In Maryland Voices of the Civil War, historian Charles W. Mitchell tells the compelling story of how Maryland African Americans escaped from slavery and fought for the Union and their freedom alongside white soldiers. He reinforces the notion that Maryland's Southern sympathies, while genuine, never seriously threatened to bring about a Confederate Maryland. He draws upon hundreds of letters, diaries, and period newspapers - many previously unpublished - to portray the passions of a wide variety of people, merchants, slaves, soldiers, politicians, freedmen, women, clergy, slave owners, civic leaders, and children caught in the emotional vise of war.