Synopses & Reviews
Of the nearly 200,000 African Americans who served in Union forces during the Civil War, sixteen received the Congressional Medal of Honor for conspicuous bravery above and beyond the call of duty. Fourteen of these men put on a stunning display of selfless gallantry in the Battle of New Market Heights. In the early and bloody hours of September 29, 1864, these men changed history with their display of uncommon valor.
In Uncommon Valor, Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist Melvin Claxton and investigative reporter Mark Puls tell the inspiring story of ordinary farmers, laborers, and tradesmen who were willing to sacrifice their lives to end slavery and win respect for their race at a time when much of America shunned them. The authors also take a penetrating look at the lives of African American soldiers in the Civil War, the controversy surrounding the creation of "colored" brigades, and the complex relationships between black troops and their white commanders.
Many of the events in this powerful tale of war, heroism, and liberation are seen through the eyes and the words of one who lived through them. You'll meet Medal of Honor winner Christian Fleetwood, a well-educated Baltimore shipyard clerk who put aside his dream of making a new life free of racial prejudice in Liberia to join the fight that he hoped would end slavery and inequality in America. You'll share his frustration as he quickly realizes that despite his education and military acumen, his skin color relegates him to a second-class status even in the Union army.
For Fleetwood and his African American comrades, the frustration would only grow. Unlike their white counterparts, they faced abuse or even death if captured. They trained hard but were often kept from the front by commanders who were either afraid to be called racist butchers or sure that African Americans would prove less brave and less honorable than their white counterparts. After inconclusive roles in Grant's attempt to capture Petersburg and the debacle of "the Crater," these soldiers were itching for a chance to prove themselvesthen came New Market Heights.
Ordered to take this heavily fortified Confederate position that twice before repelled white Union troops with heavy losses, Fleetwood and his companions marched without cover up a hill where 2,000 enemy soldiers waited with artillery and rifles. They walked into a hailstorm of rebel fire. Even as their comrades fell, others stepped up to take their place. The decimated, bloodied regiments pressed forward and, in an astonishing victory, took the hill. What happened that day on rolling hills and grassy knolls of Virginia is the stuff of legend. It is a story that every American should know, and no one who reads it will ever forget.
Review
The terrible, but ultimately victorious, 1864 assault on New Market Heights, a vital outpost in the defense of Richmond, VA, forms the centerpiece of Claxton and Puls's Civil War history, which highlights the bravery and sacrifice of African-American troops. The battle hastened the end of the war and retired most of the prejudices that initially kept black troops out of combat. It also earned the book's chief protagonist, Christian Fleetwood, a Baltimore resident who enlisted while slavery was still legal in Maryland, a medal of honor for his bravery. Claxton and Puls's account suffers from its paucity of primary black voices, and it's too short to be definitive. The authors' decision to focus on only a few months of the war hampers narrative tension, though it does illustrate the fact that soldiering is nine parts tedium for every part horror. And the authors, both investigative reporters with the Detroit News, do capture the important themes: how blacks were long denied the fight against the South, how their courage was ever in question and how, after serving their country honorably, full citizenship in the postwar nation was not their reward. (Jan.) (Publishers Weekly, November 14, 2005)
Synopsis
"With the air of intimacy that only comes from intensive research, Uncommon Valor vividly shows us the contributions made by escaped slaves, ex-slaves, and freemen to the Union cause."
Gene Smith, author of Lee and Grant
Christian Fleetwood had mixed feelings about America, and America had mixed feelings about him. As a free twenty-three-year-old black man living in Baltimore, with the Civil War raging, he understood well all that was worrisome and all that was inspiring in his war-torn country. A few days after Gettysburg, as his hometown was flooded with horribly wounded soldiers, Fleetwood made a momentous and patriotic decision. He enlisted.
Uncommon Valor tells the powerful story of how Sergeant Fleetwood and his fellow "colored" troops overcame oppression, suspicion, derision, and a ceaseless torrent of Confederate gunfire to overrun a heavily fortified rebel position against impossible odds. For outstanding bravery and devotion beyond the call of duty, Fleetwood and thirteen of his comrades were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Based on personal diaries, letters, and other firsthand accounts, this riveting tale takes you deep into the heat of battle and beyond, as these heroic soldiers are forced to fight two wars at onceone against the enemy, the other against their own white commanders and fellow troops.
The Civil War produced hundreds of heroes and thousands of thrilling accounts of their brave and glorious deeds. None is more moving, compelling, or inspiring than Uncommon Valor.
About the Author
MELVIN CLAXTON is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter with the Nashville Tennessean.
MARK PULS is a former award-winning investigative reporter with the Detroit News.
Table of Contents
Prologue: A Debate over Civil Rights.
One: The Bell Tolls: A Call for Black Troops.
Two: Christian Fleetwood Enlists.
Three: The First Mission.
Four: Ready and Willing: The Cincinnati Brigade.
Five: Hunting Guerrillas and Bushwhackers in North Carolina.
Six: Early Skirmishes: Raids on Richmond.
Seven: Avenging an Ambush.
Eight: To the Front: Storming Petersburg.
Nine: The Fog of War: The Petersburg Mine Explosion.
Ten: The Price of Honor: Heroics at New Market Heights.
Epilogue: The War Ends.
Bibliography.
Index.