Introduction
The Civil War is a pivotal event of great historical significance for the United States. Various researchers examine aspects of that period, highlighting the heroism of the Union army soldiers. This essay will review the article “Trials of Freedom: African American Deserters during the U.S. Civil War” by Jonathan Lande, which describes the hidden downsides of the military service of that time.
Article Review
The oppression of the black soldiers during the Civil War of 1861-1865 demonstrated how distorted the whites ‘ concept of freedom was. The events described in the article enabled white Americans to shift their mindset regarding social inequality. For instance, during the Civil War, a Free Military School for white soldiers was opened to teach them to lead black soldiers ethically.
Although not directly mentioned in the paper, these events paved the way for the emancipation of black citizens and ultimately led to a greater awareness of rights among white people. More than 100,000 African Americans were liberated via military service during the Civil War, but an unknown number of people became victims of the white officers’ abuse. That was the price of establishing civil rights for all the social groups.
In my opinion, Lande’s narrative in this article is unbiased, since he covers the actions and motives of both black and white soldiers. In the article, it is stated that the rebellious actions of the black soldiers resulted from their disconnection with the white officer corps. The latter believed that military service was a form of liberation for the formerly enslaved people, based on conscription labor.
However, for the African Americans, the conditions were unbearable and no different from what they had experienced while being captive. Thus, the white officers tried to enforce army discipline to stop runaways of the blacks, which, in turn, was their reaction to brutal conditions. The fact that the article includes the author’s examination of both parties involved allows us to claim it is objective. In addition, since the conflict of interest in the army is highlighted in all aspects, it can be said that Landed did not omit anything important while covering the subject.
This article is noteworthy because it encompasses an often-overlooked part of Civil War history. Typically, researchers focus on honoring the courage and dedication of the soldiers, often overlooking their background. That is why, personally, I was not familiar with the fact that desertion was so widespread among the black soldiers of the Unity army until reading this article. Lande provided substantial historical evidence of the described events, including photographs, and made the text accessible, allowing us to describe this article as well-written.
Conclusion
Overall, “Trials of Freedom: African American Deserters during the U.S. Civil War” by Jonathan Lande examines a pertinent socio-cultural issue: racial disparity in America. Although total elimination of racism is still unattained, the emancipation of the African American citizens, described in this work, initiated this process and helped in shaping the current liberty-centered American mentality, along with increasing cross-cultural exchange. Moreover, the U.S. owes its modern system, based on democracy, technology, and capital, to the Civil War. Therefore, the impact of these events on social, cultural, economic, political, global, and historical levels cannot be overstated.
Bibliography
Lande, Jonathan. “Trials of Freedom: African American Deserters during the U.S. Civil War.” Journal of Social History 49, no. 3 (2016): 693–709.