An analysis of the effects of the Civil War on northern black families was carried out using letters from northern black women--mothers, wives, sisters, and female family friends--addressed to a number of Union military officials. Collectively, the letters give a voice to the black family members left on the northern homefront. Through their explanations and requests readers obtain a greater apprehension of the struggles African-American families faced during the war, and their conditions as the war progressed.
The letters consulted in this study were chosen because they provide a better understanding of the plight of northern black families during the war. In the words of the family members themselves, the letters best articulate the condition of the families in the absence of the soldiers, and the issues affecting them during the war. The original letters that were received by government agencies, as well as many of the copies of the letters sent in response, are held by the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
This study is different because it is examining the effects of the war specifically on northern black families. Most other studies on African Americans during the Civil War focused almost exclusively on the soldiers. While some scholars have highlighted the lives of northern black families, this study, with the use of their letters to Union officials, puts them at the center of the narrative. At the same time, this study tells the story of northern black soldiers during the war and examines how the events and problems at the homefront affected the soldiers at the front line, and how many of the problems and obstacles endured by northern black troops directly affected their families at home. Thus, this study's focus on northern black women links them and their and challenges to survive, directly to the everyday lives of northern black troops.