Educating The Freedmen During The Civil War: Letters From Beaufort And New Bern, North Carolina, 1863-1865

This edited collection provides an insight on the lives of the American Missionary Association (AMA) agents, northern minister Horace James, and the recently freed slaves who lived in and around Beaufort and New Bern, North Carolina. These letters reflect the social, cultural, religious, and political developments as the agents worked to provide education and religious opportunities to the freedmen who struggled to create and explore their new liberties as a freed culture. The letters contained in this collection reflect the personal feelings and thoughts of the AMA agents and a few freedmen during the turmoil of the Civil War. They reveal political and social tensions, as well as environmental conditions. Because of their work and influence, the agents and James helped develop the opportunity for African Americans to create their own cultures without direct interference from their former masters.