Maybe this is lazy of me but I believe the picture on the cover of your book is definitely one of the most misunderstood or misrepresented. I first saw this photo in a display at the Old Courthouse Museum in Vicksburg quite a few years ago. This was before your book came out. Even without any real knowledge I KNEW this had to be BS. (The museum was and maybe still is, very pro-Confederate, with a shrine room to JD among other things). Sometime later I was watching the PBS show History Detectives and wouldn’t you know, there is that picture again. I may be misremembering but I believe they had on descendants of both men from the photo on the program
I'm going to offer up the oft-manipulated photo of USCT troops in light blue overcoats, which is frequently used to "prove" the existence of "black Confederates." I know you have written about this photo, and I am hoping you can provide a copy here, as my Google searches have come up empty.
Maybe this is lazy of me but I believe the picture on the cover of your book is definitely one of the most misunderstood or misrepresented. I first saw this photo in a display at the Old Courthouse Museum in Vicksburg quite a few years ago. This was before your book came out. Even without any real knowledge I KNEW this had to be BS. (The museum was and maybe still is, very pro-Confederate, with a shrine room to JD among other things). Sometime later I was watching the PBS show History Detectives and wouldn’t you know, there is that picture again. I may be misremembering but I believe they had on descendants of both men from the photo on the program
Hi Margaret,
I agree. I think a case can be made that the Chandler photograph is the most misinterpreted Civil War photograph.
Here is the HD episode. I helped out with this particular episode and was even supposed to be filmed, but unfortunately it fell through.
https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/investigation/chandler-tintype/index.html
I'm going to offer up the oft-manipulated photo of USCT troops in light blue overcoats, which is frequently used to "prove" the existence of "black Confederates." I know you have written about this photo, and I am hoping you can provide a copy here, as my Google searches have come up empty.
Hi Jim,
Is the one you are referring to?
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/black-confederates-truth-and-legend
Exactly! Thanks, Kevin.