They Fought for Liberty: Two Accounts of Coloured Troops in the American Civil War

Reminiscences of Two Years With the Coloured Troops
by Joshua M. Addeman

Army Life in a Black Regiment
by Thomas Wentworth Higginson

Two accounts of commanding coloured troops in the field

Joshua Addeman served as a captain commanding the coloured soldiers of the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery Regiment. His concise personal first hand account brings focus to the activities of African-Americans within the little reported service of the artillery. It is filled with useful information making it a valuable source work of the period.
Higginson's account of the regiment he commanded in the Civil war has justly become one of the most important works of the African-American experience. His regiment, the 1st South Carolina Volunteers was the first ex-slave regiment mustered into the Federal Army during the Civil War. Naturally Higginson was very much a man of times, but nevertheless the pride and affection he felt for his men shines through every page. Available in soft cover and collectors' hard cover with dust jacket-a credit to any bibliophile's bookcase.