The Flag Never Touched the Ground

I am so grateful to Netgalley for allowing me to receive an advanced version of this book. Let me start by saying Kekla Magoon is an incredible writer. From the first page the reader is engaged in the action. Through her beautiful descriptions and sensory details, Magoon keeps the reader engaged until the end. As an educator I know so many of my students will be hooked from the start, especially since this book tells the story of the Massachusetts 54th and their brave and heroic experience at Fort Wagner. Additionally, Magoon does not shy away from the racism these soldiers faced from the US Army and some of their officers. These is an important part of the story and helps the reader better understand the hurdles these soldiers faced.

As a historian, I was frustrated with the description of the Emancipation Proclamation. Within the story it was described as a proclamation that freed the enslaved in the United States and this is historically inaccurate. The Emancipation Proclamation freed the enslaved only in the rebelling states, the Confederacy, but allowed slavery to continue in the border states of the US. This might seem like a small detail but this inaccuracy is a misconception of many and this book had the opportunity to better explain the significance of the proclamation as it led to the enlistment of Black soldiers and sailors in our army and navy. As the book later explains, the many Black soldiers and sailors who enlisted in the Union Army helped turned the tide of the war and this is where the focus should have been when explaining the Emancipation Proclamation.

Overall, this book is well-written, engaging, and does an excellent job of putting the reader into the action.

Kekla Magoon's books have always been amazing and full of history that is all to often dismissed as side stories. However, I never received this book and cannot wait to start reading it once I get it. I adored "Revolution in our Time" and have used that in the classroom. Will no doubt use this text in the classroom as well. I'm wondering if there is a way to receive it at a belated date. This book, like "Revolution in Our time" will be key and instrumental to giving a full look at history, especially history that gets overshadowed and overlooked. This time period has key battles and incidences that all too often eclipse the story of the people who were instrumental in ensuring that ‘freedom’ was a tenet that needed to be defended on the home front and the battlefield.

I did not realize this was part of a series, so this is the first title I have read. However, it will not be the last. I sometimes have a tough time reading non-fiction, but I really enjoyed the way that information was presented in this book. There was a lot of dialog, and readers will thrown into the action along with the characters (real life people that really took part in the events of the book). I also enjoyed that there was a timeline with relevant dates in the back matter of the book. Readers that enjoy the I Survived series and the History Smashers series will likely enjoy this book.