THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON
ARMY LIFE IN A BLACK REGIMENT
AND OTHER WRITINGS
WITH AN INTRODUTION AND NOTES BY R. D. MADISON
A stirring account of wartime experiences from the leader of the first regiment of emancipated slaves
Thomas Wentworth Higginson, a Unitarian minister, was a fervent member of new England's abolitionist movement, an active participant in the Underground Railroad, and part of a group that supplied material aid to John Brown before his ill-fated raid on Harpers Ferry. When the Civil War broke out, Higginson was commissioned as a colonel of the black troops training in the Sea Islands off the coast of the Carolinas.
Shaped by American Romanticism and imbued with Higginson's interest in both man and nature, Army Life in a Black Regiment ranges from detailed reports on daily life to a vivid description of the author's near escape from cannon fire, to sketches that conjure up the beauty and mystery of the Sea Islands.
This edition of Army Life features as well a selection of Higginson's essays, including "Nat Turner's Insurrection" and "Emily Dickinson's Letters."
Introduction by R.D. Madison
Suggestions for Further Reading
A Note on the Texts
Army Life in a Black Regiment
CHAPTER I. Introductory
CHAPTER II. Camp Diary
CHAPTER III. Up the St. Mary's
CHAPTER IV. Up the St. John's
CHAPTER V. Out on Picket
CHAPTER VI. A Night in the Water
CHAPTER VII. Up the Edisto
CHAPTER VIII. The Baby of the Regiment
CHAPTER IX. Negro Spirituals
CHAPTER X. Life at Camp Shaw
CHAPTER XI. Florida Again?
CHAPTER XII. The Negro as a Soldier
CHAPTER XIII. Conclusion
APPENDIX
A. Roster of Officers
B. The First Black Soldiers
C. General Saxton's Instructions
D. The Struggle for Pay
E. Farewell Address
RELATED READINGS
A Visit to John Brown's Household in 1859
Nat Turner's Insurrection
Letter to a Young Contributor
Some War Scenes Revisited
Emily Dickinson's Letters
EXPLANATORY NOTES
'Has some claim to be the best written narrative to come from the Union during the Civil War' — Henry Steele Commager
