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The Road Was Full of Thorns: Civil War Runaways and the Destruction of American Slavery
A radical retelling of the drama of emancipation, from New York Times bestselling author and winner of the National Book Critic Circle Award
In the opening days of the Civil War, three enslaved men approached the gates of Fort Monroe, a U.S. military installation in Virginia. In a snap decision, the fort’s commander “confiscated” them as contraband of war—and declared them free men.
From then on, wherever the U.S. Army traveled, torrents of runaways rushed to secure their own freedom, a mass movement of 800,000 people—a fifth of the enslaved population of the South—that set the institution of slavery on a path to destruction.
In an engrossing work of narrative history, critically acclaimed historian Tom Zoellner introduces an unforgettable cast of characters whose stories will transform our popular understanding of how slavery ended. The Road Was Full of Thorns shows what emancipation looked and felt like for the people who made the desperate flight across dangerous the taste of mud in the mouth, the terror of the slave patrols, and the fateful crossing into Union lines. Zoeller also reveals how the least powerful Americans changed the politics of war—forcing President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and opening the door to universal Black citizenship.
For readers of The 1619 Project—and anyone interested in the Civil War—The Road Was Full of Thorns is destined to reshape how we think about the story of American freedom.
In the opening days of the Civil War, three enslaved men approached the gates of Fort Monroe, a U.S. military installation in Virginia. In a snap decision, the fort’s commander “confiscated” them as contraband of war—and declared them free men.
From then on, wherever the U.S. Army traveled, torrents of runaways rushed to secure their own freedom, a mass movement of 800,000 people—a fifth of the enslaved population of the South—that set the institution of slavery on a path to destruction.
In an engrossing work of narrative history, critically acclaimed historian Tom Zoellner introduces an unforgettable cast of characters whose stories will transform our popular understanding of how slavery ended. The Road Was Full of Thorns shows what emancipation looked and felt like for the people who made the desperate flight across dangerous the taste of mud in the mouth, the terror of the slave patrols, and the fateful crossing into Union lines. Zoeller also reveals how the least powerful Americans changed the politics of war—forcing President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and opening the door to universal Black citizenship.
For readers of The 1619 Project—and anyone interested in the Civil War—The Road Was Full of Thorns is destined to reshape how we think about the story of American freedom.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 30, 2025
6 people are currently reading
136 people want to read
About the author
Tom Zoellner
22 books107 followersTom Zoellner is the author of several nonfiction books, including Island on Fire: The Revolt that Ended Slavery in the British Empire, and works as a professor at Chapman University and Dartmouth College. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Harper’s, The American Scholar, The Oxford American, Time, Foreign Policy, Men’s Health, Slate, Scientific American, Audubon, Sierra, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Texas Observer, Departures, The American Scholar, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications. Tom is a fifth-generation Arizonan and a former staff writer for The Arizona Republic and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the recipient of fellowships and residencies from The Lannan Foundation, the Corporation of Yaddo, the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 24, 2025
This book completely reshaped how I think about the Civil War and emancipation. It focuses on the often-overlooked reality that freedom was not something handed down from above but something seized by those who were enslaved. The sheer number of people who fled bondage at the start of the war is staggering, and the book gives voice to their courage, their strategy and the pivotal role they played in turning the tide for the Union.
What I found especially striking was how the author breaks down the legal and military shifts that allowed escapees to find protection behind Union lines. The “contraband” policy in particular stood out as a moment of both legal ingenuity and moral clarity. It made space for people who had risked everything to start claiming a future for themselves even while the war still raged on.
The writing is clear, engaging and full of urgency. The stories are detailed without ever feeling dry, and the emotional weight of what is being described is never lost. I learned a lot, but more than that, I felt a real shift in how I understand who drove the movement for freedom.
This is not just an important addition to Civil War history. It is a necessary one. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in American history, social justice or untold stories of resistance and self-determination.
What I found especially striking was how the author breaks down the legal and military shifts that allowed escapees to find protection behind Union lines. The “contraband” policy in particular stood out as a moment of both legal ingenuity and moral clarity. It made space for people who had risked everything to start claiming a future for themselves even while the war still raged on.
The writing is clear, engaging and full of urgency. The stories are detailed without ever feeling dry, and the emotional weight of what is being described is never lost. I learned a lot, but more than that, I felt a real shift in how I understand who drove the movement for freedom.
This is not just an important addition to Civil War history. It is a necessary one. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in American history, social justice or untold stories of resistance and self-determination.
July 12, 2025
This was a fascinating read that details the mass exodus of enslaved folks from their forced servitude at the beginning of the American Civil War. It focuses less on white Americans having “freed” anyone, and more on how Black Americans freed themselves, and as a result, played a major hand in the Union winning the Civil War. It also talks about General Benjamin Butler, who orchestrated a legal loophole by referring to enslaved folks running away from the Confederacy as “contraband,” allowing them to stay at Union forts all throughout the war. Taught me SO MUCH!!! Excellent read.
November 9, 2025
We like to deify our heroes and we have certainly deified Abraham Lincoln - The Great Emancipator. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I learned how Lincoln freed the slaves and preserved the union. I learned history, as I am sure many other children in America did, as a directional drama - America advancing towards its ideas in an unstoppable march to the "more perfect union". Mr. Zoellner turns this narrative on its head. Lincoln did not come to the presidency to free the slaves, enslaved people created facts on the ground and forced Lincoln and others' hand.
The story starts in the early days of the war and the Lincoln administration. Southern states have seceded over the issue of slavery. Northern states want to put down the rebellion, but there is no early consensus in the North that ending slavery is a war aim. Indeed, several slave states, the border states, are part of the Union coalition and President Lincoln does not want to take any measures that might alienate those states. In Virginia, two rival forts in very close proximity try to dominate the river access to the sea. For the rebels, slave labor is being used to enhance their fortifications. One night three enslaved people escape from bondage and turn up at the Union fort. The Union general in command must decide what to do. He can return the enslaved people to the Confederacy, as required by the Fugitive Slave Act, but then he would be helping the insurrection. He could not return the enslaved people, but then he would be violating the laws of the very Union he was fighting to preserve.
The commander of the Confederate fort comes and requests return on the enslaved people. The two generals actually know each other (an idiosyncrasy of a civil war is that many of the leading figures had friends and family on the other side). In a spur of the moment inspiration, General Butler of the Union, argues that the people are "contraband of war" and cannot be returned. Enslaved people forced his hand. General Butler reports back to Washington about his decision and asks what should be done. The White House endorses his contraband theory, not as a pre-planned war strategy, but as a reaction to an in-fact situation.
Word of the decision about the three escapees circulates through the slave camps rapidly and a flood of "contraband" begins to arrive at Union forts. The Union quickly realizes that the flood of now freed people weakens the South by depriving it of labor, export commodities (cotton) and potential new recruits for the fight against the South. Mr. Zoellner tells this story with remarkable clarity and respect for the enslaved people, not as a single mass, but as agents of history. Mr. Zoellner also documents how the arrival of millions of formerly enslave people shifted President Lincoln's views on war aims and what was possible as well. In addition to Mr. Lincoln, the contraband camps and the bravery of Black soldiers, helped convince an apathetic-at-best North to make the war about ending slavery.
Two interesting byproducts of this remarkable history. First, while Abraham Lincoln did not enter the war with the purpose of ending slavery, he was a remarkably savvy politician who understood what was possible while also understanding that what is possible changes as facts change. In the hagiographic view of history, this flexibility would appear to be a negative. However, in our hyper-partisan age, it is the ultimate strength. Abraham Lincoln led public opinion, but he never got so in front of it as to create real gridlock. Second, two things can be true at once. Abraham Lincoln, the vast majority of Northern citizens, even the vast majority of abolitionists, could be against the institution of slavery and still have deeply ingrained racial prejudices. This does not make their anti-slavery fight any less important, but it does mean that we are human, products of our environment and subject to contradictions. Should we think less of Lincoln because he was not an angel perfectly in-tune with 21st Century attitudes towards race? I don't think so. We need to look at his long journey across a lifetime. Perhaps we should also remember that Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, etc. were all people, not deities. We honor their amazing achievements. We do not lessen those achievements by noting the true nature of the beliefs and their conduct. Indeed, we make those achievements all the more remarkable when we understand that these heroes were flawed individuals.
The story starts in the early days of the war and the Lincoln administration. Southern states have seceded over the issue of slavery. Northern states want to put down the rebellion, but there is no early consensus in the North that ending slavery is a war aim. Indeed, several slave states, the border states, are part of the Union coalition and President Lincoln does not want to take any measures that might alienate those states. In Virginia, two rival forts in very close proximity try to dominate the river access to the sea. For the rebels, slave labor is being used to enhance their fortifications. One night three enslaved people escape from bondage and turn up at the Union fort. The Union general in command must decide what to do. He can return the enslaved people to the Confederacy, as required by the Fugitive Slave Act, but then he would be helping the insurrection. He could not return the enslaved people, but then he would be violating the laws of the very Union he was fighting to preserve.
The commander of the Confederate fort comes and requests return on the enslaved people. The two generals actually know each other (an idiosyncrasy of a civil war is that many of the leading figures had friends and family on the other side). In a spur of the moment inspiration, General Butler of the Union, argues that the people are "contraband of war" and cannot be returned. Enslaved people forced his hand. General Butler reports back to Washington about his decision and asks what should be done. The White House endorses his contraband theory, not as a pre-planned war strategy, but as a reaction to an in-fact situation.
Word of the decision about the three escapees circulates through the slave camps rapidly and a flood of "contraband" begins to arrive at Union forts. The Union quickly realizes that the flood of now freed people weakens the South by depriving it of labor, export commodities (cotton) and potential new recruits for the fight against the South. Mr. Zoellner tells this story with remarkable clarity and respect for the enslaved people, not as a single mass, but as agents of history. Mr. Zoellner also documents how the arrival of millions of formerly enslave people shifted President Lincoln's views on war aims and what was possible as well. In addition to Mr. Lincoln, the contraband camps and the bravery of Black soldiers, helped convince an apathetic-at-best North to make the war about ending slavery.
Two interesting byproducts of this remarkable history. First, while Abraham Lincoln did not enter the war with the purpose of ending slavery, he was a remarkably savvy politician who understood what was possible while also understanding that what is possible changes as facts change. In the hagiographic view of history, this flexibility would appear to be a negative. However, in our hyper-partisan age, it is the ultimate strength. Abraham Lincoln led public opinion, but he never got so in front of it as to create real gridlock. Second, two things can be true at once. Abraham Lincoln, the vast majority of Northern citizens, even the vast majority of abolitionists, could be against the institution of slavery and still have deeply ingrained racial prejudices. This does not make their anti-slavery fight any less important, but it does mean that we are human, products of our environment and subject to contradictions. Should we think less of Lincoln because he was not an angel perfectly in-tune with 21st Century attitudes towards race? I don't think so. We need to look at his long journey across a lifetime. Perhaps we should also remember that Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, etc. were all people, not deities. We honor their amazing achievements. We do not lessen those achievements by noting the true nature of the beliefs and their conduct. Indeed, we make those achievements all the more remarkable when we understand that these heroes were flawed individuals.
September 30, 2025
Abraham Lincoln is often remember by the descriptor: 'the Great Emancipator" for his issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. But as Tom Zoellner demonstrates in The Road Was Full of Thorns: Running Toward Freedom in the American Civil War it would be far more accurate to describe Lincoln as the great improvisor, holding no true policy until forced to by crisis or popular sentiment. This is not intended as criticism, instead showing a true talent and skill for balancing various needs and factions in a tumultuous portion of American history. In this account of emancipation, Zoellner argues that both the establishment and, much more convincingly, the ending of slavery were gradual processes, often made spur of the moment or at a crisis point, without consideration for precedent or the harsh criticism of historical analysis.
The narrative is framed around the establishment of Civil War "contraband camps," or places where Black refugees established themselves under Union control, having fled servitude. These camps developed from Union General Benjamin Butler's canny use of legal argument that surmised that if people could be property, they could be seized or removed from their owner. Butler's position was that any enslaved person removed from Southern control further weakened the Confederate war effort. As it happened, this contraband could self-emancipate as thousands did. While Butler's argument would come to be supported by Lincoln and the Union army, initial results were more mixed, especially with Lincoln's concerns over the slave states who had not left the Union.
Zoellner starts with an in-depth history of what became known as Slabtown, near Fort Monroe on the Virginia Peninsula. This location serves as an especially key focal point as it is near (Point Comfort, Virginia) the same location where enslaved people first arrived in England's mainland colonies. From the arrival of European settlers through the development of the United States and 19th century growth in armies and states, Zoellner describes the importance and expansion of coastal defense. Unlike Fort Sumter, Fort Monroe did not fall to the Confederates and remained an important check on Confederate access to the ocean. From there chapters range in discussing the Civil War campaigns, changing political foci and Lincoln's policy of no policy. Where there is the documentation to draw on Zoellner also delves into various perspectives supported by primary sources.
Contraband camp life is explored, showing not all camps were equal, some being highly successful in creating pathways to integration, where others were concentrations of misery, sickness and disease. Zoellner follows a roughly chronological outline, but there are sections that stretch a wide breadth of time to make points about political or historic developments.
Recommended for readers in American History, Emancipation or the American Civil War.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
The narrative is framed around the establishment of Civil War "contraband camps," or places where Black refugees established themselves under Union control, having fled servitude. These camps developed from Union General Benjamin Butler's canny use of legal argument that surmised that if people could be property, they could be seized or removed from their owner. Butler's position was that any enslaved person removed from Southern control further weakened the Confederate war effort. As it happened, this contraband could self-emancipate as thousands did. While Butler's argument would come to be supported by Lincoln and the Union army, initial results were more mixed, especially with Lincoln's concerns over the slave states who had not left the Union.
Zoellner starts with an in-depth history of what became known as Slabtown, near Fort Monroe on the Virginia Peninsula. This location serves as an especially key focal point as it is near (Point Comfort, Virginia) the same location where enslaved people first arrived in England's mainland colonies. From the arrival of European settlers through the development of the United States and 19th century growth in armies and states, Zoellner describes the importance and expansion of coastal defense. Unlike Fort Sumter, Fort Monroe did not fall to the Confederates and remained an important check on Confederate access to the ocean. From there chapters range in discussing the Civil War campaigns, changing political foci and Lincoln's policy of no policy. Where there is the documentation to draw on Zoellner also delves into various perspectives supported by primary sources.
Contraband camp life is explored, showing not all camps were equal, some being highly successful in creating pathways to integration, where others were concentrations of misery, sickness and disease. Zoellner follows a roughly chronological outline, but there are sections that stretch a wide breadth of time to make points about political or historic developments.
Recommended for readers in American History, Emancipation or the American Civil War.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
August 18, 2025
I consider myself a student of the American Civil War. I have read hundreds of volumes, participated in round tables and even own a couple of civil war diaries, but I have never read anything that presented the destruction of American Slavery the way Tom Zoellner does.
This is a fascinating look at the problem that was created by General Benjamin Butler when he declared runaway slaves "contraband." To the surprise of everyone, that simple decision my have changed American society and the war. My hunch is, we would have gotten there eventually.
The book outlines the development of the former slave encampments around the Union army and how those realities ultimately shaped Lincoln's policy. The book is well written and engaging.
My biggest complaint would be having the chapter on 1619 in the middle of the book. It disrupted the flow and it almost felt like the book restated after it.
If you want to learn more about a little known part of the Civil War that may have had a larger impact than many other things, take the time and read this book.
Thanks to Tom Zoellner, The New Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.
This is a fascinating look at the problem that was created by General Benjamin Butler when he declared runaway slaves "contraband." To the surprise of everyone, that simple decision my have changed American society and the war. My hunch is, we would have gotten there eventually.
The book outlines the development of the former slave encampments around the Union army and how those realities ultimately shaped Lincoln's policy. The book is well written and engaging.
My biggest complaint would be having the chapter on 1619 in the middle of the book. It disrupted the flow and it almost felt like the book restated after it.
If you want to learn more about a little known part of the Civil War that may have had a larger impact than many other things, take the time and read this book.
Thanks to Tom Zoellner, The New Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.
November 26, 2025
This book adds to the multitude of civil war era historical books. Gen, Benjamin Butler in charge of Fort Monroe on the Virginia peninsula claims 3 escaped slaves as contraband of war. This leads to the town of Hamilton becoming “slab town”. A refugee camp of enslaved people. Across the south as union forces advance contraband camps spring up filled with enslaved citizens. Thousands follow the union armies. In 1861 congress passes the confiscation act confirming what Butler started.
At the end of the war sadly the government never had a good plan to assist the enslaved to citizenship
Many stories of how enslaved people migrated through reconstruction, movement to north and searched for a place to call home and provide a path to equality.
At the end of the war sadly the government never had a good plan to assist the enslaved to citizenship
Many stories of how enslaved people migrated through reconstruction, movement to north and searched for a place to call home and provide a path to equality.
November 12, 2025
This is a fresh, fast-paced history of freedom in the Civil War that looks at what it was like to be a "Contraband" or person who fled slavery to the Union Army but was not quite free. It tells the story of the places where those freedom seekers “created a powerful thorn in the conscience of the Northern public.” In spite of persistent hardships, contraband camps became freedom villages: hubs of education, enterprise, and independence, which helped turn a war begun over Union into a revolution for Black Americans.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews