Private No More
The Civil War Letters of John Lovejoy Murray, 102nd United States Colored Infantry
University of Georgia Press · Print & ebook · March 15, 2023
The John Lovejoy Murray collection of letters contains insights into the experiences of an African American soldier and his regiment during the Civil War.
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- Who it’s for
- John Lovejoy Murray’s Civil War letters trace a Black soldier’s experiences in the 102nd USCT.
- Genres
- Civil War Era, Black History, U.S. Military History
- Published
- University of Georgia Press, March 15, 2023
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Start with this bookAbout this book
The John Lovejoy Murray collection of letters contains insights into the experiences of an African American soldier and his regiment during the Civil War. John Lovejoy Murray, a private in Company E, 102nd USCT, died of disease in a Charleston hospital on April 12, 1865. Through John Murray’s letters, readers can experience the war through the eyes of a literate northern Black soldier.
Continue reading
His is the story of the soldiers who did not receive accolades for their heroic actions in battle, the ones who spent more time on picket and fatigue duty than on the front lines, the ones who died from disease more than they did of battle-related wounds. Murray’s letters are significant because they are ordinary in some respects yet extraordinary in others. Some of the activities and sentiments portrayed in the letters are hardly distinguishable from those described in letters written by White soldiers. In other ways, the letters represent a perspective distinctly from a Black soldier in the Union army. Although many of his experiences may have been typical, John Lovejoy Murray himself, a literate, freeborn, northern Black man, was atypical among Union Black soldiers. Read more
Murray’s Civil War Letters
John Lovejoy Murray’s Civil War letters trace a Black soldier’s experiences in the 102nd USCT.
Come here for
- John Lovejoy Murray’s letters from Company E, 102nd USCT
- A Black Union soldier’s view of picket and fatigue duty
Expect
- Letters about regiment life and duties beyond the front lines
- A perspective shaped by Murray’s experience as a freeborn northern Black man
Where it sits
| Civil War Era | 66% |
|---|---|
| Black History | 64% |
| U.S. Military History | 37% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- 19th-Century America
- Civil War Era
- Black History
- African American Studies
- Authors
- Sharon A. Roger Hepburn
- Publisher
- University of Georgia Press
- Published
- March 15, 2023
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- 19th-Century America