Make way for liberty : Wisconsin African Americans in the Civil War

Hundreds of African American soldiers and regimental employees represented Wisconsin in the Civil War, and many of them lived in the state either before or after the conflict. And yet, if these individuals are mentioned at all in histories of the state, it is with a sentence or two about their small numbers, or the belief that they all were from slaveholding states and served as substitutes for Wisconsin draftees. Relative to the total number of Badgers who served in the Civil War, African Americans soldiers were few, but they constituted a significant number in at least five regiments of the United States Colored Infantry and several other companies. Their lives before and after the war in rural communities, small towns, and cities form an enlightening story of acceptance and respect for their service but rejection and discrimination based on their race. Make Way for Liberty will bring clarity to the questions of how many African Americans represented Wisconsin during the conflict, who among them lived in the state before and after the war, and their impact on their communities "Hundreds of African-American soldiers represented Wisconsin in the Civil War, and many of them lived in the state before and/or after the conflict. If these soldiers are mentioned at all in histories of the state during that time, it is with a sentence or two about their small numbers, or the belief that they were all from slaveholding states and served as substitutes for Wisconsin draftees. Make Way For Liberty will bring clarity to the question of how many African American men represented Wisconsin during the conflict, who among them lived in the state before and after the war, and the impact that their presence had on their communities. The experience of these veterans will be placed in the context of the history of African American settlement and immigration to the state in the late 19th and early 20th centuries."-- Provided by publisher