Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, (1995.) dj. Hardcover first edition - A well-written and well-documented study of an unusual regiment - as seen in the broader context of the society in which it originated, of the racism that its members endured, and as an early civil rights movement. "The most comprehensive study of the role of the Native Guard in the Civil War, this is a tale of Confederate and Union indifference and hostility to the black men who volunteered their services. It is a story of Union commanders who placed black troops in the most exposed and vulnerable positions, who systematically purged the ranks of black line officers, and yet, who in weaker moments had to admit these black men acquitted themselves admirably on the battle fields." (historian Richard Blackett). Illustrated with photographs and maps. Bibliography, index. xiv, 140 pp. ISBN: 0-8071-19393.