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Title details for The Slaves' War by Andrew Ward - Available

The Slaves' War

The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves

by Andrew Ward
Richard Allen
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
This is the first narrative of the Civil War told by the very people that it freed.


Groundbreaking, compelling, and poignant, The Slaves' War delivers an unprecedented vision of the nation's bloodiest conflict. An acclaimed historian of nineteenth-century and African American history, Andrew Ward gives us the first narrative of the Civil War told from the perspective of those whose destiny it decided. Woven together from interviews, diaries, letters, and memoirs, here is the Civil War as seen not only from battlefields and camps but also from slave quarters, kitchens, roadsides, and fields. Speaking in a quintessentially American language of biblical power and intensity, body servants, army cooks and launderers, runaways, teamsters, and gravediggers bring the war to life. From slaves' theories about the war's causes to their frank assessments of such figures as Lincoln, Davis, Lee, and Grant; from their searing memories of the carnage of battle to their often startling attitudes toward masters and liberators alike; and from their initial jubilation at the Yankee invasion of the slave South to the crushing disappointment of freedom's promise unfulfilled, The Slaves' War is an engrossing vision of America's Second Revolution.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    June 16, 2008

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400126149
      • File size: 392001 KB
      • Duration: 13:36:40

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Claiming that his book is distinct from the thousands of previous books about the Civil War, Andrew Ward focuses on the civilian experiences of slaves during this period. Narrator Richard Allen turns those memories, told in the uneducated Negro slang of the period, into a masterpiece of credibility. Allen does the accent and mispronunciations so well that one can believe he has become those downtrodden people of the American South. The stories vary from the most gruesome--burying body parts after bloody battles--to the most heartening--reuniting families torn asunder by the sale of unlucky members. Allen's voices tell of all aspects of slaves' daily lives during the war: meager food, childbirth, loyalty and disloyalty to masters, fear of the Yankees, and the witnessing of terrible atrocities. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from August 25, 2008
      In Ward’s groundbreaking history, the Civil War is recounted from the previously silent victims that it most directly affected: the slaves themselves. Through hundreds of interviews, diaries, letters and memoirs, Ward offers an entirely new perspective of the war and firm-voiced Richard Allen presents the material with tremendous passion. Allen reads at a solid pace, letting every word seep in so that by the end of the book, the outrageous tragedy of slavery saturates each listener. With believable and realistic shifts in tone and dialect, Allen displays his inherent storytelling talent by furthering the previously silenced voices of slaves. A truly compelling listening experience that demands repeated listenings. A Houghton Mifflin hardcover.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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