Behind the familiar names of the military and political leaders whose names we all know--Lincoln, Davis, Lee, Grant, Sherman, and Jackson, are the people whose lives and hard work defined the Civil War era: abolitionists, slaves, inventors, manufacturers, painters, lawyers, writers, spies, nurses, and preachers. These are the people who helped shape both the war and our ideas about it. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Civil War Era Biographies is a comprehensive collection of articles on roughly 900 individuals from the Civil War era, including people from both the years leading up to the war and the period of Reconstruction that came after. Also included are maps of key battles, a timeline that progresses from President Lincoln's election to the end of the war, and a list of innovations used or developed during the war.
During the Civil War, African American war correspondent Thomas Morris Chester was so inspired by the men of the 36th United States Colored Troops that he declared the group to be "a model regiment." Composed primarily of former slaves recruited from Union-occupied areas of eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, the 36th USCT participated in large-scale expeditions to liberate slaves, guarded Confederate prisoners at major POW camps, served in the trenches before Petersburg and Richmond, and stood as one of the first units to enter the abandoned Confederate capital on April 3, 1865. This volume, which includes a complete regimental roster, explores the background of these former slaves and their families, examines their initial recruitment and chronicles their military contributions throughout the war. More than a unit history, the story of the 36th USCT offers a vivid portrait of the challenging transition from slavery to freedom.