"Chaotic freedom" in Civil War Louisiana : the origins of an iconic image / Bruce Laurie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Laurie, Bruce, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Abolitionists--Massachusetts--Biography.

Abolitionists.

Soldiers--Massachusetts--Biography.

Soldiers.

Fugitive slaves--United States--History--19th century.

Fugitive slaves.

Antislavery movements--United States--History--19th century.

Antislavery movements.

African Americans.

History.

United States.

African Americans--History--19th century.

Slavery--United States--History--19th century.

Slavery.

Massachusetts.

Genre:

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

xx, 112 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm

Place of Publication:

Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, 2021.

Summary:

"The image is terrible and familiar. A man sits, his face in profile, his torso exposed. His back is a breathtaking mass of scars, crisscrossing his body and baring the brutality of American slavery. Reproduced as a carte de visite, the image circulated widely throughout abolitionist networks and was featured in Harper's Weekly. Its undeniable power testified to the evils of slavery. But who was this man and how did this image come to be? Bruce Laurie uncovers the people and events that created this seminal image, telling the tale of three men, two Yankee soldiers from western Massachusetts who were serving the Union Army in Louisiana and a man named Peter whose scarred back horrified all who saw it. The two soldiers were so shocked by what had been done to Peter, they sought to capture the image and document slavery's cruelty, the likes of which was all too common among those fleeing bondage in Louisiana. Meticulously researched and briskly told, this short volume unearths the story behind an iconic image"-- Provided by publisher.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781625346322

1625346328

OCLC:

1248601311