The Negro in the Civil War

by Benjamin Arthur Quarles

Quarles writes powerfully about the role of three-and-a-half million blacks in the South, who were impressed into non-combatant service building forts and entrenchments, working in factories and mines. In the North, black Americans fought with distinction on the front lines, shedding blood for an ideal-emancipation-that was cruelly betrayed during Reconstruction.

Genres: History, Civil War, American Civil War, American History, African American

404 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Quarles was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a subway porter. He married twice, first to Vera Bullock Quarles, who died in 1951, and second to Ruth Brett Quarles. He had two daughters, Pamela and Roberta.

In his Twenties, Quarles enrolled at Shaw University and received his B.A. degree in 1931, M.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1933, and Ph.D. in 1940. He worked as an instructor of history at Shaw University, Raleigh, North Carolina (1935–39), a professor and dean at Dillard University, New Orleans, Louisiana (1939–1953), and a professor of history and chair of department at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland (1953–1974). At Morgan, Quarles reached near legendary status as the long-time head of the History Department, a revered teacher and counselor, an intellectual and professional mentor for two generations of African American scholars. Many of his books were required reading in the African American history courses that sprang up in eastern American Universities during the 1960s.

He was an active member of many political and historical organizations such as Project Advisory Committee on Black Congress Members, Department of the Army Historical Advisory Committee, and American Council of Learned Societies. He was one of the few men in the profession who openly supported the founding of the Association of Black Women Historians.

Quarles died of a heart attack at age of 92. In 1988 Morgan State University dedicated The Benjamin A. Quarles African-American Studies Room in the school library as a repository for his books, manuscripts, and memorabilia.

Reviews

[robin friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Study Of The African American Civil War Experience

Benjamin Quarles's "The Negro in the Civil War" first appeared in 1953, before the Supreme Court's watershed decision in Brown v. Board of Education. At the time the book was written, little public attention was given to the role of African-Americans in the Civil War. This situation changed dramatically only with the movie "Glory" which brought the charge of African-American troops on Fort Wagner, South Carolina in July, 1863 (days after the Battle of Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg) into public consciousness.

In some respects, including its terminology and writing style, Quarles's book shows its age. But the book remains an excellent introduction to the many ways in which African-Americans participated in the Civil War. In its understanding of the causes and results of the War, the book still has a great deal to teach the reader today.

In the eloquent "Foreword" to the book, Quarles describes the Civil War as an immediate consequence of the institution of slavery. This is an important insight, and it was not the most commonly accepted view of the Civil War in 1953. (It is still debated today.) Quarles also takes a very positive view of the United States and of the ability of the American people to realize and reshape the ideals that were partially expressed in our country's founding documents and to work to realize the liberty of all people within our nation. He views the Civil War struggle and the role of African-Americans within it as imbued with patriotism and idealism. He takes a hopeful view of the ability of our country to move forward and implement its ideals. Quarles thus explains eloquently how the Civil War remains highly important in understanding the United States and where it is going.

The book covers the military, political, and social history of African-Americans in the Civil War. By the end of the War, African-Americans comprised approximately 8% of the Union Army. Quarles describes the role of African-American soldiers in the Battles of Fort Wagner, mentioned above, Petersburg, Wilson's Landing, Nashville, and Milliken's Bend. (He is very short with Fort Pillow and the massacre of African-American soldiers by troops of Nathan Bedford Forrest). The book covers the recruitment of the African-American troops, their enthusiasm and commitment, and makes clear the great role they played in the War effort.

The book includes an excellent study of the President Lincoln's actions culminating in the Emancipation Proclamation in making the end of slavery an express goal of the War. He also describes how, in 1863, the conduct of the War changed from a relatively limited conflict aimed at suppressing the succession effort to a total war with the goal of changing the fabric of American society. There is considerable emphasis on General Sherman and his destructive march though Georgia and South Carolina.

There is fascinating material in the book about African-American schools before and during the Civil War era. Quarles describes well how African-Americans in both the North and the South were eager to learn and to study to make their way as free people within the United States. There is good discussion too of African-American societies and organizations and political leaders in the United States during the War years. Much of this information may still be relatively unfamiliar to many readers.

Commendably, Quarles describes as well the efforts many African-Americans made in the South in support of the Confederate war effort. This effort may be slighted in modern studies. While many slaves crossed the lines and escaped from slavery as the Union armies advanced, others remained loyal to the South. Both free African-Americans and those held as slaves contributed money and services to the South's war effort. Just weeks before the end of the War, the South decided to accept African-American soldiers in its armies and offered manumission to those who would participate in the war effort. Of course, by the time it reached this decision, it made little difference to the outcome of the war.

This book remains a basic source for those wishing to understand the African-American Civil War experience and African-American history.

Robin Friedman

[Nacho Gaitan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book had many interesting facts some of which I had never encountered but somehow it was a slow and difficult read.

[Kaleb Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broad, sweeping look at the role of Black people during the American Civil War. Working as scouts, fundraisers, soldiers, nurses, sailors, and agitators behind Confederate lines, free and enslaved Africans were constant agents of change pushing for full emancipation. This book does a great job at examining different facets of the lives of Black folk during the Civil War to uncover a world much more rich with intrigue and quiet revolt than many of us have traditionally been taught; from influencing the presidents of each American nation directly, to working behind southern lines to prepare roads and provisions for advancing northern armies, to raising funds internationally for the cause of emancipation, the Civil War was a staging ground for the civil rights movement that has continued to battle for racial parity in the United States. This read also does a great job of explaining Abraham Lincoln and the American public’s views of Black people and how emancipation came as a necessity of the Northern cause, not as a political preferred option for most Yankees. A necessary read for anyone interested in the history of America and/or Black folks in America.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work explores the roles of black Americans during the Civil War and the problems and discrimination that faced them.