Review of "Born at the Battlefield of Gettysburg: An African-American Family Saga," by Harriette C. Rinaldi

 Review of

Born at the Battlefield of Gettysburg: An African-American Family Saga, by Harriette C. Rinaldi, ISBN 9781558763326

Four out of five stars

One of the darker sides of slavery

 The mother of Victor D. Chambers lived on both sides of the slavery issue. She was born to free black parents in Philadelphia and was kidnapped and sold into slavery on a Virginia plantation. She toiled there for 37 years before she escaped north, reaching the free state of Pennsylvania in the area of Gettysburg. She gave birth to her son Victor when the battle between the Union and Confederate forces took place. Hence the title of the book. 

The most significant point of history related to the sordid practice of slavery was the lucrative practice of the kidnapping of young blacks in the free states to sell them into slavery in the slave states. While the actions of the brutal slave catchers receives some historical attention, the actions of the slave kidnappers are left out. Those men were brutal and generally preyed on children, for they were easier to handle and therefore were more profitable. 

 This book is the history of that family and how their lives evolved from the kidnapping to after Victor’s birth and how the culture evolved after the end of the Civil War. Life was not easy for blacks in Philadelphia after the war ended. While the men of the Union ttates were willing to fight and die to end slavery and preserve the union, most were unwilling to offer the freed blacks places of equality in society. It brings to light some of the darker issues in an inherently dark aspect of U. S. history.


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