Told in their own words; the stories of 50 men and women from two segregated; black infantry divisions will change the way we think about World War II.
#804983 in Books Greenwood Press 1975-08-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .75 x 5.51l; 1.11 #File Name: 0837179629298 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent regimental history!By gloine36While researching secession in Northeast Missouri in 1860/61 I repeatedly came across the Battle of Athens and the Home Guard unit that became the 21st MO Infantry Regiment. My research led to this book which I have found pretty useful. The book is outstanding. While the 21st MO did not fight in the Eastern theater; it saw plenty of action in the Western theater; especially at Shiloh in 1862. Also; the unit did not disband with the conclusion of the war as many did; but stayed on the Gulf Coast for an additional year. Between that and the way the unit was formed; we can learn a lot about the way things actually were in that time period which are often not found in regular history books. Leslie Anders did an outstanding job in putting the information together that would become this book. He included a detailed list of references used to do so. The deeper I explore this era of Missouri history; the more I find myself searching for those same references. The result is a very solid piece of work that in my opinion is about as good as it can get based on what was available to Anders. He opens by discussing the changing face of Civil War historiography in the early 1970s as historians developed new sources that had been ignored for a full century and that helped drive the change in historiography. He concludes the book with the death of the last member of the regiment in 1941. Along the way; Anders describes the chaotic events of 1861 that led to the Battle of Athens and the creation of the 21st MO later that year. He also looks at who David Moore was and how he became the regiment’s commander. I found the book to be an interesting read on our regional history as well as the history of the men who served in the regiment. Rather than repeat what Anders says in the book; I will let you do that. Let it suffice that this is a book that long time residents of Northeast Missouri will probably like because if they had ancestors here in 1861; they more than likely had a family member serving with the regiment at some point.0 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Great Book!By BKayThese people were my ancestors! It is great reading about my Grandfathers and their life during the Civil War. Thank you for good service.
