Photos in ‘The Black Civil War Soldier’ by Deborah Willis remember a quest for freedom
The eminent scholar, who grew up in North Philadelphia, says Black soldiers’ Civil War photos were sending a message: “That there was and will be a Black future.”
by Cassie Owens
Philadelphia Inquirer
Published Feb 23, 2021
At a time when some monuments are falling, Deborah Willis is considering the statues that still haven’t been built.
The venerable artist, curator, and researcher of photographic history says her archival work for her new book, The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship, has made her see monuments differently than some folks.
Alexander Herritage Newton (left) as a quartermaster sergeant with the 29th Connecticut Infantry, circa 1865. Standing next to him is Daniel S. Lathrop (1846-1924), who served at the same rank in the regiment.James Horace Wells and David C. Collins / Courtesy Yale University
“People were angry with me, thinking that ‘Oh, [monuments] should be torn down.’ I’m saying ‘No, we need more,’” Willis says. A monument to Alexander Herritage Newton, to name one.
A photograph of Newton is one of many slices of history Willis revives in the book. He was in his early 20s when the Civil War broke out, and at that point, it was illegal for Black men to enlist in the Union army. Newton found Brooklyn’s 13th Regiment and joined it regardless, later continuing his service with the 29th Connecticut Infantry.
A son of the South who’d been born free to a free mother and an enslaved father, Newton wrote letters to Black newspapers and eventually his own autobiography. “The way that he describes his experiences were just poetic and meaningful,” Willis says.
He later settled in Philadelphia and Camden and was a noteworthy abolitionist. He’s one of the many hidden figures with local ties in the book, something that gives Willis, who grew up in North Philadelphia, a lot of pride, she says. “We need to give this man a monument.”
Willis, department chair for photography and imaging at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, had noticed a dearth of images of Black servicemen from the era. For The Black Civil War Soldier, she pulled together photographs, letters, and diary entries to shed light on not only what Black servicemen were experiencing, but also what Black teachers, Black doctors, Black children, and other members of the community were. .
“The letters humanize the experience of war and personalize it in a way that guided me to focus on families. The experience of mothers writing a letter to Abraham Lincoln to say, you know, ‘I’m worried about my son, please…. CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK TO THE INQUIRER ARTICLE