How the Slaves Saw the Civil War: Recollections of the War through the WPA Slave Narratives

by Herbert C. Covey, Dwight Eisnach

Overview

Examining narratives allows us to better understand what life was truly like for slaves: "hearing" history in their own words brings the human aspects of slavery and their interpersonal relationships to life, providing insights and understanding not typically available via traditional history books. How the Slaves Saw the Civil War: Recollections of the War through the WPA Slave Narrative draws upon interviews collected largely during the 1930s–1940s as part of the Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Because most slaves could not read or write, their perspective on the unfolding history of the war has been relatively unknown until these narratives were collected in the 1930s and 1940s. This book extracts the most cogent and compelling tales from the documentation of former slaves' seldom-heard voices on the events leading up to, during, and following the war. The work's two introductory chapters focus on the WPA's narratives and living conditions under slavery. The remaining chapters address key topics such as slave loyalties to either or both sides of the conflict, key battles, participation in the Union and/or Confederate armies, the day Union forces came, slave contact with key historical figures, and emancipation—and what came after.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440828249
Publisher:	ABC-CLIO, Incorporated
Publication date:	01/27/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	270
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Herbert C. Covey, PhD, is deputy director of human services for Adams County, Colorado, and part-time instructor at the University of Colorado—Boulder.

Dwight A. Eisnach is an independent scholar, writer, and editor.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xv

1 The Works Progress Administration Narratives and the Civil War 1

2 Civil War Living Conditions for Slaves 13

3 Ex-Slave Accounts of Battles 33

4 Taking Sides: Acts of Resistance and Loyalty during the Civil War 57

5 Slave Involvement with the Union Military 97

6 Slave Involvement with the Confederate Military 125

7 The Day the Yankees Came 157

8 How the Slaves Saw the Major Figures of the War 181

9 Freedom and What Came After 217

References 249

Index 265

About the Authors 271

What People are Saying About This

John David Smith

"By using the WPA ex-slave narratives to document how slaves experienced the Civil War, Covey and Eisnach fill a major historiographical void. Fully aware of the methodological weaknesses of using the 1930s and 1940s ex-slave interviews as sources, the authors nonetheless employ them judiciously to present the former slaves’ perceptions of the slaveholders’ war. They detail the daily lives of the bondsmen and women during and after the war, their service with Union and Confederate forces, and the blacks’ impressions of major southern and northern leaders. Specialists, students, and general readers will welcome this valuable work for the ex-slaves’ sometimes surprising and always interesting reactions to the Civil War and emancipation."