DC Public Library System

Freedom journey, Black Civil War soldiers and the Hills community, Westchester County, New York, Edythe Ann Quinn

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-207) and index

contains biographical information

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Freedom journey

bibliography

892620021

Edythe Ann Quinn

Excelsior editions

Black Civil War soldiers and the Hills community, Westchester County, New York

"The story of thirty-six African American men who drew upon their shared community of The Hills for support as they fought in the Civil War. Through wonderfully detailed letters, recruit rosters, and pension records, Edythe Ann Quinn shares the story of thirty-five African American Civil War soldiers and the United States Colored Troop (USCT) regiments with which they served. Associated with The Hills community in Westchester County, New York, the soldiers served in three regiments: the 29th Connecticut Infantry, 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (11th USCT), and the 20th USCT. The thirty-sixth Hills man served in the Navy. Their ties to family, land, church, school, and occupational experiences at home buffered the brutal indifference of boredom and battle, the ravages of illness, the deprivations of unequal pay, and the hostility of some commissioned officers and white troops. At the same time, their service among kith and kin bolstered their determination and pride. They marched together, first as raw recruits, and finally as seasoned veterans, welcomed home by generals, politicians, and above all, their families and friends"--Publisher's website

The Hills in 1860 -- War comes to Westchester and The Hills -- Sidebar 1: Peekskill men in the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Regiment -- Sidebar 2: Aaron Halstead, Jr., landsman, U.S. Navy -- Fourteenth Regiment, Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored) -- Sidebar 3: Food issues for the USCT -- Sidebar 4: Abusive discipline of Black soldiers -- Twenty-Ninth Connecticut Regiment, Infantry Colored Volunteers -- Sidebar 5: Treating pneumonia in 1864 -- Sidebar 6: Excerpts from 1st Lt. Henry H. Brown's account of October 27, 1864 -- Sidebar 7: Medical case of Pvt. John Purdy -- Twentieth Infantry Regiment, USCT -- Sidebar 8: Chaplain George W. Levere -- Sidebar 9: Battle of Port Hudson, May 27, 1863 -- Sidebar 10: Van Amburgh's circus -- Sidebar 11: Attack on Milliken's Bend, June 7, 1863 -- Post-Civil War years in the Hills -- Sidebar 12: Valentine M. Hodgson and M.A. Hodgson, White Plains pension agents -- Sidebar 13: "Colored veteran gets pension" -- Epilogue -- Appendix A: Roster of Hills men in the Civil War -- Appendix B: Letters home : Civil War letters of Sergeant Simeon Anderson Tierce -- Letter dated November 24, 1863 -- Sidebar 14: Notes for letter dated November 24, 1863 -- Letter dated February 15, 1864 -- Sidebar 15: Notes for letter dated February 15, 1864 -- Letter dated February 22, 1864 -- Sidebar 16: Notes for letter dated February 22, 184 -- Letter dated March 11, 1864 -- Sidebar 17: Notes for letter dated March 11, 1864 -- Letter undated (written between March 27 and July 08, 1864) -- Sidebar 18: Notes for letter undated (written between March 27 and July 08, 1864) -- Appendix C: Jacob Williams of Harrison, private, Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Regiment -- Appendix D: Allen Banks' freedom journey