One of the more troubling manifestations of modern Civil War memory is the development of the Black Confederate Myth. Kevin Levin has an interesting article in Smithsonian on the Black men who travelled with the Confederate Army to Gettysburg. These were slaves, not “Black Confederates.” He tells their real story here.
In my own research, I found almost no mention of Black Confederates before the release of the movie “Glory” depicting the Brave Black Regiment, the 54th Mass. The myth of the Black Confederate emerged from the need to place the Slaveholders’ Rebellion on the right side of history. Kevin Levin is coming out with a much anticipated book on the subject this Fall.
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