Abolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind

James Montgomery and His War on Slavery

De: Todd Mildfelt, David D. Schafer

Narrado por: Marlin May

A controversial character largely known (as depicted in the movie Glory) as a Union colonel who led Black soldiers in the Civil War, James Montgomery (1814–71) waged a far more personal and radical war against slavery than popular history suggests. It is the true story of this militant abolitionist that Todd Mildfelt and David D. Schafer tell in Abolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind, summoning a life fiercely lived in struggle against the expansion of slavery into the West and during the Civil War.

During the tumultuous years of “Bleeding Kansas,” he became a guerilla chieftain of the antislavery vigilantes known as Jayhawkers. When the war broke out in 1861, Montgomery led a regiment of white troops who helped hundreds of enslaved people in Missouri reach freedom in Kansas.

Montgomery helped enslaved men and women escape via one of the least-explored underground railways in the nation, from Arkansas and Missouri through Kansas and Nebraska. When war came, he led Black soldiers in striking at the very heart of the Confederacy. His full story thus illuminates the actions of both militant abolitionists and the enslaved people fighting to destroy the peculiar institution.

The book is published by University of Oklahoma Pres. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2023 University of Oklahoma Press (P)2026 Redwood Audiobooks

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Sure to be the definitive biography of Montgomery for years to come.” (Emerging Civil War)

“Convincingly challenges the popular perception of a controversial figure and his approach to combating the slave system." (Missouri Historical Review)

“An extraordinary biography of militant abolitionist James Montgomery...an enthralling portrayal...” (Midwest Book Review)