Historian to discuss ‘Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops’ for Personally Speaking

President Abraham Lincoln’s Jan. 1, 1863, Emancipation Proclamation set in motion the abolition of African American slavery, a move he later described metaphorically as a “king’s cure” for America’s “evils.” Lincoln’s emancipation edict also authorized the mobilization of African Americans to serve in the federal armies to suppress the Confederates’ insurrection.

UNC Charlotte author John David Smith’s “Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops” recounts the story of Lincoln’s decision to use African Americans to keep the Union intact and the yeoman service of the more than 180,000 black soldiers who donned Union blue.

Smith will discuss his book at the next installment of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Personally Speaking talk scheduled for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10, at UNC Charlotte Center City. A book signing and reception will follow.

Personally speaking is open to the public without charge, but RSVPs are requested at online registration form. Parking is complimentary at two lots directly across Ninth Street and directly across Brevard from UNC Charlotte Center City.

Smith, the Charles H. Stone Distinguished Professor of American History, has taught at several universities, including North Carolina State University as Graduate Alumni Distinguished Professor of History and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München, as a Fulbright Senior Professor of American Studies. He has published more than 150 scholarly articles and book chapters as well as authored 25 books.