Booknotes: Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars 1754–1865

New Arrival:

• Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars, 1754–1865 by Don Troiani & John U. Rees, with James L. Kochan (Stackpole Bks, 2025).

I never personally knew anyone who was a collector, but it seemed to me at the time that the 1990s must have been the peak decade for producing and selling Civil War art. The original oils went for a pretty penny, and in addition to providing the cover art for so many of the popular magazines the ads inside each issue were filled with newly available prints and regular introductions of new artists and their work. A prolific contributor who was one of my personal favorites, Don Troiani painted active scenes but was perhaps best known for his highly detailed uniform and accoutrement portraits. That specialization is on full display in his newest book, Don Troiani's Black Soldiers in America's Wars, 1754–1865.

From the description: "Using a masterful combination of artistry and accuracy, Don Troiani has dedicated his career to transforming our understanding of the military soldier. Don now turns his talents to capturing the under-recognized African-American soldiers as they fought in the French and Indian War, the War of Independence, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War. Don’s battle paintings, figure studies, and artifact collection are teamed with historian John Rees’s insightful text."

Presentation is very attractive. The 8.5" x 11" format allows for large image size, and the high quality paper and high resolution image reproduction renders Troiani's uniforms, equipment, and weapons in vivid color and fine detail. Also included are close-up photos of items such as identification discs, medals, cartridge pouches, paper documents, etc. related to these men's military service. It looks like Troiani is still active in painting as many of the featured artworks have very recent dates.

In addition to an introduction, there are four longer chapters covering black soldier contributions to the four wars referenced above. Rees's text contains a great deal of information about the fighting and especially the units in which these men were involved. "Using primary sources, Rees gives a true picture of the contributions of the many Black soldiers over the 100-year history." Those sources appear at the bottom of the page, and there are additional chapter notes collected at the back of the book.