Booknotes: Brothers in Valor

New Arrival:
• Brothers in Valor: Battlefield Stories of the 89 African Americans Awarded the Medal of Honor by Robert F. Jefferson, Jr. (Lyons Pr, 2018).

"Since the American Civil War, scores of African Americans have served with great distinction. Through thousands of historical accounts, photographs, and documentary evidence," Robert Jefferson's Brothers in Valor "introduces the 89 black soldiers who continued forward when all odds were against them." 

The book "paints a vivid portrait of African-American soldiers who carried the flag of freedom and how they reshaped the very definition of courage under fire during some of the most harrowing moments in United States military history. In turn, their courage and determination left an indelible mark on the American portrait."

Chapters cover the Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, WW1, WW2, the Korean Conflict, and Vietnam. From the full list of recipients at the back of the book, twenty-five MOH awards were from the Civil War. Selecting from the list, the opening Civil War chapter focuses on the lives and service of William H. Carney (Fort Wagner, 1863), Christian A. Fleetwood (Chaffin's Farm, 1864), Milton Holland (Chaffin's Farm, 1864), Andrew Jackson Smith (Honey Hill, 1864), and John H. Lawson (Mobile Bay, 1864).