Higginson, Thomas Wentworth:

$2,500 · Offered by William Reese Company

ARMY LIFE IN A BLACK REGIMENT. First edition of Thomas Wentworth Higginson's classic Civil War memoir, chronicling his time as colonel and commanding officer of the First South Carolina Volunteers, the first officially recognized African American regiment to serve in the Union Army. Published in 1870, Higginson's Army Life in Black Regiment has been described as "probably the finest personal history to come out of the Civil War" (Jackson Stanley quoted in Meyer). When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, many free Blacks in the North rushed to enlist in the Union Army only to discover that they were barred from doing so. As Higginson himself here explains, "the prevalent tone of public sentiment was still opposed" to the idea, with many White Americans continuing to adhere to the racist and discriminatory view that Black men were unfit for military service. Meanwhile, "the government kept very shy of the experiment," the Lincoln administration being careful not to alienate any of the nonseceding border states. By 1862, however, following a series of military setbacks and with a shortage of White volunteers and a growing number of escaped contraband slaves fleeing to Union lines, the North was forced to reconsider its position. On August 22, 1862, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton authorized General Rufus Saxton, the newly appointed military governor of the Department of the South, to recruit, arm, and equip Black troops for service in the Union Army. Organized at Camp Saxto

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.