Against the backdrop of bloody battles and political maneuvering, thousands of African Americans spent the Civil War trying to hold their families together. Whether enslaved or free, they strove not only to survive but also to cultivate bonds of family, friendship, and community. This moving book illuminates that struggle through the letters exchanged by African Americans before, during, and just after the war. Despite harsh laws against literacy and brutal practices that broke apart black families, people found ways to write to each other against all odds. Their letters reveal humanity’s ability to endure extraordinary hardship.

In these pages, readers will meet parents who are losing hope of ever seeing their children again and a husband who walks fifteen miles to visit his wife, enslaved on a different plantation. The collection also includes tender courtship letters exchanged between Lewis Henry Douglass and Helen Amelia Loguen, both children of noted abolitionists, and letters sent home by the young women who traveled south to teach literacy to escaped slaves.

The stories in these pages challenge the notion of a monolithic black experience during the Civil War era.

Thanks to Roberts’ expert curation, readers may follow the fates of individuals and families while seeing the wider historical context. This book honors long-ignored voices and invites readers to engage viscerally and personally with the black historical experience.

This audiobook includes a special bonus lecture from the author discussing her research into the lived experiences of enslaved and free African-Americans during the U.S. Civil War era.