Scan barcode
hollyxbear's review against another edition
5.0
This book really opened my eyes to the civil war. I greatly enjoy history and have read plenty about the civil war from the eyes of white soldiers and a few from those who were black. But reading it from a black woman's point of view and seeing not just what she went through during the war but after was amazing. She went through so much and had such convictions. I loved every second. Her writing style was wonderful and I am grateful that she learned to read and write so I was able to read about this time from her voice.
jordantaylor's review against another edition
4.0
I was so happy to stumble upon this book, which I had never heard of before, right on the day that the first African American woman was sworn in as Vice President of the United States.
This is the memoir of Susie King Taylor, born a slave in 1848 Savannah, Georgia. She had to learn how to read and write in secret, as this was highly forbidden for Black children. At the age of only 14, Susie was traveling with the Union army and helping to nurse Civil War soldiers.
Susie takes us through her background and covert education, to being a part of the army, her fearlessness over tending men with infectious diseases, and listening to the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which she and the soldiers celebrate.
There were many things about the Civil War and the era that I had never heard before, including many horrific details. For example, there is the terrible story of a group of Confederate soldiers wearing blackface to disguise themselves as Black men, thus tricking the Union soldiers into letting their guard down, and then attacking.
A Confederate general repeatedly offers false surrender.
And one Union soldier given leave into town in South Carolina is captured by the enemy, and given a twisted sort of death parade through the streets, made to sit in his own hearse carrying his coffin, which his fellow soldiers must watch helplessly, until at the end of his "parade," he is shot.
And as well, Taylor mentions multiple times how the government was unwilling to pay the Black soldiers their pay, offering them half-pay instead, although many did not receive "a penny for eighteen months."
Besides these disturbing and heavy scenes, there are also lighter details: For example, the story of a pet pig who became beloved by the regiment and taught to play tricks, jokingly called "His pigship" by Taylor. Also, she swears by the health benefits of her delicious sassafras tea - I suppose I'll have to try some now.
After the war ends, Taylor continues her memoirs, detailing her years after the war, setting up a school for Black children and later teaching adults at a night school.
She also witnesses the continuation of segregation and vicious racism, leading her to question at times if the war was in vain.
When she travels south to Tennessee, she is made to ride in a filthy train car - for colored passengers. And once she arrives in Chattanooga, a Black man tells her with weary resignation that here, men are lynched "all the time," and says "Oh, that is nothing. That is the way they do here. It is done all the time. We have no rights here."
This passage was absolutely heartbreaking:
It is sad how chillingly timely this quote feels reading it today.
From this point on in the book, Taylor's writing takes on new power as she delivers page after page of hard-hitting truths about the atrocities of racism.
Recommended reading to illuminate the life of a courageous woman who should be better known.
This is the memoir of Susie King Taylor, born a slave in 1848 Savannah, Georgia. She had to learn how to read and write in secret, as this was highly forbidden for Black children. At the age of only 14, Susie was traveling with the Union army and helping to nurse Civil War soldiers.
Susie takes us through her background and covert education, to being a part of the army, her fearlessness over tending men with infectious diseases, and listening to the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which she and the soldiers celebrate.
There were many things about the Civil War and the era that I had never heard before, including many horrific details. For example, there is the terrible story of a group of Confederate soldiers wearing blackface to disguise themselves as Black men, thus tricking the Union soldiers into letting their guard down, and then attacking.
A Confederate general repeatedly offers false surrender.
And one Union soldier given leave into town in South Carolina is captured by the enemy, and given a twisted sort of death parade through the streets, made to sit in his own hearse carrying his coffin, which his fellow soldiers must watch helplessly, until at the end of his "parade," he is shot.
And as well, Taylor mentions multiple times how the government was unwilling to pay the Black soldiers their pay, offering them half-pay instead, although many did not receive "a penny for eighteen months."
Besides these disturbing and heavy scenes, there are also lighter details: For example, the story of a pet pig who became beloved by the regiment and taught to play tricks, jokingly called "His pigship" by Taylor. Also, she swears by the health benefits of her delicious sassafras tea - I suppose I'll have to try some now.
After the war ends, Taylor continues her memoirs, detailing her years after the war, setting up a school for Black children and later teaching adults at a night school.
She also witnesses the continuation of segregation and vicious racism, leading her to question at times if the war was in vain.
When she travels south to Tennessee, she is made to ride in a filthy train car - for colored passengers. And once she arrives in Chattanooga, a Black man tells her with weary resignation that here, men are lynched "all the time," and says "Oh, that is nothing. That is the way they do here. It is done all the time. We have no rights here."
This passage was absolutely heartbreaking:
In this "land of the free" we are burned, tortured, and denied a fair trial. We are murdered for any imaginary wrong conceived in the brain of the Negro-hating white man. There is no redress for us from a government which promised to protect all beneath its flag. It seems a mystery to me. They say, "One flag, one nation, one country indivisible. But is this true?
It is sad how chillingly timely this quote feels reading it today.
From this point on in the book, Taylor's writing takes on new power as she delivers page after page of hard-hitting truths about the atrocities of racism.
Recommended reading to illuminate the life of a courageous woman who should be better known.
More...