Embattled Freedom

Journeys through the Civil War’s Slave Refugee Camps

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, African-American Studies, History, Americas, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877)
Cover of the book Embattled Freedom by Amy Murrell Taylor, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Amy Murrell Taylor ISBN: 9781469643632
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: October 26, 2018
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Amy Murrell Taylor
ISBN: 9781469643632
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: October 26, 2018
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

The Civil War was just days old when the first enslaved men, women, and children began fleeing their plantations to seek refuge inside the lines of the Union army as it moved deep into the heart of the Confederacy. In the years that followed, hundreds of thousands more followed in a mass exodus from slavery that would destroy the system once and for all. Drawing on an extraordinary survey of slave refugee camps throughout the country, Embattled Freedom reveals as never before the everyday experiences of these refugees from slavery as they made their way through the vast landscape of army-supervised camps that emerged during the war. Amy Murrell Taylor vividly reconstructs the human world of wartime emancipation, taking readers inside military-issued tents and makeshift towns, through commissary warehouses and active combat, and into the realities of individuals and families struggling to survive physically as well as spiritually. Narrating their journeys in and out of the confines of the camps, Taylor shows in often gripping detail how the most basic necessities of life were elemental to a former slave's quest for freedom and full citizenship.

The stories of individuals--storekeepers, a laundress, and a minister among them--anchor this ambitious and wide-ranging history and demonstrate with new clarity how contingent the slaves' pursuit of freedom was on the rhythms and culture of military life. Taylor brings new insight into the enormous risks taken by formerly enslaved people to find freedom in the midst of the nation's most destructive war.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Civil War was just days old when the first enslaved men, women, and children began fleeing their plantations to seek refuge inside the lines of the Union army as it moved deep into the heart of the Confederacy. In the years that followed, hundreds of thousands more followed in a mass exodus from slavery that would destroy the system once and for all. Drawing on an extraordinary survey of slave refugee camps throughout the country, Embattled Freedom reveals as never before the everyday experiences of these refugees from slavery as they made their way through the vast landscape of army-supervised camps that emerged during the war. Amy Murrell Taylor vividly reconstructs the human world of wartime emancipation, taking readers inside military-issued tents and makeshift towns, through commissary warehouses and active combat, and into the realities of individuals and families struggling to survive physically as well as spiritually. Narrating their journeys in and out of the confines of the camps, Taylor shows in often gripping detail how the most basic necessities of life were elemental to a former slave's quest for freedom and full citizenship.

The stories of individuals--storekeepers, a laundress, and a minister among them--anchor this ambitious and wide-ranging history and demonstrate with new clarity how contingent the slaves' pursuit of freedom was on the rhythms and culture of military life. Taylor brings new insight into the enormous risks taken by formerly enslaved people to find freedom in the midst of the nation's most destructive war.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Beloved Community by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Latin American Street Food by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Armed with Abundance by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book A Golden Haze of Memory by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Conflicting Readings by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Immigrants on the Land by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Mystical Dimensions of Islam by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Black Soldiers in Blue by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Land Reform in China and North Vietnam by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Life along the Inner Coast by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Law and Identity in Mandate Palestine by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Through the Heart of Dixie by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book U.S. Intervention in British Guiana by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Mapping The Democratic Forest: The Postsouthern Spaces of William Eggleston by Amy Murrell Taylor
Cover of the book Response to Imperialism by Amy Murrell Taylor
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy