{"product_id":"abolitionist-of-the-most-dangerous-kind-james-montgomery-and-his-war-on-slavery-paperback-softback-9780806196879","title":"Abolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind; James Montgomery and His War on Slavery (Paperback \/ softback) 9780806196879","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eAbolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eJames Montgomery and His War on Slavery\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eTodd Mildfelt (Author), David D. Schafer (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780806196879\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 31 March 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e406 pages, 21 Illustrations, black and white - 11 Maps\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2.7 cm, 0.766 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e“In this carefully researched and crafted biography of James Montgomery, the authors tell the story of an often-overlooked Kansas Jayhawker: a curious blend of God-fearing pioneer farmer and preacher who became an anti-slavery zealot on the Kansas-Missouri border and a celebrated commander of Black troops during the Civil War. Montgomery’s life was momentous and worthy of the attention it is now receiving.”—\u003cb\u003eVirgil W. Dean\u003c\/b\u003e, editor of \u003ci\u003eKansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains \u003c\/i\u003e(1990–2011)\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Abolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind\u003c\/i\u003e illuminates the life of this controversial character, charting James Montgomery’s evolution into a full-fledged abolitionist on the prairies of Kansas and leader of an all-Black regiment during the Civil War. Thanks to the authors’ diligent research, Montgomery’s story is now situated within the broader context of resistance to slavery.”—\u003cb\u003eKristen Epps\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eSlavery on the Periphery: The Kansas-Missouri Border in the Antebellum and Civil War Eras\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This well-researched book vividly re-creates the tumultuous life and times of James Montgomery, a genuine firebrand who helped precipitate and radicalize the American Civil War. We see the guerrilla chieftain in prewar clashes against pro-slavery terrorists along the Kansas-Missouri border transform into the Union colonel who recruited Black soldiers and then led them in combat and raids that laid waste to stately Southern plantations and brought freedom to the enslaved. \u003ci\u003eAbolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind \u003c\/i\u003epeels away layers of myth and introduces us to a driven and courageous man.”—\u003cb\u003eGregory J. W. Urwin\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eVictory in Defeat: The Wake Island Defenders in Captivity, 1941–1945\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“James Montgomery was a complex man, who lived a complicated life during a trying time in American history. \u003ci\u003eAbolitionist of a Most Dangerous Kind\u003c\/i\u003e tells Montgomery’s life story, warts and all, in a way readers will appreciate. Richly illustrated with period images, photographs, and excellent maps, it is sure to be the definitive biography of Montgomery for years to come.”— \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eEmerging Civil War\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“\u003ci\u003eAbolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind \u003c\/i\u003eis a capably written and commendably researched study that convincingly challenges the popular perception of a controversial figure and his approach to combating the slave system. As a fighting abolitionist who understood earlier than most white people that the “slavery question burned at the war’s core,” Montgomery—and the border war that produced him—proved a harbinger of the type of “destructive war” required to settle the slave question once and for all.\"— \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eMissouri Historical Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e“Abolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind \u003c\/i\u003eis an extraordinary biography of militant abolitionist James Montgomery, who helped slaves escape through the Underground Railroad, became a guerilla chieftain of the antislavery Jayhawkers vigilantes, and led regiments of both white and black troops for the Union during the Civil War. Meticulously researched, this is at once both a detailed historical study and an enthralling portrayal of one man's controversial life dedicated to the eradication of slavery at all costs.”—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eMidwest Book Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eA controversial character largely known (as depicted in the movie \u003ci\u003eGlory\u003c\/i\u003e) 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 \u003ci\u003eAbolitionist of the Most Dangerous Kind\u003c\/i\u003e, summoning a life fiercely lived in struggle against the expansion of slavery into the West and during the Civil War.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book follows a harrowing path through the turbulent world of the 1850s and 1860s as Montgomery, with the fervor of an Old Testament prophet, inflicts destructive retribution on Southern slaveholders wherever he finds them, crossing paths with notable abolitionists John Brown and Harriet Tubman along the way. 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. Drawing on regimental records in the National Archives, the authors provide new insights into the experiences of African American men who served in Montgomery’s next regiment, the Thirty-Fourth United States Colored Troops (formerly Second South Carolina Infantry).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMontgomery 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. With support of abolitionists in Massachusetts, he spearheaded resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act in Kansas. And, 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.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Oklahoma Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52551759397144,"sku":"9780806196879","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/abolitionist-of-the-most-dangerous-kind-james-montgomery-and-his-war-on-slavery-paperback-softback-9780806196879","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}