The gripping saga of the band of black soldiers who helped turn the tide of war After much agonizing, Christian Fleetwood, a free 23-year-old black man living in Baltimore during the Civil War, made a momentous and difficult decision: he enlisted. Uncommon Valor tells the dramatic story of Fleetwood and the other black farmers, laborers, and tradesmen who bravely risked their lives to end slavery and win respect for their race at a time when much of America shunned them. When the country that oppressed and despised them called them to serve, they became heroes of the highest order. Many of the events in this powerful tale of war, heroism, and liberation are seen through the eyes of those who lived through them, thanks to the detailed letters and diaries they left behind. Melvin Claxton (Detroit, MI), a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, and Mark Puls (Detroit, MI) are both investigative reporters with the Detroit News. -- Publishers description.

The bell tolls : a call for Black troops -- Christian Fleetwood enlists -- The first mission -- Ready and willing : the Cincinnati Brigade -- Hunting guerillas and bushwhackers in North Carolina -- Early skirmishes : raids on Richmond -- Avenging an ambush -- To the front : storming Petersburg -- The fog of war : the Petersburg mine explosion -- The price of honor : heroics at New Market Heights.