Freedom by the Sword

In what may be the definitive “operational history” of black troops in action during the Civil War, Dobak describes the differences in how freedmen and runaway slaves were recruited, how they lived, and how they were trained. Most important, it considers how gallantly these men performed in combat at a time when many of their own leaders questioned whether they would be willing to fight for their own freedom and for that of their families. Much of the documentation comes from the “War of the Rebellion” ­series.