In 1967, Nigeria was plunged into a brutal civil war with secessionist Biafra. The war, which lasted for 30 months and led to the death of over one million ethnic Igbo, has been described as the first genocide in post-colonial Africa. Although much has been written about the Nigeria Civil war, most of what has been written remains the perspectives of the major actors and generals who conducted the war. This book, through careful analysis of the experiences of those who witnessed the war on the Biafra side as well as other primary and archival sources, brings to life the Civil War-time trials and tribulations of ordinary Biafrans. Focusing primarily on the Biafran side of that civil war, the book reexamines the civil war from the perspective of non-military support of the war effort and the lingering human costs of that conflict. It also presents the Biafra experience in the context of issues of genocide, the role of humanitarian and international civil or advocacy groups; International Organizations and conflict resolution; and the impact of the Cold War and resources control (oil) in shaping the contours of the Nigeria-Biafra War. Based on personal experiences of the Biafra-Nigeria War, this book speaks to some elements in the causes of the war, the actual conduct of the war on both sides, and the underlying genocidal rather than political motivations for the war. As Michael J. C. Echeruo notes "Biafra should stand in the world's conscience as a monument to the possibility of successfully resisting 'final solutions.'"' This is an important book for collections in African studies, history, international studies, and political science.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History The unforgettable saga of one enslaved woman's fight for justice-and reparations Born into slavery, Henrietta Wood was taken to Cincinnati and legally freed in 1848. In 1853, a Kentucky deputy sheriff named Zebulon Ward colluded with Wood's employer, abducted her, and sold her back into bondage. She remained enslaved throughout the Civil War, giving birth to a son in Mississippi and never forgetting who had put her in this position. By 1869, Wood had obtained her freedom for a second time and returned to Cincinnati, where she sued Ward for damages in 1870. Astonishingly, after eight years of litigation, Wood won her case: in 1878, a Federal jury awarded her $2,500. The decision stuck on appeal. More important than the amount, though the largest ever awarded by an American court in restitution for slavery, was the fact that any money was awarded at all. By the time the case was decided, Ward had become a wealthy businessman and a pioneer of convict leasing in the South. Wood's son later became a prominent Chicago lawyer, and she went on to live until 1912. McDaniel's book is an epic tale of a black woman who survived slavery twice and who achieved more than merely a moral victory over one of her oppressors. Above all, Sweet Taste of Liberty is a portrait of an extraordinary individual as well as a searing reminder of the lessons of her story, which establish beyond question the connections between slavery and the prison system that rose in its place.

This is the first scholarly analysis of The London American, the pro-Union propaganda journal published in London during the American Civil War, and the motives and troubles of its proprietor, John Adams Knight, a Northern American based in the British capital. The newspaper s successes and failures in attempts to manipulate British public opinion during the war are compared with that of The Index, its rival Confederate propaganda weekly headquartered two doors down London s Fleet Street. Persuading John Bull provides scholars and general readers alike a far greater understanding of the largely unknown Northern newspaper s motivations and campaigns during the war, as well as an in-depth analysis of The Index which builds greatly on present historiographical discussions of the Southern journal. It also offers new insights into Britain s roles in the conflict, Anglo-American relations, and Mid-Victorian British political and social history. The book is not restricted to discussing the two propaganda machines as its focus they are used to approach a greater analysis of British public opinion during the American Civil War both journals were strongly associated with numerous key figures, societies (British and American), and events occurring on both sides of the Atlantic pertaining to the conflict. Although propaganda is only one source from which to tap, the effectiveness of the two lobbyist journals either directly or indirectly impacted other factors influencing Britain s ultimate decision to remain neutral. This book reveals a fresh new cast of Union supporters in London, in addition to more Confederate sympathizers throughout Britain not previously discussed by scholars. The roles of these new figures, how and why they endorsed the Northern or Southern war effort, is analyzed in detail throughout the chapters, adding greatly to existing historiography."

The first book-length treatment of an important Confederate regiment composed mostly of Irish immigrants who were involved in most of the important Civil War battles in the East.

As the American Civil War recedes into the past, popular fascination continues to rise. Once a matter that chiefly concerned veterans, separately organized North and South, who gathered to refight old battles and to memorialize the heroes and victims of war, the Civil War has gradually become part of a collective heritage. Issues raised by the war, including its causes and consequences, reverberate through contemporary society. Family and community connections with the war exist everywhere, as do battlefields, memorials, and other physical reminders of the conflict. We, as Americans, are fascinated by the sheer magnitude of the war fought over thousands of miles of American soil and resulting in awesome casualties. It was a gigantic national drama enacted by people who seem both contemporary and remote. Here for the first time, leading Civil War scholars gather to sort out the fact and fiction of our collective memories. Contributors include Pulitzer Prize-winner Mark E. Neely, Jr., Alan T. Nolan, John Y. Simon, James I. 'Bud' Robertson, Jr., Gary W. Gallagher, Joseph T. Glatthaar, and Ervin L. Jordan, Jr.

The 38th Virginia Infantry was organized in May and June of 1861, in the southern Virginia counties of Pittsylvania, Halifax, and Mecklenburg. Seven of the ten Companies were recruited in Pittsylvania, thus it was called the Pittsylvania Regiment. Less than a year prior, census takers unknowingly finished recording for posterity the men who would go to war. An in depth study shows seven Virginia counties and six North Carolina counties bordering the recruitment area of Pittsylvania, Halifax, and Mecklenburg would contribute men to the 38th Virginia. The 38th Virginia Infantry was in the field of battle from Yorktown in April of 1862, to Appomattox on April 9, 1865. The largest losses suffered were at battles of 7 Pines, Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, Chester Station, and the 2nd Battle of Drewry's Bluff. Herein is detail on the orders of battles, the prison camps endured, and the names of parents and wives of the soldiers, with focus on the census of 1860.

The Civil War on Film will inform high school and college readers interested in Civil War film history on issues that arise when film viewers confuse entertainment with historical accuracy. The nation's years of civil war were painful, destructive, and unpleasant. Yet war films tend to embrace mythologies that erase that historical reality, romanticizing the Civil War. The editors of this volume have little patience for any argument that implies race-based slavery isn't an entirely repugnant economic, political, and cultural institution and that the people who fought to preserve slavery were fighting for a glorious and admirable cause. To that end, The Civil War on Film will open with a timeline and introduction and then explore ten films across decades of cinema history in ten chapters, from Birth of a Nation, which debuted in 1915, to The Free State of Jones, which debuted one hundred and one years later. It will also analyze and critique the myriad of mythologies and ideologies which appear in American Civil War films, including Lost Cause ideation, Black Confederate fictions, Northern Aggression mythologies, and White Savior tropes. It will also suggest the way particular films mirror the time in which they were written and filmed. Further resources will close the volume. Makes clear that depictions of the Civil War on film are often mythologized Analyzes films in a manner that shows students the historical context in which the films were made and viewed Goes beyond just synopses and historical facts, helping students to develop critical thinking skills Stimulates debate over the various ways the war was interpreted and experienced

To date, most texts regarding higher education in the Civil War South focus on the widespread closure of academies. In contrast, Persistence through Peril: Episodes of College Life and Academic Endurance in the Civil War South brings to life several case histories of southern colleges and universities that persisted through the perilous war years. Contributors tell these stories via the lived experiences of students, community members, professors, and administrators as they strove to keep their institutions going. Despite the large-scale cessation of many southern academies due to student military enlistment, resource depletion, and campus destruction, some institutions remained open for the majority or entirety of the war. These institutions-"The Citadel" South Carolina Military Academy, Mercer University, Mississippi College, the University of North Carolina, Spring Hill College, Trinity College of Duke University, Tuskegee Female College, the University of Virginia, the Virginia Military Institute, Wesleyan Female College, and Wofford College-continued to operate despite low student numbers, encumbered resources, and faculty ranks stripped bare by conscription or voluntary enlistment. This volume considers academic and organizational perseverance via chapter "episodes" that highlight the daily operations, struggles, and successes of select southern institutions. Through detailed archival research, the essays illustrate how some southern colleges and universities endured the deadliest internal conflict in US history. Contributions by Christian K. Anderson, Marcia Bennett, Lauren Yarnell Bradshaw, Holly A. Foster, Tiffany Greer, Don Holmes, Donavan L. Johnson, Lauren Lassabe, Sarah Mangrum, R. Eric Platt, Courtney L. Robinson, David E. Taylor, Zachary A. Turner, Michael M. Wallace, and Rhonda Kemp Webb.

The name Andersonville, from the American Civil War to the present, has come to be synonymous with "American death camp." Its horrors have been portrayed in its histories, art, television, and movies. The trial of its most famous figure, Captain Henry Wirz, still raises questions about American justice. This work unlocks the secret history of America's deadliest prison camp in ways that will spur debate for many years to come. However, more than a story of a notorious place of death, this work sets out to uncover unknown aspects of life among Americans immediately before and during the Civil War. Persons who found themselves connected with this prison tell the story of a new country in a period of rapid change. They include, among others, the mysterious figure known as Limber Jim, mercenary D. W. Vowles, sea captain Herbert Hunt, lawyer O. S. Baker, and even general William Tecumseh Sherman. This work uncovers the lost history of the prison itself, the least understood element of this massive human tragedy in Civil War Georgia. While a work of deep introspection and high adventure, it also corrects myths, misunderstandings, and major mistakes that have appeared in print and popular history.

In June 1864, General Ulysses Grant ordered his cavalry commander, Philip Sheridan, to conduct a raid to destroy the Virginia Central Railroad between Charlottesville and Richmond. Sheridan fell short of his objective when he was defeated by General Wade Hampton's cavalry in a two-day battle at Trevilian Station. The first day's fighting saw dismounted Yankees and Rebels engaged at close range in dense forest. By day's end, Hampton had withdrawn to the west. Advancing the next morning, Sheridan found Hampton dug in behind hastily built fortifications and launched seven dismounted assaults, each repulsed with heavy casualties. As darkness fell, the Confederates counterattacked, driving the Union forces from the field. Sheridan began his withdrawal that night, an ordeal for his men, the Union wounded and Confederate prisoners brought off the field and the hundreds of starved and exhausted horses that marked his retreat, killed to prevent their falling into Confederate hands.

In July 1862, the directors of the Chicago Board of Trade used their significant influence to organize perhaps the most prominent Union artillery unit in the Western Theater. Enlistees were Chicagoans, mainly clerks. During the Civil War, the battery was involved in 11 major battles, 26 minor battles and 42 skirmishes. They held the center at Stones River, repulsing a furious Confederate attack. A few days later, they joined 50 other Union guns in stopping one of the most dramatic offensives in the Western Theater. With Colonel Robert Minty's cavalry, they resisted an overwhelming assault along Chickamauga Creek. This history chronicles the actions of the Chicago Board of Trade Independent Light Artillery at the battles of Farmington, Dallas, Noonday Creek, Atlanta, in Kilpatrick's Raid, and at Nashville, and Selma.

Although the American Civil War has received extensive scholarly attention in the 150+ years since its conclusion, far less scholarly work has been devoted to western newspapers and their experiences of that bloody conflict. This first volume of a two-volume set reveals that the West was not immune from the war's battles, military recruitment, national anxieties, or partisan infighting. The Western Press in the Crucible of the American Civil War explores how editors throughout the region (from the Great Plains to the Pacific Coast) responded to secession, the war, and its immediate aftermath. This edited volume examines editors' outspoken partisanship (including political feuds), their newsgathering techniques, their financial concerns, and their responses to wartime press censorship. The book also reveals how the war was reported in the western press, while also casting a light on reporting of home front issues. This first volume reveals the financial and editorial lengths that editors went to in order to meet readers' demands for war and home front news across a vast region where infrastructure was poor and news, therefore, was often slow to arrive. The second volume, The Midwestern Press in the Crucible of the American Civil War, focuses on the press in the midwestern United States.

In September 1868, the remains of Jacob and Nancy Jane Young were found lying near the banks of Indiana's White River. It was a gruesome scene. Part of Jacob's face had been blown off, apparently by the shotgun that lay a few feet away. Spiders and black beetles crawled over his wound. Smoke rose from his wife's smoldering body, which was so badly burned that her intestines were exposed, the flesh on her thighs gone, and the bones partially reduced to powder. Suspicion for both deaths turned to Nancy Clem, a housewife who was also one of Mr. Young's former business partners. In The Notorious Mrs. Clem, Wendy Gamber chronicles the life and times of this charming and persuasive Gilded Age confidence woman, who became famous not only as an accused murderess but also as an itinerant peddler of patent medicine and the supposed originator of the Ponzi scheme. Clem's story is a shocking tale of friendship and betrayal, crime and punishment, courtroom drama and partisan politicking, get-rich-quick schemes and shady business deals. It also raises fascinating questions about women's place in an evolving urban economy. As they argued over Clem's guilt or innocence, lawyers, jurors, and ordinary citizens pondered competing ideas about gender, money, and marriage. Was Clem on trial because she allegedly murdered her business partner? Or was she on trial because she engaged in business? Along the way, Gamber introduces a host of equally compelling characters, from prosecuting attorney and future U.S. president Benjamin Harrison to folksy defense lawyer John Hanna, daring detective Peter Wilkins, pioneering "lady news writer" Laura Ream, and female-remedy manufacturer Michael Slavin. Based on extensive sources, including newspapers, trial documents, and local histories, this gripping account of a seemingly typical woman who achieved extraordinary notoriety will appeal to true crime lovers and historians alike.

America's greatest president, who rose to power in the country's greatest hour of need and whose vision saw the United States through the Civil War

Abraham Lincoln towers above the others who have held the office of president--the icon of greatness, the pillar of strength whose words bound up the nation's wounds. His presidency is the hinge on which American history pivots, the time when the young republic collapsed of its own contradictions and a new birth of freedom, sanctified by blood, created the United States we know today. His story has been told many times, but never by a man who himself sought the office of president and contemplated the awesome responsibilities that come with it.

George S. McGovern--a Midwesterner, former U.S. senator, presidential candidate, veteran, and historian by training--offers his unique insight into our sixteenth president. He shows how Lincoln sometimes went astray, particularly in his restrictions on civil liberties, but also how he adjusted his sights and transformed the Civil War from a political dispute to a moral crusade. McGovern's account reminds us why we hold Lincoln in such esteem and why he remains the standard by which all of his successors are measured.

A Union Army regiment at war
This concise account of a regiment of volunteers from the state of Illinois enables the reader to follow its progress through its service during the war between the states. Marching towards Nashville, the 86th took part in the Battle of Chickamauga followed by Mission Ridge, Knoxville, the Atlanta Campaign, Averysboro, Bentonville and the capture of Johnston's Army to war's end. Available in soft cover and hard cover with dust jacket. Another essential unit history for students of the American Civil War.

Winner of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Biography. Named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The New Yorker, Time, NPR, Smithsonian Magazine, and Oprah Daily.

In 1848, a year of international democratic revolt, a young, enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, achieved one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history. Posing as master and slave, while sustained by their love as husband and wife, they made their escape together across more than 1,000 miles, riding out in the open on steamboats, carriages, and trains that took them from bondage in Georgia to the free states of the North.

Along the way, they dodged slave traders, military officers, and even friends of their enslavers, who might have revealed their true identities. The tale of their adventure soon made them celebrities, and generated headlines around the country. Americans could not get enough of this charismatic young couple, who traveled another 1,000 miles criss-crossing New England, drawing thunderous applause as they spoke alongside some of the greatest abolitionist luminaries of the day—among them Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown.

But even then, they were not out of danger. With the passage of an infamous new Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, all Americans became accountable for returning refugees like the Crafts to slavery. Then yet another adventure began, as slave hunters came up from Georgia, forcing the Crafts to flee once again—this time from the United States, their lives and thousands more on the line and the stakes never higher.

With three epic journeys compressed into one monumental bid for freedom, Master Slave Husband Wife is an American love story—one that would challenge the nation’s core precepts of life, liberty, and justice for all—one that challenges us even now.