African Canadians in Union Blue ― Volunteering for the Cause in America's Civil War

Before Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863,
he made a last-minute change -- a paragraph authorizing the army to
recruit black soldiers. Over the next two years, approximately 180,000
soldiers and 18,000 sailors joined the cause. Several thousand came
from Canada, the terminus of the Underground Railroad.

What compelled these young men to leave the comfort and safety of
home to face death on the battlefield, loss of income for their
families, and legal sanctions for participating in a foreign war?
Drawing on newspapers, autobiographies, and military and census
records, Richard Reid pieces together a portrait of a group of men who
served the Union in disparate ways - as soldiers, sailors, or
doctors - but who all believed that the principles of liberty,
justice, and equality were worth fighting for, regardless of which side
of the border they made their home.

By bringing the courage and contributions of these men to light,
African Canadians in Union Blue opens a window on the changing
nature of the Civil War and the ties that held black communities
together even as the borders around them shifted or were torn
asunder.

Richard Reid is professor emeritus at the University
of Guelph and the author of several books in Canadian and American
history, including Freedom for Themselves: North Carolina's
Black Soldiers in the Civil War Era.

Richard Reid is professor emeritus at the University of Guelph and the author of several books in Canadian and American history, including Freedom for Themselves: North Carolina's Black Soldiers in the Civil War Era.