| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 96.2

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| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 96.2 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Firebrand of Liberty: The Story of Two Black Regiments That Changed the Course of the Civil War. By Stephen V. Ash. (New York: Norton, 2008. xvi, 282 pp. $25.95, ISBN 978-0-393-06586-2.)

This is an important book. Stephen V. Ash uncovers new material in bringing the story of the First and Second South Carolina (Colored) Infantry's 1863 expedition to Jacksonville to life—and it is a story worth knowing and teaching. Historians have long disputed whether or not Abraham Lincoln deserves the sobriquet of Great Emancipator. Many have argued that Lincoln trailed behind events, deciding to free and arm African Americans only after they led the way in demanding freedom and proving their manhood by killing and dying on battlefields. Firebrand of Liberty joins this debate, as the book's subtitle clearly indicates. Ash puts forth his thesis early: "Had the black troops suffered disgrace in Florida, had they crumbled in the face of Confederate counterattacks, or clashed with white troops sent as reinforcements, or abused the civilian population, the whole movement to enlist blacks would very likely have been halted in its tracks, and the Civil War could have had a different outcome" (p. xiii).

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