The Sable Arm: Black Troops in the Union Army, 1861-1865

A bona fide classic, the Sable Arm was the first work to fully chronicle the remarkable story of the nearly 180,000 black troops who served in the Union army. Hailed by such distinguished historians as T. Harry Williams ("superbly written") and George B. Tindall ("a volume of permanent value"), this work paved the way for the exploration of the black military experience in other wars. The present edition, with a new foreword and bibliographical essay, makes available once again a pioneering work that will be especially useful for scholars and students of Civil War, black, and military history.

Dudley Tatlor Cornish is professor emeritus of American history at Pittsburg State University. His numerous publications include the section "The Negro" in the monumental bibliography Civil War Books and the chapter "Slaves No More" in The Embattled Confederacy: Volume Three of The Image of War, 1861-1865.

Herman Hattaway, professor of history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, is author of How the North Won: A Military History of the Civil War.