Black Northerners and the Debate over Military Service in the Civil War with Brian Taylor

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My friends…IT’S THE LAST SHOW OF 2020!!! Well then, that was a year - wasn’t it?

To celebrate I am very please to welcome Dr. Brian Taylor to the Rogue Historian. Brian is a public historian and scholar of the Civil War era who has taught at Georgetown University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His public history work includes stints with the National Park Service and the National Museum of American History. His interests include issues related to citizenship, race and national belonging. Today we’ll be discussing his first book, Fighting for Citizenship: Black Northerners and the Debate over Military Service in the Civil War. Brian’s current project focuses on the Fort Reno neighborhood of Washington, DC. He lives in Laurel, Maryland with his wife Diane, son Steve, and three cats…and you all know how much I love cats. It was great to speak with Brian about this subject…I’ve got to say, the book really challenged my thinking about black military service in the war, and I am sure it will give you things to think about too. We discuss:

  • What drew Brian to this topic…the resources that got him in and what he discovered

  • Turning points and what this meant for enlisting black soldiers in the Union army

  • The “who freed the slaves” debate

  • Citizenship: a word that we often throw around but is pretty hard to define

  • The pushback from black men who argued against enlisting in the army

  • The United States as a slave-holding republic

  • Ideas that resonate in the 20th century

Have a listen…

So Brian is not a social media guy, which means he’s probably smarter than all of us - but I can always get him a message and for sure stay tuned to the show. I’ll ask him back to discuss what he’s working on next. So I will just kindly ask that you subscribe to The Rogue Historian Podcast and leave a rating on Apple Podcasts or your favorite app so you never ever ever ever miss a show. That would be dumb.

And, if you are interested in some of the books we discussed - check these:

Troubled Refuge: Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War by Chandra Manning

Black Reconstruction in America by W. E. B. Du Bois

With compliments,

Keith

The Rogue HistorianKeith HarrisBlack soldiers, USCT, Brian Taylor, Colored Troops, Frederick Douglass, Military history, slavery, citizenshipComment