Why read Confederate Slave Impressment in the Upper South?

Book cover of Confederate Slave Impressment in the Upper South

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Under policies instituted by the Confederacy, white Virginians and North Carolinians surrendered control over portions of their slave populations to state authorities, military officials, and the national government to defend their new nation. State and local officials cooperated with the Confederate War Department and Engineer Bureau, as well as individual…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Confederate Slave Impressment in the Upper South as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Kevin M. Levin

Author

The Confederacy relied extensively on slave labor throughout the Civil War. The Confederate War Department and Engineer Bureau utilized enslaved labor to construct fortifications at key sites, build and repair railroad lines, and manufacture war materiel in places like Richmond’s Tredegar Iron Works. According to historian Jaime Martinez, this impressed labor forced slaveowners into close cooperation with an increasingly centralized Confederate government that struggled to conduct a war against an enemy that enjoyed advantages in manpower and other resources. One of the most valuable aspects of this book is its coverage of the conditions that slaves operated under while on…

From Kevin's list on The best books about slavery and the confederacy.