Recollections of My Slavery Days

By William Henry Singleton, Edited by Katherine Mellen Charron, David S. Cecelski

Recollections of My Slavery Days

Approx. 142 pp., 5.5 x 7.5, 16 images, 3 maps, appends., notes, index, 19 halftones

  • Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8652-6510-3
    Published: December 2024

Paperback Available December 2024, but pre-order your copy today!

Buy this Book

This title is not eligible for UNC Press promotional pricing.

To purchase online via an independent bookstore, visit Bookshop.org

Distributed for the North Carolina Office of Archives and History

William Henry Singleton’s Recollections of My Slavery Days is a compelling account of a remarkable journey from slavery to freedom in the American South. Born a slave in 1843 in New Bern, North Carolina, Singleton grew up on a remote coastal plantation at Garbacon Creek. From a slave’s viewpoint, his Recollections provides an intimate and moving portrait of the growing schism between North and South, of a fierce yearning to hold onto family while in bondage, and of the African American freedom struggle during slavery.

The Civil War stands as a turning point in Singleton’s narrative. In 1862 he escaped from a Confederate soldier and fled to freedom in Union-occupied New Bern. There he helped to recruit one of the first African American regiments in the Union army and subsequently served as a sergeant in the Thiry-fifth United States Colored Troops. Until the day he died, at a reunion for Civil War veterans in 1938, Singleton insisted that his wartime service pledged the United States to fulfill its promise of freedom and equality for all citizens.

Originally published in a local newspaper in Peekskill, New York, Recollections of My Slavery Days is a rare, long forgotten account of American slavery that has not previously been available to a national audience. In this landmark edition, Katherine Mellen Charron and Davis S. Cecelski provide scholarly annotations and an introductory essay as critical background to understanding Singleton’s narrative. Examining his life and times, they situate Recollections in the context of African American history and autobiography.

About the Authors

Katherine Mellon Charron received a Ph.D in history from Yale University. She is assistant professor at Iowa State University.
For more information about Katherine Mellen Charron, visit the Author Page.

Historian David S. Cecelski received a Ph.D from Harvard University and is the author of several award-winning books, including The Waterman's Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina.
For more information about David S. Cecelski, visit the Author Page.