteer in the Wehrmacht!" How would that make you feel?

Photos from the original article, used under the terms of "Fair Use", the justification being that they are being used for nonprofit, educational purposes and the original image is in the public domain. If the folks who doctored the photograph want to sue me for infringing on their creative copyright, feel free to expose yourselves in the comments section.

The First Kansas Colored Volunteers gets its first book (sort of)

I've written here before about the First Kansas Colored Volunteers, a unit mostly comprised of runaway slaves who had the honor of being the first black regiment in the American army to see combat when they fought (and won) the Battle of Island Mound in Missouri on October 26, 1862.

They've never had a book written about them. I've been shopping around a proposal for several years now but keep getting told the subject isn't "commercially viable" and I should go to an academic press. Well, academic presses don't pay so I can't. It's ironic that writing for a living actually limits who you can write for.

Luckily Robert W. Lull has a day job as a history professor and could afford to write a book for the University of North Texas Press. His subject: the little-known commander of the First Kansas Colored Volunteers--James M. Williams.

The blurb says: "The military career of General James Monroe Williams spanned both the Civil War and the Indian Wars in the West, yet no biography has been published to date on his important accomplishments, until now.

"From his birth on the northern frontier, westward movement in the Great Migration, rush into the violence of antebellum Kansas Territory, Civil War commands in the Trans-Mississippi, and as a cavalry officer in the Indian Wars, Williams was involved in key moments of American history. Like many who make a difference, Williams was a leader of strong convictions, sometimes impatient with heavy-handed and sluggish authority.

"Building upon his political opinions and experience as a Jayhawker, Williams raised and commanded the ground-breaking 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment in 1862. His new regiment of black soldiers was the first such organization to engage Confederate troops, and the first to win. He enjoyed victories in Missouri, Indian Territory (Oklahoma), and Arkansas, but also fought in the abortive Red River Campaign and endured defeat and the massacre of his captured black troops at Poison Spring.

"In 1865, as a brigadier general, Williams led his troops in consolidating control of northern Arkansas. Williams played a key role in taking Indian Territory from Confederate forces, which denied routes of advance into Kansas and east into Arkansas. His 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment helped turn the tide of Southern successes in the Trans-Mississippi, establishing credibility of black soldiers in the heat of battle.

"Following the Civil War, Williams secured a commission in the Regular Army’s 8th Cavalry Regiment, serving in Arizona and New Mexico. His victories over Indians in Arizona won accolades for having “settled the Indian question in that part of Arizona.” He finally left the military in 1873, debilitated from five wounds received at the hands of Confederates and hostile Indians"

While this isn't the regimental history that I've been hoping for, it's a great leap in the right direction. I'll be sure to buy and review Civil War General and Indian Fighter James M. Williams: Leader of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry and the 8th U.S. Cavalry when it comes out next February.

Civil War Horror blog wins the Liebster Award!

O.K., it ain't the Oscars, but this still makes me happy. Blogger buddy Sapper Joe over at Sapper Joe's Wargaming & Toys has awarded me the Liebster Award, a recognition of a fun blog with fewer than 200 followers. I may have few followers, but I have cool ones!

This being a blog award, it comes with some rules:

 -----------------------------------------------
Copy and paste the award on your blog linking it to the blogger who has given it to you.

Pass the award to your top 5 favourite blogs with less than 200 followers by leaving a comment on one of their posts to notify them that they have won the award and listing them on your own blog.

Sit back and bask in that warm fuzzy feeling that comes with knowing that you have just made someone's day!
 -----------------------------------------------

Only five, huh? That's tricky. I know a lot more deserving bloggers than that! Here are my picks:

The 2nd Kansas State Militia and the Battle of The Blue: You knew I was going to pick a Trans-Miss blog, didn't you? Jeff Bell digs into the little-known history of this Civil War battle and what happened to his ancestor John F. Bell and his comrades. Bell (the modern one) doesn't post very often but I immediately click on his posts when he does. I've been studying the Trans-Mississippi Theater for years and he always teaches me something new!

The Sable Arm: Jimmy Price blogs about black soldiers in the Civil War. This is another blogger who I wish posted more often. There's a lot of good material here, including a fascinating series on whether Robert E. Lee's slaves joined the Union army.

The Post Modern Pulp Blog: Jack Badelaire is becoming an indie publishing machine. He loves all those men's adventure novels of the 60s, 70s, and 80s and he's busy writing new ones in the old style. He blogs about his favorite genre and throws in some reviews and military history to boot.

Mad Padre: A Canadian Army chaplain blogging about spirituality, wargaming, books, and travel. He has a second blog called Mad Padre's Wargames Page that's also worth a visit. I'm not a wargamer, but his posts there are entertaining that I read them anyway. I can't seem to find his real name. He just goes by "Mad Padre." I wonder what his regiment thinks of that?

Donna's Book Pub: Donna Volkenannt is a Missouri writer whose short stories and articles have appeared all over the place, including the Chicken Soup books. She blogs about her work, the writing life, and posts calls for submissions. If you're looking for a blog about the writing life from a hardworking pro, this is a good one to follow. She's at 165 followers; let's see if this award can push her over 200!

An unofficial black Union soldier in Civil War Missouri

During the summer of 1862, Confederate Colonel Joseph Porter rode around northeast Missouri recruiting men for the Southern Cause. He assembled about 2,000 recruits, many without any training or even weapons. Pursuing him came Colonel John McNeil of the 2nd Missouri Cavalry with about 1,000 trained and armed men. McNeil finally ran Porter to ground at the town of Kirksville on August 6, 1862.

In a three-hour battle, McNeil kicked Porter out of Kirksville and seriously weakened his force. Porter's scattered recruits would be hunted down over the next couple of weeks.

An interesting footnote to this battle is found in a letter by Union Lt.-Col. William Shaffer: "I must speak of Colonel McNeil's colored man Jim. To him belongs the honor of killing the first man in the fight. Armed with a Sharps rifle, he did splendid work through the entire afternoon. Whenever a rebel showed his head at long range, Jim was almost certain to get him."

While this was two months before the First Kansas Colored Volunteers became the first black regiment to see battle at the Battle of Island Mound, it isn't the first report of a black man bearing arms in Missouri. Even during the border wars with Kansas in the 1850s, there were scattered reports of Jayhawkers having black men in their ranks. These guys were probably slaves freed on previous raids by the Kansas Jayhawkers into Missouri territory.

One question is: was Jim a slave or a freedman? Despite the Emancipation Proclamation, slavery still existed in Missouri at this time because it wasn't considered a state in rebellion and therefore didn't come under the new law. Slaves were sometimes armed so they could go hunt for themselves and their masters, so a slave being a good shot isn't outside the realm of possibility. Some Unionists owned slaves and fought on the side of the North to preserve the Union, not free the slaves. Only some serious research could discover if Jim was a slave or a servant

It's also interesting to note that Jim was armed with a Sharps rifle, the finest gun at this time and a Jayhawker favorite. It's also the weapon of choice for the hero in my Civil War novel.

Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

Wild West Photo Friday: Black Cowboys

Wait, isn't this supposed to be Civil War Photo Friday? Well, I decided to mix it up a bit this week. In honor of the First Kansas Colored Volunteers getting their own state historic site, I wanted to show where some of them probably ended up.

After the Civil War, former slaves were faced with choices for the first time in their lives. Many moved to big cities, especially in the North, to look for work. Sadly, they found prejudices just as engrained there as back on the plantation. Some decided to join the great movement westward.

An estimated 15-20% of all cowboys were black. Prejudice wasn't as serious on the frontier, where everyone had to get along just to survive. In the Old West a man could work hard and maybe make a fortune regardless of the color of his skin. There was racism in the West, of course, but there was also a lot more opportunity. Some black cowboys even banded together to form towns such as West Texas City near Galveston. This town was originally called Our Settlement, showing the pride of these former slaves in finally having something to call their own. One of its founders, Calvin Bell, was the first African-American to have his own cattle brand, in 1874.

Here is one of the most famous black cowboys of them all, Nat Love, who was responsible for his own fame by being one of the few black cowboys to write an autobiography.

First Kansas Colored Volunteers honored with State Historic Site

I've written here before about the First Kansas Colored Volunteers, a unit mostly comprised of runaway slaves from Missouri and Arkansas who fled to Kansas. They had the honor of being the first black regiment in the American army to see combat when they fought the Battle of Island Mound in Missouri on October 26, 1862. There they defeated a much larger force of Confederate bushwhackers.

Now, after long preparation, Missouri has set up the Battle of Island Mound State Historic Site. On the 150th anniversary of the battle they had a formal opening and reenactment. Check out the photo gallery on their site for some great shots!

Yeah, I'm a bit late with this news. Much have something to do with traveling in Iraq. :-)

A faked Civil War photo

Yesterday I posted a cropped version of the above photograph. It was titled "Confederate and Union dead side by side" and was taken on April 3, 1865 at Fort Mahone, during the waning days of the siege of Petersburg.

The body in the foreground is a real corpse of a fallen soldier. While the ammo pouch he's carrying says US, he could be a Confederate since many rebels, short on gear, used whatever Union gear they could get their hands on. It's hard to tell from this photo, but the uniform could either be gray or a faded blue.

The fellow in the background is supposed to be the "Confederate" but has two things wrong with him. 1) He's black, an unlikely skin tone for a Confederate soldier, 2) He's not wearing a uniform, and 3) He's alive.

The guy was the photographer's teamster. There's another photo showing him alive if you follow this link. The Civil War Times published an article on this photo in their December 2010 issue titled "Substitute for a Corpse."

Yep, a little Election Day chicanery for you!

Photo courtesy Library of Congress.

Civil War Photo Friday: Banner of the 22nd US Colored Troops

Here's another great photo courtesy the Library of Congress. It's the regimental flag of the 22nd Regiment US Colored Troops from New Jersey. This unit was formed in January of 1864. For a time it had garrison and scouting duty until it became part of the Siege of Petersburg, a grinding nine-month attempt to cut off Richmond's railway network.

The regiment participated in numerous assaults on Confederate forts and won the honor of being among the first soldiers to march into Richmond when the rebel capital fell. You can read more of this regiment's fascinating history here.

It's interesting that the banner has the words Sic Semper Tyrannis ("thus always to tyrants"). Brutus supposedly said this while assassinating Julius Caesar and John Wilkes Booth was heard to say this after shooting Lincoln. The 22nd was one of the many regiments sent out to hunt for Booth.

Civil War Photo Friday: The Faces of Black Soldiers

This photo has been published a lot. It shows Company E of the 4th U.S. Colored Infantry, at Fort Lincoln, District of Columbia, and is freely available from the Library of Congress.

I love the faces in this photo with all their individual expressions and characters, so I downloaded the 86 megabyte version and zoomed in on some of the individuals.

The tall fellow in the center caught my attention first. . .

. . .then I noticed this determined man near him.

Others look warily at the camera. . .

. . .while others seem more relaxed. . .

. . .or even a bit amused at what's probably their first photo shoot.

The Library of Congress has thousands of hi-res images of the Civil War and other periods. Check them out to see some faces from the past!

I've made it past 50,000 words in my next Civil War horror novel!

The still-untitled sequel to A Fine Likeness is coming along nicely. Today I passed the 50,000 word mark. I anticipate it will end up being about 90,000 words. My goal is to get the first draft done by my birthday on August 16. That's doable if I write 1,000 words a weekday and don't get stuck. If I do get stuck, oh well, that's an important part of the process and a writer shouldn't fret about it. I can always work on other projects.

For those of you who have read A Fine Likeness, you'll see many of the characters who survived the last novel. There are also some new characters, such as Allen Addison, the naval officer you only met through letters, and Bill Treadway, a Confederate cavalryman in Price's defeated army, who makes one last gamble with the forces of Chaos to win the war.

Much of the action takes place on the USS Essex, pictured above. I just wrote a scene where the ship's crew, under Addison's command, teams up with some deserters from the First Kansas Colored Volunteers to fight a band of bushwhackers. When Addison investigates their camp he find these rebel guerrillas are more than what they seem. . .

F is for First Kansas Colored Volunteers

For me, the most fascinating unit in the Civil War west of the Mississippi is the First Kansas Colored Volunteers. Most of the soldiers for this Union unit were runaway slaves from Missouri and Arkansas, many of them "stolen" on raids by Kansas guerrillas and given their freedom in Kansas. These raids were often led by abolitionist Kansas senator Jim Lane. It was Lane who created the unit in 1862, against the direct orders of President Lincoln, who was still waffling on the issue of black soldiers.

The regiment got its "first taste of powder" on 26 October 1862 when they fought and defeated a much larger force of rebel guerrillas at the Battle of Island Mound. Until then, most white people North and South assumed that blacks wouldn't make good soldiers. The First Kansas Colored Volunteers started to change this racist mentality.

I'm shopping around a book proposal about the First Kansas and am having trouble finding a publisher or agent to take it on. This seems strange to me considering that I already have more than ten books published, including two on the Civil War. I'm no stranger to book rejections, it's part of the business, so I'll keep trying. It's a story worth telling.

Shafting the rebels in the Civil War!

I introduced a new character in the still-untitled sequel to my Civil War novel A Fine Likeness. He's a sergeant from the First Kansas Colored Volunteers, the first black unit of the American army to see combat when they beat a band of bushwhackers at the Battle of Island Mound on 29 October 1862. By late 1864, he's deserted his unit to fight an evil even greater than slavery. Of course he hooks up with the heroes from A Fine Likeness!

He's a tough gunfighter who doesn't take any crap from anyone at a time when blacks got crap on a daily basis. It took some time to think of a name until one popped into my head: Sergeant Richard Roundtree.

Two chapters later I realized where I got that name from.

Am I going to keep it? Hell yeah!

Book Review: The Civil War on the Lower Kansas-Missouri Border

The Civil War on the Lower Kansas-Missouri Border by Larry E. Wood

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Larry Wood is a familiar name to those who study the Civil War in Missouri. He's written several books on lesser-known aspects of the war in the state.

This book covers the two Westernmost tiers of counties in Missouri, those that border Kansas. They were the hardest hit in the vicious border fighting of Bleeding Kansas and things would only get worse once the war started in earnest.

The Border Wars can boil blood even today, so it's refreshing that Wood covers the subject with an even hand, doling out praise and blame to those who deserve it regardless of what side they were on. The tit-for-tat burnings of Osceola and Humboldt are a perfect example of how both sides inflicted unnecessary suffering on civilians and his chapter on this is especially good.

Another interesting chapter covers the Skirmish at Island Mound, where the First Kansas Colored Volunteers became the first black unit of the American army to see combat. They fought off a much larger force of Confederate irregulars and went a long way to changing public attitudes about the ability of black soldiers.

There are also chapters on Shelby's 1863 raid, Price's retreat after his disastrous 1864 campaign, and the two battles of Newtonia. This last chapter has since been expanded by the author into a full book. It's high on my "to read" list. Additional chapters cover the small skirmishes and deadly personal rivalries that were rife in this part of Missouri.

While narrow in geographic scope, regional studies such as this one are valuable in giving readers a view of what in was really like to live in those days. Wood has been very productive and I hope he continues comes out with more books in the future.

This is a review for the second edition, published in 2003. Wood says it has been completely revised and has two new chapters. Make sure you get the second edition.



View all my reviews

Civil War Video Friday: Rapping about the 54th Massachusetts

This is usually Civil War Photo Friday, but I just heard about this great video about the famous black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts. It's very professionally done even though the rappers look like they're in high school. Nice to see kids who know their history! Thanks to Jimmy Price over at the Sable Arm for bringing this to my attention.