A very interesting read about the contributions of Blacks for the Union army in the Civil War

This book reveals the evolutionary transfomation for many from slavery to freedom. But it is only a small part of that event. A very well done and well researched history of the black man's contribution toward fighting for his own freedom and for welding the United States into a solid nation. Hat's off to J. K. Bryant II for making this book available to Civil War buffs. ( )

A fine working history of a Civil War regiment. However, because this is a regimental history of a black unit, it is especially to be praised because of the lack of primary research materials concerning the enlisted troops.

The account discusses the problems of forming the regiment and using white officers from Massachusetts, but I wish he had spent a little more time on the politics revolving around the enlisting of newer regiments from recruits taken from the slave areas, and during raids into the Confederate territories.

There are several other areas of interest that could be further developed. The problems of black non-commissioned officers with the troops duplicated some of the social problems that black overseers had in a slave community, and many of these men were caught in the social hostilities of both the troops below and the officers above.

Another area of exploration are the social differences between the black recruits from northern states such as Ohio and Massachusetts, and those recruited locally in Virginia and North Carolina. Also between those blacks in the regiment who were free (about 4%), and those who were formerlly slaves.

I agree that there is a good index. I also especially like the use of a roster to show who was who in the regiment, and as a gift to geneaologists. The roster, about half the book, gives the names, ranks, and as much personal infomration about the soldiers as possible. My only regret is that the roster is formated in the 19th century fashion by company rather than alphabet, thus making anyone who does not know the comany of a soldier look through all of them until the name is found at last.

I do recommend this book for libraries and personal book collections of the Civil War. It gives another aspect to the complexities of the war, and some further insights to the enorminty of the struggle. ( )

I'm very glad that Mr. Bryant admits in his forward that this book arose from both his master's thesis and doctoral dissertation because in just flipping through the book before reading it I knew that's was it was.

That aside, this is not entirely a scholarly book and gives the reader much to think about. As much as he is able, Mr. Bryant makes the members of the 36th Infantry USCT come alive. The times were very different, but the needs and wants of the individuals was often very similar. I would recommend this book more to the student of history, specifically the Civil War period, than I would to the regular reader. ( )

Regimental histories on USCT units are few and far between, mostly because of a lack of source material from the soldiers themselves. The 1989 movie Glory with its look at the 54th Massachusetts Infantry brought the story of black troops to a wide audience. Although the 54th was just one of many African-American units serving in the Union Army, it faced many of the same difficulties as did the other “Colored” units – lower pay than white troops, commanders who preferred to use black units for manual labor rather than combat, discrimination and mistrust by white troops and officers, and fear of reprisal if captured by the enemy. But comparatively little literature has been devoted to telling the story of the individual units.

McFarland has recently released a solid history of the 36th USCT, by James K. Bryant: The 36th Infantry United States Colored Troops in the Civil War: A History and Roster. The author, a former NPS Ranger and professor at Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA, spent years researching the 36th and the depth of his research is readily apparent.

The 36th was formed originally in 1863 as the 2nd North Carolina Colored Volunteers – part of Edward Wild’s so-called “African Brigade” – mostly from former slaves in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. Nearly all of the officers came from Massachusetts units, including its Colonel Alonzo Draper. Serving for much of its existence under Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, an officer far more progressive than most in the Union army when it came to utilization of black troops, saw more active campaigning – albeit small scale local raids – than did some other black units.

Stationed for much of its early existence in Portsmouth, VA, the 36th participated in several raids to counter guerrilla activity in Princess Anne County and the counties of North Carolina just across the state line. One of these raids into NC resulted in a highly volatile confrontation between the 36th and the white 98th New York, with accusations that Col. Draper ordered his regiment to attack the New Yorkers over the handling of a white female civilian prisoner taken by Draper’s troops.

Shortly after this incident the regiment was transferred to Point Lookout, Maryland, to serve as guards at the prisoner of war camp there. While there, elements of the 36th conducted raids across the Potomac River onto Virginia’s Northern Neck. In the summer of 1864 Butler had the 36th join the Army of the James outside Petersburg. Two soldiers of the 36th would receive the Medal of Honor for their roles in the Battle of New Market Heights outside Richmond. New Market Heights would be the bloodiest battle in which the 36th would participate during the war. When Richmond fell the following April, the 36th was one of the first units to enter the city limits, possibly the first depending on whose account the reader believes. Following the end of hostilities in Virginia, the regiment was transferred with the other black troops in theater to the Texas-Mexico border. While there, Col. Draper was killed under circumstances still unclear today.

Bryant does an excellent job of melding military history and social history together to tell the story of the men of 36th USCT. Tactical details of most of the engagements are somewhat lacking, but with the exception of New Market Heights, these were such small actions that source material is extremely limited. Perhaps even more impressive than the actual narrative is the 60-page roster of the unit – no small feat given that many of the enlisted men were former slaves and little known about them. Also included as an appendix is Col. Draper’s report of the “altercation” with the 98th NY. Biographical sketches about nearly all of the white officers assigned to the 36th are prevalent throughout the text and in many cases the author conjectures as to what drove many of the officers to seek appointment in USCT units – whether it was simply desire for promotion and rank, or a sincere desire to aid former slaves.

The only drawback to Bryant’s work is that – like all McFarland publications – at $45 it is on the higher end of the price scale. However, the book is a must-have for anyone interested in black troops during the Civil War, as well as carrying a significant local history-interest for southeast Virginia and northeast North Carolina where the regiment originated. ( )