How the slaves saw the Civil War : recollections of the war through the WPA slave narratives

Drawing from narratives of former slaves collected as part of the Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) , How the Slaves Saw the Civil War presents first-hand testimony in the former slaves' own words about their lives before, during, and following the Civil War. By examining these remarkable and unique narratives, we can better understand what life was truly like for slaves. Because most slaves could not read or write, their perspective on the unfolding history of the war had been relatively unknown until these narratives were originally 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 works'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. Complementing the text itself, Herbert C. Covey and Dwight Eisnach have included a selection of fascinating images of the time, as well as providing an extensive bibliography of other reliable sources appropriate for further research by general readers, academics specializing in African American history, and Civil War buffs alike. -- Inside jacket flaps.