Grant, Lincoln and the Freedmen: Reminiscences of the Civil War by John Eaton

During the American Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant appointed John Eaton of Ohio as general superintendent of contrabands, leading efforts to assimilate formerly enslaved people into the postwar Union. Eaton's memoir, Grant, Lincoln, and the Freedmen, has been a valuable primary source for historians. This scholarly edition, with detailed introduction and annotations, highlights the lasting significance of his narrative, contextualizing important events and Eaton's view on the military's role in integration.

Format: Hardback
Length: 277 pages
Publication date: 30 September 2022
Publisher: University of Tennessee Press

In 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant, renowned for his strategic prowess during the American Civil War, appointed one of his regimental chaplains, John Eaton of Ohio, as the general superintendent of contrabands for the Department of the Tennessee. As the war raged on, Eaton's approach to humanitarian aid and education for the newly freed people marked one of the earliest attempts to consider the assimilation and citizenship of an entire population of formerly enslaved individuals within the postwar Union. Eaton, in his 1907 memoir titled Grant, Lincoln, and the Freedmen: Reminiscences of the Civil War, meticulously documented these pioneering efforts. For over a century, this invaluable primary source has been consulted by historians seeking to understand the Civil War era.

In this scholarly edition, edited by John David Smith and Micheal J. Larson, a comprehensive introduction and chapter-by-chapter annotations are provided to underscore the enduring significance of Eaton's narrative. These supplementary materials contextualize key events, unravel the complexities of inter-agency relationships during the war and postwar periods, and present Eaton's perspective that the military should play a pivotal role in assimilating the freed people into the reunited Union.

Grant, Lincoln, and the Freedmen offers a firsthand account of the challenges faced by Grant, Lincoln, and Eaton themselves in their service and organization of the integration of the newly freed people. This heavily annotated reprint serves as a reminder of the enduring importance of Eaton's recollections in the historiography of the emancipation process and the Civil War era.

Weight: 358g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781621906575