During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, African American men were seldom permitted to join the United States armed forces. There had been times in early US history when Black and White men fought alongside one another; it was not uncommon for integrated units to take to battle in the Revolutionary War. But by the War of 1812, the United States had come to maintain what one writer called “a whitewashed army.” Yet despite that opposition, during the early 1800s, militia units made up of free Black soldiers came together to aid the official military troops in combat.

The Civil War was a turning point in the acceptance of Black soldiers for national defense. By 1900, 22 states and the District of Columbia had accepted Black men into some form of military service, usually as state militiamen—brothers to the “buffalo soldiers” of the regular army regiments, but American military men regardless.

Little has been published about them, but Brothers to the Buffalo Soldiers: Perspectives on the African American Militia and Volunteers, 1865–1919, offers insights into the varied experiences of black militia units in the post–Civil War period. The book includes 11 articles that focus either on “Black Participation in the Militia” or “Black Volunteer Units in the War with Spain.” The articles, collected and introduced by author and scholar Bruce A. Glasrud, provide an overview of the history of early black citizen-soldiers and offer criticism from prominent academics interested in that experience.

The book is published by University of Missouri Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

"There is no other single work that better documents the role of black volunteers and state militia during Reconstruction and the Spanish American War." (Journal of Illinois History)