- Joined
- Dec 4, 2011
http://www.denneymedia.com/atlanta1864/soldier/soldier.htm
The page on the soldier in question calls him a "guard posted," but I don't see it. He's sitting and he has set his rifle on the ground. If he's supposed to be a guard, it's a propaganda piece about those lazy negroes who aren't fit to be soldiers. But I think it's just the opposite kind of propaganda piece. He's an armed black man who's reading, not a guard who's goofing off. For antebellum southern whites, it doesn't get much scarier than that, and placing him in front of the sale sign is an in-your-face message.
The 14th USCT was geographically the closest, as the website mentions. For what it's worth, the journal of the chaplain of the 14th USCT exists, and the finding aid says:
"The regiment was stationed initially at Chattanooga, where they became the first Colored regiment to be seen by most of the Army of the Cumberland. There, Elgin pressed forward with an ambitious effort to teach the soldiers the basics of reading and writing as well as the Bible. 'I must educate before I can successfully impart religious truth to them,' he wrote, 'Their minds must be awakened and disciplined' (p. 62). Within two weeks of arriving at Chattanooga, Elgin had taught 380 men the alphabet, and the number of those able to read somewhat had increased from 10 to 127."
So if Barnard ran across a stray member of the 14th USCT in Atlanta, and wanted to take his picture, a member of that particular regiment would be just the type to say, "Hey, why don't you show me reading a book?"
The page on the soldier in question calls him a "guard posted," but I don't see it. He's sitting and he has set his rifle on the ground. If he's supposed to be a guard, it's a propaganda piece about those lazy negroes who aren't fit to be soldiers. But I think it's just the opposite kind of propaganda piece. He's an armed black man who's reading, not a guard who's goofing off. For antebellum southern whites, it doesn't get much scarier than that, and placing him in front of the sale sign is an in-your-face message.
The 14th USCT was geographically the closest, as the website mentions. For what it's worth, the journal of the chaplain of the 14th USCT exists, and the finding aid says:
"The regiment was stationed initially at Chattanooga, where they became the first Colored regiment to be seen by most of the Army of the Cumberland. There, Elgin pressed forward with an ambitious effort to teach the soldiers the basics of reading and writing as well as the Bible. 'I must educate before I can successfully impart religious truth to them,' he wrote, 'Their minds must be awakened and disciplined' (p. 62). Within two weeks of arriving at Chattanooga, Elgin had taught 380 men the alphabet, and the number of those able to read somewhat had increased from 10 to 127."
So if Barnard ran across a stray member of the 14th USCT in Atlanta, and wanted to take his picture, a member of that particular regiment would be just the type to say, "Hey, why don't you show me reading a book?"