Booknotes: Death or Victory

New Arrival:

• Death or Victory: The Louisiana Native Guards and the Black Military’s Significance in the Civil War by A.J. Cade (LSU Press, 2026).

From the description: "Originating as a division of the New Orleans Home Guards in May 1861, the Native Guards consisted of free Black and Creole men who leveraged the city’s established military customs to gain entry into the Home Guards. Although not officially part of the Confederate forces, their involvement compelled the federal government to contemplate forming a similar regiment, setting the stage for their transition to the Union army the following year."

James Hollandsworth's 1995 study The Louisiana Native Guards: The Black Military Experience During the Civil War (also from LSU Press) was the first book-length history of the Native Guards, but it is a slim volume that is more than thirty years old at this point. More expansive in depth and scope, A.J. Cade's new study Death or Victory: The Louisiana Native Guards and the Black Military’s Significance in the Civil War promises to be the fullest treatment to date.

More from the description: "Cade’s research highlights the Native Guards’ crucial role as a testing ground for Black participation in the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, the War Department, and the entire nation regarded these early regiments as an experiment in understanding the implications of Black service. The Native Guards exceeded expectations, engaging in significant battles and sieges." Even though the First Kansas Colored Infantry regiment had already demonstrated their combat mettle at Island Mound on October 29, 1862, that event was a minor engagement fought in a relatively isolated part of Missouri. Though Island Mound drew some national attention, the prominent combat role of the Native Guards in May-July 1863 during the far more important Port Hudson Campaign more significantly advanced popular opinion of the fighting capabilities of black troops and paved the way toward mass expansion of black enrollment in the Union Army. "Cade’s work challenges existing Civil War narratives by shedding light on the overlooked contributions of the Louisiana Native Guards, rectifying misconceptions, and highlighting Black and Creole individuals who fought for their nation."

While Cade's book is "intended to be a complete regimental history of the Louisiana Native Guards and all of their subsequent iterations in the U.S. Army," it also "explores the nuanced social, political, and economic conditions in the city that set the stage for the Native Guards to form and fight in the war" (pp. 8-9). So, in addition to documenting Native Guard military service in detail, Death or Victory "shows how the Native Guards reflected the unique racial dynamics of the city, where free Black and Creole men of color had long enjoyed a degree of social and economic autonomy. These men were often educated, property owning, and deeply invested in the city’s civic life. Their service in the Native Guards was not just about fighting for the Union; it was also about asserting their rights as citizens and challenging the racial hierarchies that sought to deny them full participation in American society."

Each chapter "follows a theme that is accentuated" by its title, but they all revolve around "one central question: What was the significance of the Louisiana Native Guards to the Black society of Louisiana during and after the American Civil War?" The first few chapters "strive to correct mistakes in the historiography of the regiments". Subsequent chapters examine Native Guard recruitment and training (along with white reaction to them), the Guard's first combat experience, the purging of black officers from Native Guard units, their part in the Port Hudson Campaign and their later Civil War service, and, finally, their "fight for social and political rights" after the war ended (pp. 10-11). "By examining the motivations and experiences of these men, Cade provides a compelling portrait of a community that defied easy categorization and played a pivotal role in shaping the course of the Civil War."