Freedom's Soldiers

Freedom's Soldiers tells the story of the 200,000 black men who fought in the Civil War, in their own words and those of eyewitnesses.

When nearly 200,000 black men, mostly former slaves, entered the Civil War, they transformed it into a struggle for liberty and changed the course of American history. Freedom's Soldiers tells those men's story in their words and those of eyewitnesses. These letters, affidavits, and memorials reveal the variety and complexity of the African-American experience during the era of emancipation.When nearly 200,000 black men, most of them former slaves, entered the Union army and navy, they transformed the Civil War into a struggle for liberty and changed the course of American history. Freedom's Soldiers tells the story of those men in their own words and the words of other eyewitnesses. These moving letters, affidavits, and memorials - drawn from the records of the National Archives - reveal the variety and complexity of the African-American experience during the era of emancipation.