The journey of men of color who wanted to fight for freedom is unique in the annals of the Civil War. Generations of enslavement, no guarantees of citizenship, and skepticism of their fighting mettle by the white populace proved significant barriers. And yet 200,000 men served in the Union Army and Navy. Ron Coddington, collector, author and editor, will share a selection of faces and stories about these intrepid individuals.

About Ronald S. Coddington 

An active collector of Civil War era cartes de visite, Ron is the author of four books that document the lives of citizen soldiers in blue and gray: "Faces of the Civil War," "Faces of the Confederacy," "African American Faces of the Civil War" and "Faces of the Civil War Navies." The Johns Hopkins University Press published all the volumes.

Ron is formerly a columnist for the Civil War News and contributing author to the award-winning New York Times series Disunion. He has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist at USA TODAY, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the San Jose Mercury News, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.