Voices of Emancipation: Understanding Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction Through the U.S. Pension Bureau Files

“Civil War pension records offer an unrivaled view into the lives of ordinary Americans during the nineteenth century, and Regosin and Shaffer, scholars who have published important books drawing largely from the pension records, have unrivaled familiarity with them. Their selections and annotations provide a fascinating glimpse not only into a complex and deeply moving historical process but also into the lives of persons who experienced it at the cutting edge. Voices of Emancipation is a treasure trove of insights that will surely appeal to scholars, students, and general readers alike.”–Joseph P. Reidy, Howard University

“Regosin and Shaffer have shone a spotlight on an extraordinary resource, one of the most voluminous bodies of records on nineteenth-century black life in existence, and one still relatively untapped. I especially appreciate their clear-eyed commentary, which demonstrates the riches to be mined and beckons the reader toward deeper inquiry.”–Dylan Penningroth, author of The Claims of Kinfolk: African American Property and Community in the Nineteenth-Century South

“Regosin’s and Shaffer’s careful editorial work makes the U.S. Pension Records come alive.”–Laura F. Edwards, author of Gendered Strife and Confusion: The Political Culture of Reconstruction

“The central objective of Voices of Emancipation is to expose readers toa sample of the Civil War pension file of ex-slaves in order to learn more about their individual and personal experience during slavery, wartime, and the postwar era.”–Jeffrey R. Kerr Ritchie “H-Net Reviews”

“This collection will speak in an entirely unique way. . . . There is no question that this will be an important contribution to historians.”–Stephanie Camp, University of Washington

“Voices of Emancipation is a critical new resource for historians and scholars exploring antebellum life and the new opportunities afforded to African Americans after emancipation.”–Tony Yang “Journal of African American History”

Donald R. Shaffer is Assistant Professor of History at Upper Iowa University and author of the award-winning After the Glory: The Struggles of Civil War Veterans.