African American State Volunteers in the New South

African American State Volunteers in the New South
Author: John Patrick Blair
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 397
Release: 2023-11-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1648430740

In the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, a turbulent period fraught with violence, struggle, and uncertainty, a forgotten few African Americans banded together as men to assert their rights as citizens. Following emancipation, the nation’s newest citizens established churches, entered the political arena, created educational and business opportunities, and even formed labor organizations, but it was through state militia service, with the prestige and heightened status conveyed by their affiliation, that they displayed their loyalty, discipline, and more importantly, their manliness within the public sphere. In African American State Volunteers in the New South, John Patrick Blair offers a comparative examination of the experiences and activities of African American men as members in the state volunteer military organizations of Georgia, Texas, and Virginia, including the complicated relationships between state government and military officials—many of them former Confederate officers—and the leaders of the Black militia volunteers. This important new study expands understanding of racial accommodation, however minor, toward the African American military, confirmed not only in the actions of state government and military officials to arm, equip, and train these Black troops, but also in the acceptance of clearly visible and authorized military activities by these very same volunteers. In doing so, it adds significant layers to our knowledge of racial politics as they developed during Reconstruction, and prompts us to consider a broader understanding of the history of the South into the twentieth century.

The 11th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment 1861–1865

The 11th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment 1861–1865
Author:
Publisher: Savas Publishing
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2021-06-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1940669871

The 7th, 8th, 9th, and 11th Georgia volunteer infantry regiments spent most of the Civil War fighting under Brig. Gen. George Thomas “Tige” Anderson in Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Until now, no biographical roster of their members has ever been published. These Georgians saw it all, from the bloody battle of First Manassas through the ferocious combat of Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and the long siege of Petersburg. They finally furled their banners at Appomattox. Nearly 5,000 men passed through these four Georgia regiments. These rosters offer a long overdue record of these men. Each roster is organized by company in a simple and easy to use format. Entries feature full names (if known), promotions, demotions, casualties, transfers, and resignations for every rank—an unprecedented look into men and the structure and evolution of these organizations. They include the most comprehensive examination of the personnel originally enlisted and their subsequent service histories within these units in chronological order for the first time. Compiler and author Richard Allen has spent nearly two decades researching scores of archives and other sources to prepare these rosters. He utilized primary sources such as the Official Records, Compiled Service Records, newspaper accounts, diaries, letters, census information, burial records, and a variety of documents from both published sources and private collections. Students of the Civil War, genealogists, and enthusiasts of Georgia history will find these rosters invaluable. Everyone who uses them owes Rick Allen a hearty, and heartfelt, thank you.

Joe Brown's Pets

Joe Brown's Pets
Author: William Robert Scaife
Publisher: Mercer University Press
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2004
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780865548831

At the beginning of the Civil War, Georgia ranked third among the Confederate states in manpower resources, behind only Virginia and Tennessee. With an arms-bearing population somewhere between 120,000 and 130,000 white males between the ages of 16 and 60, this resource became an object of a great struggle between Joseph Brown, governor of Georgia, and Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. Brown advocated a strong state defense, but as the war dragged on Davis applied more pressure for more soldiers from Georgia. In December 1863, the state's general assembly reorganized the state militia and it became known as Joe Brown's Pets. Civil War historians William Scaife and William Bragg have written not only the first history of the Georgia Militia during the Civil War, but have produced the definitive history of this militia. Using original documents found in the Georgia Department of Archives and History that are too delicate for general public access, Scaife and Bragg were granted special permission to research the material under the guidance of an archivist and conducted under tightly controlled conditions of security and preservation control.