2002 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 00-012802
06 05 04 03 02 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 0-87338-709-0
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wilson, Keith P., 1944
Campfires of freedom : the camp life of black soldiers during the Civil War / Keith P. Wilson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-87338-709-0 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 18611865Participation, African American.
2. African American soldiersHistory19th century.
3. African American soldiersSocial conditions19th century.
4. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 18611865Social aspects.
5. United States. ArmyMilitary lifeHistory19th century.
I. Title: Campfires of freedom. II. Title.
E540.N3 .W72 2000
973.7'415dc21 00-012802
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication data are available.
The Civil War liberated millions of slaves and radically changed the face of U.S. society. Black soldiers were active participants in this process of revolutionary change. Certainly Sgt. Alexander Newton, a former North Carolina slave, was acutely aware of the momentous changes that had been wrought by the triumph of Union arms. As he marched through the streets of New York in a victory parade, he proudly reflected upon the way the black soldiers military service had helped to turn the tide of public opinion: And we were inwardly revolving the thought that as Black men we had done our part in bringing about a change of sentiment that would make a new city out of New York and every other city in the Union. And we felt that it was but just that we should receive some of the plaudits of praise and reward. When we passed down Broadway in front of the St. Nicholas Hotel, the flags of the Nation and of the state were suddenly hoisted by a Colored man and we gave three lusty cheers for the flag and country and home.
While Sergeant Newton may have exaggerated the change in racial attitudes brought by black war service, the sincerity of the three lusty cheers for flag and country and home could not be denied. It was a vocal affirmation of the soldiers new status as free men. Black soldiers knew that the Union army had placed them at the vanguard of change, and for this reason the cheering was loud and long.
The Union army was an expression of the society from which it had sprung. The objectives for which it fought, and the way it fought, were determined largely by the Norths expectations of war. As a formative institution, it left its mark on all recruits. The newly arrived German migrants from New York, the Ohio farmers, and the Boston Irish all had to adjust to army life. Although these soldiers never lost their ethnicity and antebellum cultural traditions, there was a sense in which military service changed their lives. The Union army was, therefore, an agent for social integration. When blacks entered in the army, they too were subjected to these powerful forces. However, because their cultural traditions were so alien to the society from which the army sprang, and because the legacy of racism was so strong, the
If the black soldiers life was fraught with hardship and difficulty, military service did provide him with an opportunity to make the transition from slavery to freedom and lay claim to the privileges of citizenship. The time-honored goals of military service, for example, parade-ground drill, weapon training, picket and guard duty, changed the soldiers perception of his role in American society. He gained in confidence as he fought against the rebels on the battlefield and against discrimination in camp. Therefore, social reconstruction was occurring in black regiments concurrently with the social reconstruction in the Southern states. Although this intramilitary reconstruction was less violent than its social counterpart, lacked precise political direction, and was enmeshed in regimental orders and regulations rather than in statutes and legislative procedures, it was by no means less meaningful.
In order to describe the change that occurred in the soldiers lives, I have relied upon the work of a number of social historians, especially John Blassingame, Herbert Gutman, and Charles Joyner, whose work helped me to shape the purpose of my study, and Lawrence Levine. All describe cultural change in the slave quarters as an interaction between the past and the present, tradition and environment. Their analyses place the slaves at the center. They depict slaves not as passive victims but as active agents of change. This process of creative interaction did not end with emancipation. The Freedmen and Southern Society Project reminds us that in throwing off habitual restraints, freed men and women redesigned their lives in ways that spoke eloquently of their hidden life in bondage, revealing clandestine institutions, long cherished beliefs, and deeply held values. The projects monumental history of the transition from slavery to freedom, Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 18611867, especially Series 2: The Black Military Experience, has proved a rich mine of information. In common with Ira Berlin and his fellow editors, I have depicted black military service as an essentially liberating and empowering process.
Camp life represents but a small fragment of the black Americans liberating experience. Much remains to be examined before a more detailed picture can be drawn of the transition from slavery to freedom Nevertheless, the army camp is a rich site for historical excavation; army life itself was similar enough to the plantation to encourage cultural continuity and transfer, but different enough to stimulate cultural re-creation and change.
The black soldiers had to make a number of important personal adjustments to adapt to the demanding routine of military service. In the process their cultural values were challenged. Campfires of Freedom examines this reaction and analyzes the process of cultural change by describing life in the black army camps.
The first purpose of this book, then, is to describe the soldiers lives in their camps. This particular description is not based on analysis of any particular regiment or geographical area. It is a composite, a collage of collected memories gleaned from white officers and black soldiers alike. Encompassing the great variety of human experiences that are described is the institutional framework of the army. Army regulations, customs, and the chain of command gave order and a degree of meaning to a bewildering plethora of experiences; a stamp of commonality was left on all soldiers.
The second purpose of this book is to bring into focus the emotional texture of military life, to describe the dreams, aspirations, ambitions, and desires of the common soldier. Of course, this attempt to explore the collective memories of the black soldiers is a complex task. It is one thing to describe the pattern of human behavior but quite another to understand it and offer a comprehensive, rational explanation. However, an explanation must be attempted if the soldiers life is to be understood.
