The families' Civil War : Black soldiers and the fight for racial justice

This book tells the stories of freeborn northern African Americans in Philadelphia struggling to maintain families while fighting against racial discrimination. Taking a long view, from 1850 to the 1920s, Holly A. Pinheiro Jr. shows how Civil War military service worsened already difficult circumstances due to its negative effects on family finances, living situations, minds, and bodies. At least seventy-nine thousand African Americans served in northern USCT regiments. Many, including most of the USCT veterans examined here, remained in the North and constituted a sizable population of racial minorities living outside the former Confederacy. In The Families’ Civil War , Holly A. Pinheiro Jr. provides a compelling account of the lives of USCT soldiers and their entire families but also argues that the Civil War was but one engagement in a longer war for racial justice. By 1863 the Civil War provided African American Philadelphians with the ability to expand the theater of war beyond their metropolitan and racially oppressive city into the South to defeat Confederates and end slavery as armed combatants. But the war at home waged by white northerners never ended. Civil War soldiers are sometimes described together as men who experienced roughly the same thing during the war. However, this book acknowledges how race and class differentiated men’s experiences too. Pinheiro examines the intersections of gender, race, class, and region to fully illuminate the experiences of northern USCT soldiers and their families. "This book tells the stories of freeborn northern African Americans in Philadelphia struggling to maintain families while fighting against racial discrimination from 1850 to the 1910s. Civil War military service worsened their already difficult circumstances due to its negative effects on their finances, living situations, minds, and bodies. At least 79,000 African American served in northern USCT regiments. A number of them, including most of the USCT veterans examined here, remained in the North and comprised a sizeable population of racial minorities living outside of the former Confederacy. In The Families' Civil War, Pinheiro provides a compelling account of the lives of USCT soldiers and their entire families, but also argues that Civil War was one battle in a longer war for racial justice. By 1863, the Civil War provided African American Philadelphians with the ability to expand the theater of war beyond their metropolitan and racially oppressive city into the South to defeat Confederates and end slavery as armed combatants. But, the war at home waged by white northerners never ended. The Civil War has and continues to remain a topic that fascinates many Americans. Civil War soldiers often get all lumped together as men who experienced roughly the same thing during the war, as men. However, this book acknowledges how race and class differentiated men's experiences too. Pinheiro examines the intersections of gender, race, class, and region-to fully illuminate the experiences of northern USCT soldiers"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: The African American Family in the Free North Chapter 2: The United States Needs African American Men Chapter 3: The Idealism versus the Realism of Military Service Chapter 4: Familial Hardships during the Civil War Chapter 5: Reconstructing the Northern African American Family Chapter 6: USCT Families in an Industrializing Nation Epilogue Appendix I: Methodology Appendix II: Philadelphian-Born United States Colored Infantry (USCI) Soldiers Notes Index