Abolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind: James Montgomery and His War on Slavery

James Montgomery was a Union colonel who led Black soldiers in the Civil War and fought a more personal and radical war against slavery than popular history suggests. This book follows his harrowing path through the turbulent world of the 1850s and 1860s, inflicting destructive retribution on Southern slaveholders and leading Black soldiers in striking at the heart of the Confederacy.

Format: Unspecified
Length: 406 pages
Publication date: 17 October 2023
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

James Montgomery (1814-71) was a controversial figure known for his role as a Union colonel who led Black soldiers in the Civil War. However, his war against slavery was far more personal and radical than popular history suggests. In their book, "Abolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind," Todd Mildfelt and David D. Schafer recount the true story of this militant abolitionist, highlighting his life's struggle against the expansion of slavery into the West and during the Civil War.

The book follows Montgomery on a harrowing journey through the turbulent world of the 1850s and 1860s. With the fervor of an Old Testament prophet, he inflicts destructive retribution on Southern slaveholders wherever he finds them, crossing paths with notable abolitionists such as John Brown and Harriet Tubman. During the "Bleeding Kansas" period, he became a guerilla chieftain of the antislavery vigilantes known as Jayhawkers. When the war broke out in 1861, Montgomery led a regiment of white troops who helped hundreds of enslaved people in Missouri reach freedom in Kansas.

Drawing on regimental records in the National Archives, the authors provide new insights into the experiences of African American men who served in Montgomery's next regiment, the Thirty-Fourth United States Colored Troops (formerly the Second South Carolina Infantry). Montgomery helped enslaved men and women escape via one of the least-explored underground railways in the nation, from Arkansas and Missouri through Kansas and Nebraska. With the support of abolitionists in Massachusetts, he spearheaded resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act in Kansas. And when war came, he led Black soldiers in striking at the very heart of the Confederacy.

His full story thus illuminates the actions of this remarkable individual, who played a crucial role in the abolitionist movement and the Civil War. Montgomery's life and legacy continue to inspire and challenge us today, reminding us of the ongoing struggle for racial justice and equality.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780806192901