Uncommon Valor: A Story of Race, Patriotism, and Glory in the Final Battles of the Civil war (in English)
Synopsis "Uncommon Valor: A Story of Race, Patriotism, and Glory in the Final Battles of the Civil war (in English)"
christian fleetwood had mixed feelings about america, and america had mixed feelings about him. as a free 23 year old black man living in baltimore, with the civil war raging, he understood well all that was worrisome, and all that was inspiring, in his war-torn country. a few days after gettysburg, as the wounded began filtering into his hometown, fleetwood made a momentous and patriotic decision. he enlisted. many other african-americans, some free and some slaves, made the same decision, and fleetwood found himself promoted to sergeant and marching off to war with the u.s. colored troops 4th infantry. in uncommon valor, pulitzer prize winning writer melvin claxton and investigative reporter mark puls, tell the story of fleetwood and the brave men who fought beside him. the lot of a black soldier was a hard one, and many, including fleetwood, were torn between their glorious successes and the deprivations of war, between the righteousness of their cause and the daily reminders of their second-class status. they were driven hard, but were often kept from the front either by sympathetic commanders who were afraid theyd be called racist butchers, or by skeptical commanders who were sure they would prove to be less brave, less honorable than their white counterparts. after inconclusive roles in grants attempt to capture petersberg, and the debacle of the crater, they finally found their chance to prove themselves at the battle of new market heights. in september 1864 gen. ulysses s. grant ordered for a surprise attack against richmond, a brazen attempt to bring down the entire confederacy. taking a key role in the plan, the 4th usct was to launch an attack on the 2,000 confederate soldiers entrenched in a commanding, fortified position in new market heights. they simply had to get through. crossing numerous obstacles and a vast unprotected field, fleetwood and his compatriots overcame their most basic human instincts and threw themselves headlong into a hail of southern bullets. within eighty minutes of raging, raucous fighting, half of the 4th usct was dead, and the confederate position taken. sixteen men would be awarded the medal of honor for their uncommon valor at the battle of new market heights, and eventually richmond fell, of course, to grant and his men.
