When Abraham Lincoln issued his final Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, he not only freed the slaves in the Confederate states but also invited freed slaves and free persons of colour to join the U.S. Army as part of the U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), the first systematic, large-scale effort by the U.S. government to arm African Americans to aid in the nation’s defense. By the end of the war in 1865, nearly 180,000 black soldiers had fought for the Union. Lincoln’s role in the arming of African Americans remains a central but unfortunately obscure part of one of the most compelling periods in American history. In Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops John David Smith offers a concise, enlightening exploration of the development of Lincoln’s military emancipation project, its implementation, and the recruitment and deployment of black troops.
Though scholars have written much on emancipation and the USCT, Smith’s work frames the evolution of Lincoln’s ideas on emancipation and arming blacks within congressional actions, explaining how, when, and why the president seemed to be so halting in his progression to military emancipation. After tracing Lincoln’s evolution from opposing to supporting emancipation as a necessary war measure and to championing the recruitment of black troops for the Union Army, Smith details the creation, mobilization, and diverse military service of the USCT. He assesses the hardships under which the men of the USCT served, including the multiple forms of discrimination from so-called friends and foes alike, and examines the broad meaning of Lincoln’s military emancipation project and its place in African American historical memory.
About the Author :
John David Smith, the Charles H. Stone Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, is the author, editor, or coeditor of twenty-four books, including Black Judas: William Hannibal Thomas and “The American Negro”, Black Soldiers in Blue: African American Troops in the Civil War Era, and An Old Creed for the New South. Smith also edits nine book series.
Review :
Smith, John David
Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops
Carbondale: Southern Illinois
University Press
156 pp., $24.95,
ISBN 978-0-8093-3290-8
Publication Date: November 2013 Those who teach a course on the American Civil War to undergraduates are ever on the lookout for suitable supplementary readings. These readings must be short enough not to tax an undergraduate's attention span, yet sufficiently scholarly to satisfy the instructor's professional scruples. They need to avoid drums-and-bugles romanticism on one hand and dry historiographic nitpicking on the other. Even with the vast literature on the
Civil War, books that meet these requirements are hard to find. Now, Southern Illinois University Press has come to the rescue with the Concise Lincoln Library, a baker's dozen of monographs by well-known Civil War scholars, expressly designed to serve as supplementary reading. Each is short (the volume at hand has only 115 pages of text), and all carry the magic name "Lincoln" in the title.
Some of these titles might seem too narrowly specialized for their purpose, such as Gregory A. Borchard's Abraham
Lincoln and Horace Greeley (2011), and others, such as Michael Burlingame's Lincoln and the Civil War (2011), might be too broad. However, John David Smith, distinguished professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and author of a well-received book on black soldiers, strikes just the right balance in Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops. Furthermore, the subject is currently hot enough to make this volume, I suspect, the most likely to attract classroom adoptions.
That black soldiers fought for the Union cause should no longer come as a surprise, even to first-year students, since that once-ignored subject has lately been the subject of books, TV documentaries and big-budget movies, such as Glory. In retrospect, it would seem that the Union employment of black troops was simple common sense: they added to northern strength and, at the same time, weakened the Confederacy by depriving it of much needed manpower. Yet it took almost half the war before President Lincoln authorized the full-scale recruitment of black soldiers. His hesitation roused the indignation of Frederick Douglass, who blamed it on what he called the president's "contempt for Negroes and his canting hypocrisy" (20).
However, Smith, in the strongest section of the book, painstakingly traces Lincoln's step-by-step evolution on the subject, as he carefully walked a tightrope stretched between the moral imperative of emancipation and the practical necessity of placating the prejudiced whites of the border states until they were securely attached to the Union.
Once enlisted, the United States Colored Troops acquitted themselves well in dozens of battles, winning the respect of white soldiers who fought alongside them and rousing the fury of Confederates, who often butchered those taken prisoner. Their contribution to the Union victory leads Smith to the dubious claim that black soldiers had a greater effect on American race relations--and American history-- than Lincoln himself. Despite such occasional hyperbole, Smith succeeds in his goal of crafting a concise, readable survey of a significant aspect of the American Civil War. His book deserves to enjoy many classroom adoptions.
That being said, it should also be noted that the severe space limitations imposed by the format of the series mean that some corners have to be cut. The most serious omission, to my mind, is the absence of a bibliography, or at least some suggestions for further reading.
Having captured the attention of his young readers, Smith owes them some guidance if they care to learn more.
ALLAN PESKIN
Cleveland State University, Emeritus
Copyright _ 2015 Taylor Francis
--Allan Peskin "History: Reviews of New Books" (10/1/2015 12:00:00 AM)
"Well-crafted and concise, this book is both a good basic survey of USCT history and a useful study of Lincoln's status among his black troops."--Choice
"[Smith] has written a riveting, often neglected half of this transformative project. It's a must read for anyone interested in African American soldiers, Abraham Lincoln, and the Civil War."--The Civil War Book Review
"John David Smith has written an excellent book on a major topic, and it deserves a wide reading."--Civil War News
"A fine, concise exploration of the formation, engagement, sacrifices, and contributions of the USCT during the Civil War, rich with primary source material and alive with the voices of those who participated in this transformative development in American history."--Elizabeth D. Leonard, author of Men of Color to Arms! Black Soldiers, Indian Wars, and the Quest for Equality
"John David Smith, the preeminent expert on African American troops in the Civil War, has produced a deeply insightful study. Herein Smith shows clearly and conclusively that Abraham Lincoln made black soldiers the very linchpin of his decisions for winning the war, saving the Union, destroying slavery, and leading America toward the hope of racial equality."--T. Michael Parrish, Baylor University
"Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation not only freed the slaves but also armed African American men. Focusing on the more neglected half of this transformative project, Smith examines Lincoln's journey from opponent of the enlistment of black soldiers to a soldier's champion, recounts blacks' recruitment and mobilization, and analyzes the evolution of their roles from manual laborers to garrison troops, and finally to fighting men. Smith tells this large and significant story clearly, economically, and persuasively."--James L. Roark, Emory University
"Smith succeeds in his goal of crafting a concise, readable survey of a significant aspect of the American Civil War. His book deserves to enjoy many classroom adoptions." --Allan Peskin, History: Reviews of New Books
"[The book] is an excellent read for anyone who wants to see how Grant evolved as a commander, and how a Civil War army was commanded."--Timothy Smith, StrategyPage
"Smith's approach in this tidy volume reflects the excellent work of the scholars who contributed essays to a volume Smith edited in 2004 titled Black Soldiers in Blue: African American Troops in the Civil War Era. In fact, that book of essays in combination with Smith's succinct general narrative in Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops would provide students a broad understanding of this fascinating topic. At the end of his book, Smith offers readers some glimpses of how Abraham Lincoln's steps towards emancipation, particularly the use of black troops, "empowered African Americans and changed America" (115). "--Stacy Pratt McDermott, Lincoln in Brief: A Review Essay --Stacy Pratt Mcdermott "The Annals of Iowa/State Historical Society of Iowa" (5/31/2017 12:00:00 AM)
