Soldiers in the Union Army volunteered for many reasons—to reunite the country; to put down the southern rebellion. For most; however; slavery was a peripheral issue. Sympathy for slaves often came only after the soldiers actually witnessed their plight.In November 1863; thirty-eight men of the Minnesota Ninth Regiment responded to a fugitive slave's desperate plea by holding a train at gunpoint and liberating his wife; five children; and three other family members who were being shipped off to be sold. But this rescue happened in Missouri; where Union soldiers had firm orders not to interfere with loyal slaveholders. Charged with mutiny; the Minnesotans were confined for two months without being tried. Their case was even debated in the U.S. Senate. This remarkable and unprecedented incident remains virtually unknown today.One Drop in a Sea of Blue is the story of these thirty-eight liberators and of the Ninth Minnesota through the entire Civil War. After a humiliating defeat at Brice's crossroads; Mississippi; many were held at Andersonville and other notorious confederate prisons; where the Ninth Minnesota as a whole suffered a death rate exceeding 60 percent. Yet the regiment also helped destroy the confederate army of Tennessee at Nashville and capture mobile. In August 1865; when the Ninth Minnesota was mustered out; only fourteen liberators stood in its ranks. With vital details won through assiduous research; John Lundstrom uncovers the true stories of ordinary men who lived and died in extraordinary times.
#3598265 in Books Kent State Univ Pr 1994-02-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.44 x 2.45 x 6.60l; 3.62 #File Name: 0873384725880 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. "An Intimate View of 19th Century America"By Barrie W. BrackenThis marvelous book offers the reqader and the researcher a window into the life of one of our most important political characters in a troubled century. Some historians have offered the thought that we live in a different world from that in which Chase lived. The Journals give us a more personal view than the works in general of a man who served in Ohio and national politics; as an abolitionist leader; as sec'y of the Treasury in Lincoln's cabinet; and as Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court.
