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On the Altar of Freedom
A Black Soldier’s Civil War Letters from the Front
Named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review
A History Book Club Selection
The remarkable Civil War letters of an African American soldier
"Our correspondent, 'J.H.G.', is a member of Co. C., of the 54th Massachusetts
regiment. He is a colored man belonging to this city, and his letters are
printed by us, verbatim et literatim as we receive them. He is a
truthful and intelligent correspondent, and a good soldier."
The Editors, New Bedford (Massachusetts) Mercury, August 1863
"These letters are a rare find. I know of nothing else like them for
black soldiers in the Civil War. They give an unparalleled picture of the
activities and thoughts of a black regiment by one of its enlisted men.
And best of all, these letters are about the most famous of all the black
regiments, recently made even more famous by the movie Glory."
James M. McPherson
"The story of the 54th is irresistible. .... Gooding chronicles his
regiment's progress from training camp through its first campaign in Georgia,
the struggle for Fort Wagner in 1863 (in which half the regiment fell before
the rebel guns) and the long, frustrating siege of Charleston that followed,
but he is at his best arguing against the twin injustices of denying black
soldiers the promotions and equal pay their bravery and sacrifice should
have dictated."
New York Times Book Review (front-page review)
"[Gooding] was well read— allusions range from classical antiquity
to Dickens—and a shrewd, witty, and opinionated observer of military
life and the conduct of the war."
New Yorker
"Pithy and poignant. ..... Adams ably augments the remarkable series
of letters with an insightful introduction, fact-filled annotations, and
appendixes that expand our understanding of the 54th's men, their place
and time, and their war. Highly recommended."
Library Journal
"This excellent work will appeal to Civil War scholars and laypersons
alike."
Civil War History
Virginia M. Adams is librarian emerita of the Old Dartmouth Historical Society's Whaling Museum Library in New Bedford.
American History / Black
Studies
200 pp., 29 illustrations
LC 91-39
$19.95s paper, ISBN 1-55849-202-X
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