A History of the Negro Troops in the War of the Rebellion, 1861–1865

A History of the Negro Troops in the War of the Rebellion, 1861–1865 by George Washington Williams (published 1888) was a major book-length academic history of military history of African Americans in the American Civil War. Carter G. Woodson called it "one of the most valuable accounts of the Civil War."

Williams himself served with the U.S. Colored Troops. Williams has been described as "the finest black prose stylist of his day" and his History showcases this skill.Mohr, Clarence L. “Bibliographical Essay: Southern Blacks in the Civil War: A Century of Historiography.” The Journal of Negro History, vol. 59, no. 2, 1974, pp. 177–95. JSTOR, . Accessed 4 Apr. 2023. Williams' book has been called the most important of a trio of histories of 19th-century African-American military histories written by black authors, alongside Williams Wells Brown's The Negro in the American Rebellion and Joseph T. Wilson's The Black Phalanx.

Williams' historiographic use of newspaper reports, soliciting records of local groups through newspaper advertisements, and oral histories, including traveling to interview soldiers, was pioneering. The creation of the book is considered a part of the "birth of black studies."

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External links HathiTrust.org: Full text of A history of the negro troops in the war of the rebellion, 1861-1865, preceded by a review of the military services of negroes in ancient and modern times, by George W. Williams.