A Grand Army of Black Men: Letters from African-American Soldiers in the Union Army 1861-1865The Civil War stands vivid in the collective memory of the American public. There has always been a profound interest in the subject, and specifically of Blacks' participation in and reactions to the war and the war's outcome. Almost 200,000 African American soldiers fought for the Union in the Civil War. Although most were illiterate ex slaves, several thousand were well educated, free black men from the northern states. The 129 letters in this