266 records matched your query
06988aam a2200721 i 4500 001 1DAE7EDEBFA611ECA5AD8FDE3CECA4DB 003 SILO 005 20220419010024 008 210707s2021 lauab b 001 0beng 010 $a 2021010896 020 $a 0807176265 020 $a 9780807176269 035 $a (OCoLC)1249496644 040 $a DLC $b eng $e rda $c DLC $d OCLCO $d BDX $d OCLCF $d OCLCO $d UKMGB $d IDO $d CDX $d GZD $d YDX $d OCLCO $d IMD $d YUS $d OCLCO $d SILO 042 $a pcc 043 $a n-us--- $a n-us-sc $a n-us--- 050 00 $a F274.S93 $b R44 2021 100 1 $a Rhea, Gordon C., $e author. 245 10 $a Stephen A. Swails : $b Black freedom fighter in the Civil War and Reconstruction / $c Gordon C. Rhea. 246 30 $a Black freedom fighter in the Civil War and Reconstruction 264 1 $a Baton Rouge : $b Louisiana State University Press, $c [2021] 300 $a xiv, 189 pages : $b illustrations (black and white), maps (black and white) ; $c 24 cm. 490 1 $a Southern biography series 504 $a Includes bibliographical references and index. 505 0 $a An Angel of God Come Down to Lead the Host of Freedom -- One Plane of Ashes and Blackened Chimneys -- Looking Out from among the Ghastly Corpses -- Why Can't We Have a Soldier's Pay? -- I Now Recommend His Being Allowed to Serve as a Commissioned Officer -- Crowned with Laurels -- This Is a White Man's Government -- The Political Boss of Williamsburg County -- A Campaign of Intimidation and Terror -- What a Mockery of Justice Is This? -- A Proper Denouement to an Extraordinary Man. 520 $a "Stephen Atkins Swails played significant roles in the Civil War and Reconstruction in South Carolina. Born a free Black in Pennsylvania, Swails volunteered to serve in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the first African American regiment raised in the North. He earned distinction in a series of major battles, including the bloody assault to capture Battery Wagner in Charleston Harbor, the Battle of Olustee in north Florida, and Potter's raid into central South Carolina. Swails's service was so exemplary that his commanding officer recommended him for an officer's commission-a request the War Department initially denied because of his "African blood." After vigorous lobbying and support from Massachusetts' governor, the War Department changed course and made Swails the first African American commissioned as a combat officer in the United States military. After the war, Swails remained in South Carolina, where he held important positions in the Freedmen's Bureau, helped draft South Carolina's progressive constitution, and served in the state legislature. From his leadership position in the state senate, Swails was instrumental in securing legislation benefitting newly-liberated Black citizens. Later, he settled in Kingstree, a small South Carolina town, where he raised a family, became mayor, and practiced law. Swails remained active in South Carolina politics after Reconstruction until violent followers of racist Governor Wade Hampton drove him from the state. Despite threats against his life, Swails frequently returned to South Carolina and remained a prominent figure in state politics. After Swails died in 1900, state and local leaders erased him from the historical narrative. He would likely have remained forgotten if not for historians' recent efforts to revive his military, political, and civil rights contributions. Award-winning author Gordon Rhea's biography is the first of Swails and one of only a handful for any of the nearly 200,000 African Americans who fought in the Civil War or figured prominently in Reconstruction. Unlike many of his comrades, Swails was literate and wrote numerous letters, memoranda, and documents. Amazingly, the bulk of his most important personal papers ended up in a trash dump before two junk collectors rescued them. Rhea relied heavily on those documents, which comprise a wealth of Swails' writings, including his role in the assault on Battery Wagner and on post-war attempts on his life by political opponents. Rhea also utilized unpublished 54th Massachusetts sources at the Massachusetts Historical Society, extensive Freedmen's Bureau records in the National Archives, and Swails' letters and official documents from his years as a senator during Reconstruction. Swails's life story is a saga of an indomitable human being who confronted deep-seated racial prejudice in various institutions but persisted until he had achieved all he could. His is an inspiring story that is especially timely today"-- $c Provided by publisher. 600 10 $a Swails, Stephen A., $d 1832-1900. 610 10 $a United States. $b Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands $x Officials and employees $v Biography. 610 10 $a United States. $b Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 54th (1863-1865) $b Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 54th (1863-1865) 610 17 $a United States. $b Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 54th (1863-1865) $b Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 54th (1863-1865) $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst00638888 610 17 $a United States. $b Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst00541501 650 0 $a Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) 651 0 $a Southern States $x Race relations. 651 0 $a South Carolina $x Politics and government $y 1865-1950. 650 0 $a African American legislators $z South Carolina $v Biography. 651 0 $a United States $x Participation, African American. $y Civil War, 1861-1865 $x Participation, African American. 650 0 $a African Americans $z South Carolina $v Biography. 651 0 $a South Carolina $v Biography. 651 6 $a Etats-Unis (Sud) $x Relations raciales. 651 6 $a Caroline du Sud $x Politique et gouvernement $y 1865-1950. 650 6 $a Parlementaires noirs americains $z Caroline du Sud $v Biographies. 650 6 $a Noirs americains $z Caroline du Sud $v Biographies. 651 6 $a Caroline du Sud $v Biographies. 650 7 $a African American legislators. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst00799220 650 7 $a African Americans. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst00799558 650 7 $a Employees. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst00909111 650 7 $a Military participation $x African American. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst01353696 650 7 $a Politics and government. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst01919741 650 7 $a Race relations. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst01086509 650 7 $a Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst01754987 651 7 $a South Carolina. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst01204600 651 7 $a Southern States. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst01244550 651 7 $a United States. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst01204155 648 7 $a 1865-1950 $2 fast 655 2 $a Biography 655 7 $a Biographies. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst01919896 655 7 $a History. $2 fast $0 (OCoLC)fst01411628 655 7 $a Biographies. $2 lcgft 655 7 $a Biographies. $2 rvmgf 830 0 $a Southern biography series. 941 $a 1 952 $l OVUX522 $d 20231018024728.0 956 $a http://locator.silo.lib.ia.us/search.cgi?index_0=id&term_0=1DAE7EDEBFA611ECA5AD8FDE3CECA4DBInitiate Another SILO Locator Search