A History of the Negro Troops in the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865
- Engraved frontispiece, plate of medals. [v]-xvi, 353, [1]pp, plus 12-pages of ads in the rear. 8vo
- New York: Harper & Brothers, 1888
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1888. First edition. Engraved frontispiece, plate of medals. [v]-xvi, 353, [1]pp, plus 12-pages of ads in the rear. 8vo. Publisher's pictorial cloth gilt, a bit cocked, spine darkened, worn at joints and top and tail of spine. Internally clean. First edition. Engraved frontispiece, plate of medals. [v]-xvi, 353, [1]pp, plus 12-pages of ads in the rear. 8vo. George Washington Williams' highly-regarded History is perhaps the best of the 19th-century histories of African Americans in the Civil War. Williams, a Black soldier himself, an officer of the Sixth Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, and a veteran of the Mexican War, is identified on the titlepage as "colonel and late judge advocate in the grand army of the Republic...." He participated in many of the battles herein described, including "the most severe conflicts of Negro troops with the enemy in Virginia."
In his Preface, Williams states that he has "undertaken to write a military history of Negro troops in the War of the Rebellion. I have written only of the military services of Negro troops; and I have used the generic word Negro because, while many mulattoes were in the service, the Negroes preponderated to an overwhelming degree." Williams touches on his own military career, discusses his methods of research, lists the names of those who were "sources of information," and provides an overview of the finished work. He concludes the Preface as such: "I commit this story of the Negro's martial prowess to my countrymen, regardless of section or race, creed or party, entertaining the belief that neither sectional malice nor party rancor can ever obliterate a record that is now, happily in the progress of events, not only the proud and priceless heritage of a race, but the glory of a nation."
"The best of the first three full-length studies of the subject; anecdotal, detailed, heavy with official reports and correspondence..." (Nevins). Nevins I, p. 216; Lib. Company Afro-Americana, 11239
In his Preface, Williams states that he has "undertaken to write a military history of Negro troops in the War of the Rebellion. I have written only of the military services of Negro troops; and I have used the generic word Negro because, while many mulattoes were in the service, the Negroes preponderated to an overwhelming degree." Williams touches on his own military career, discusses his methods of research, lists the names of those who were "sources of information," and provides an overview of the finished work. He concludes the Preface as such: "I commit this story of the Negro's martial prowess to my countrymen, regardless of section or race, creed or party, entertaining the belief that neither sectional malice nor party rancor can ever obliterate a record that is now, happily in the progress of events, not only the proud and priceless heritage of a race, but the glory of a nation."
"The best of the first three full-length studies of the subject; anecdotal, detailed, heavy with official reports and correspondence..." (Nevins). Nevins I, p. 216; Lib. Company Afro-Americana, 11239