The role that African Americans played in the Gettysburg Campaign has now been largely forgotten. This work seeks to rectify this oversight by bringing to light the many ways that Black Americans took part in the crucial battle at Gettysburg, how they were able to influence the military outcome, and the impact the Civil War had on their lives. Author, James M. Paradis, a former licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg National Military Park, examines the active prewar role played by Gettysburg citizens, both black and white, in dramatic rescues of the Underground Railroad. Readers are...

The Sesquicentennial edition of African Americans and the Gettysburg Campaign, expands the range of research beyond its original 2006 edition. With a foreword from chief historian emeritus of the National Park Service, Edwin C. Bearss, Paradis sets the stage by introducing readers to the important and colorful members of the black community in and around the town of Gettysburg, including descriptions of Underground Railroad activity in the area. With the outbreak of the Civil War, black volunteers for the Union army were initially rejected. But that did not stop them from assuming...