Early in the Civil War; Louisiana's Confederate government sanctioned a militia unit of black troops; the Louisiana Native Guards. Intended as a response to demands from members of New Orleans' substantial free black population that they be permitted to participate in the defense of their state; the unit was used by Confederate authorities for public display and propaganda purposes but was not allowed to fight. After the fall of New Orleans; General Benjamin F. Butler brought the Native Guards into Federal military service and increased their numbers with runaway slaves. He intended to use the troops for guard duty and heavy labor. His successor; Nathaniel P. Banks; did not trust the black Native Guard officers; and as he replaced them with white commanders; the mistreatment and misuse of the black troops steadily increased. The first large-scale deployment of the Native Guards occurred in May; 1863; during the Union siege of Port Hudson; Louisiana; when two of their regiments were ordered to storm an impregnable hilltop position. Although the soldiers fought valiantly; the charge was driven back with extensive losses. The white officers and the northern press praised the tenacity and fighting ability of the black troops; but they were still not accepted on the same terms as their white counterparts. After the war; Native Guard veterans took up the struggle for civil rights - in particular; voting rights - for Louisiana's black population. The Louisiana Native Guards is the first account to consider that struggle. By documenting their endeavors through Reconstruction; James G. Hollandsworth places the Native Guards' military service in the broader context of a civil rights movement thatpredates more recent efforts by a hundred years. This remarkable work presents a vivid picture of men eager to prove their courage and ability to a world determined to exploit and demean them.
#246888 in Books Louisiana State University Press 1991-08-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.04 x .68 x 6.06l; .96 #File Name: 0807117234344 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. "Texas *must* be a slave country..." - Stephen F. Austin (1833)By Jim SchmidtI had first intended to only skim and consult this book as background reading for a chapter I was writing on slavery in Galveston; TX; but the author's research; writing; and arguments were so compelling I read it from beginning to end.I am not a a native Texan and although I lived year for a couple years during elementary school I never took Texas history. For me; the first few chapters of the book were an excellent primer on Texas's founding; independence as Republic; path to statehood; and decision to secede...the first few chapters were also a revelation for on every page and in every step from founding to secession the founders of Texas made clear how important slavery would be to its settlement and future growth and did everything possible to insure the "Peculiar Institution's" survival. The workings of the Mexican government and legislature in the 1830s and 40s was very interesting; indeed.The sections on the lives of slaves - the breakup of families; religion; music; work conditions; etc. - was taken from slave narratives as much as possible. I would have liked to have seen much more material on the medical care of Texas slaves; a subject which merits only a page or so in this book; but that is due to my own special interests and not an obligation on the author. There is little comparison between the lives of slaves in Texas and other slave states; but the author maintains that is because there was little difference; and - in a statement that made a great impression on me - he declares that it matters little whether slavery was better or worse in Texas than elsewhere...the argument is "morally pointless": "the moral nature of a system that held human as property would remain the same" whether conditions were "better" or "worse" in Texas.I especially liked the section on how Texans viewed abolitionists in the years leading up to the Civil War and how they were subjected to severe vigilante justice; also known as: murder. That section in the book reinforced other reading I have been doing on Texas abolitionists and Unionists.The book is written as an academic study and is impeccable researched. The footnotes (yeah! love them so much more than endnotes!) and bibliography are worth the price of the book themselves and will provide excellent avenues and leads for future research.Excellent. Just excellent.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Ashley K. StuckiFascinating read.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. ExcellentBy HDAJExcellent single volume coverage of the history of slavery in Texas. Campbell is an excellent research and gifted writer.
