The slaves' gamble : choosing sides in the War of 1812 /

Smith, Gene A., -1963

The slaves' gamble : choosing sides in the War of 1812 / Gene Allen Smith. - xiii, 257 pages : illustrations, maps 25 cm

Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-249) and index.

Black soldiers in North America: "Never of any use after they have carried arms" -- Fighting in the north 1807-13 and on the seas: "Absolutely insensible to danger" -- The Florida patriot war of 1812: "For freedom we want and will have" -- Terror in the Chesapeake, 1813-14: "Negroes who were anxious to join us" -- Washington, Baltimore, and other targets: "Our enemy at home" -- War along the southern coasts, 1814: "That pride of distinction, which a soldier's pursuits so naturally inspire" -- Different places, same results, 1815 and after: "They were in every sense of the word free men".

This book examines African American combatants during the War of 1812 as away to understand the evolution of American racial relations during the early nineteenth century. In many instances black participants - slaves and freemen-chose sides, and these choices ultimately defined their future.

9780230342088

2012045726


African American soldiers

E 359.9.A35 / .Sm51 2013