Captaining the Corps d'Afrique

<p> I have stood by their side in the grim conflict wrote Union Captain John Chamberlin of the Corps d'Afrique. Woe to the nation that long withholds their rights from them.</p><p> Chamberlin spent nearly five years in the South during and after the Civil War. A well read observant and articulate writer he recorded his unique perspective as a commander of black soldiers and engineers. More than everyday accounts of camp life and battles Chamberlin's letters and diaries --here presented in historical context--give an insider's view of the Union army's relationship with black troops and of the political and social implications of wartime events. Late in the war his correspondence focused on a schoolmate Anna Bullock and their burgeoning relationship.</p>