TracingtheintersectinglivesofaConfederateplantationownerandafreeblackUnionsoldier,BarbaraL.Bellows’TwoCharlestoniansatWaroffersapoignantallegoryofthefraught,interdependentrelationshipbetweenwartimeenemiesintheCivilWarSouth.Throughtheeyesoftheseverydifferentsoldiers,Bellowsbringsaremarkable,newperspectivetotheoft-toldsagaoftheCivilWar.Recountedinalternatingchapters,thelivesofCharlestonnativesbornamileapart,CaptainThomasPinckneyandSergeantJosephHumphriesBarquet,illuminateoneanother’smotivesforjoiningthewaraswellastheexperiencesthatshapedtheirworldviews.Pinckney,ariceplanterandscionofoneofAmerica’sfoundingfamilies,joinedtheConfederacyinhopeofreclaiminganidealizedagrarianpast;andBarquet,afreemanofcolorandbrickmason,foughtwiththeUniontoclaimhisrightsasanAmericancitizen.TheircircumstancessetthetwomenonseeminglydivergentpathsthatnonethelesscrossedontheembattledcoastofSouthCarolina.Bornfreein1823,BarquetgrewupamongCharleston’stight-knitcommunityofthe“coloredelite.“Duringhistwenties,hejoinedthenorthwardexodusoffreeblacksleavingthecityandbeganhisnomadiccareerasatirelesscampaignerforblackrightsandabolition.In1863,atageforty,heenlistedinthe54thMassachusettsVolunteerInfantry--therenowned“Glory“regimentofnorthernblackmen.Hisvariedchallengesandstruggles,includinghislaterfrustratedattemptstoplayaroleinpostwarRepublicanpoliticsinIllinois,provideapanoramicviewofthefreeblackexperienceinnineteenth-centuryAmerica.IncontrasttothequestingBarquet,ThomasPinckneyremaineddeeplyconnectedtothericefieldsandmaritimeforestsofSouthCarolina.Hegreetedthearrivalofwarbyestablishingahomeguardtoprotecthisfamily’sSanteeRiverplantationsthatwouldlaterintegrateintothe4thSouthCarolinaCavalry.Afterthewar,PinckneydistancedhimselffromtheracistviolenceofReconstructionpoliticsandfocusedonthedauntingtaskofrestoringhisruinedplantationswithnewlyfreedlaborers.ThetwoCharlestonians’chanceencounteronMorrisIsland,wherein1864SergeantBarquetstoodguardoverthecapturedCaptainPinckney,inspiredBellows’compellingnarrative.Herextensiveresearchaddsrichdetailtoourknowledgeofthedynamicsbetweenwhitesandfreeblacksduringthistumultuousera.TwoCharlestoniansatWargivesreadersanintimatedepictionoftheideologicaldistancethatmightseparateAmericancitizensevenastheirsharedhistoryunitesthem.
