The Slaves’ War: The Civil War in the Words of Former Slaves
by cecile
Even if you've read a lot about the Civil War you have never read anything like this.
The Slaves’ War by Andrew Ward is a riveting narrative in the actual words of slaves from the beginning of the Civil War to shortly after its’ end. Woven together from interviews (done in the 1920s and 30s with former slaves), memoirs, diaries and letters, it is a poignant portrait of an incredibly diverse group of people—soldiers, cooks, seamstresses, teamsters, runaways, field hands, house servants, blacksmiths and laborers.
In their own words they discuss memories of battles, politics, slavery, hardship, betrayal, Lincoln, Davis, their enslavers, trying to stay alive and finding loved ones.
Most importantly, Ward had access to Ophelia Settle’s interviews with former slaves conducted under the auspices of Fisk University in the 1920s. Her interviews were much more candid than those conducted by the Federal Writers’ Program with the WPA because she was African American and allowed interviewees anonymity.
Ward was shocked to discover that the WPA interviews of former slaves did not allow anonymity; the interviewers were white and in some cases relatives of the families that had held the interviewee in bondage. Words can't adequately describe how bad that idea was. Life sure is strange isn't it?
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