Native Guard

Synopsis

Winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Former U.S. Poet Laureate, Natasha Trethewey's Native Guard is a deeply personal volume that brings together two legacies of the Deep South.

Through elegaic verse that honors her mother and tells of her own fraught childhood, Natasha Trethewey confronts the racial legacy of her native Deep South---where one of the first black regiments, The Louisiana Native Guards, was called into service during the Civil War.

The title of the collection refers to the black regiment whose role in the Civil War has been largely overlooked by history. As a child in Gulfport, Mississippi, in the 1960s, Trethewey could gaze across the water to the fort on Ship Island where Confederate captives once were guarded by black soldiers serving the Union cause.

The racial legacy of the South touched Trethewey's life on a much more immediate level, too. Many of the poems in Native Guard pay loving tribute to her mother, whose marriage to a white man was illegal in her native Mississippi in the 1960s. Years after her mother's tragic death, Trethewey reclaims her memory, just as she reclaims the voices of the black soldiers whose service has been all but forgotten.

Trethewey's resonant and beguiling collection is a haunting conversation between personal experience and national history.

Summary

Chapter 1:

The novel opens in a Union army camp near Port Hudson, Louisiana, in 1864. The titular Native Guard, an all-Black regiment, has just arrived and is met with skepticism and racism from the white soldiers. The regiment's commander, Colonel Nathan Ames, is a former abolitionist who believes in the equal rights of Black people.

* Example: Private Jefferson, a young Black soldier, is taunted by white soldiers who call him a "coon" and a "monkey." He fights back, earning the respect of his comrades.

Chapter 2:

The Native Guard is sent to the front lines and quickly proves its worth. They fight fiercely and bravely, despite the prejudice they face. Ames is proud of his men and believes that they are fighting for a just cause.

* Example: During a battle, Private John, another Black soldier, charges into enemy fire and rescues a wounded white officer. The officer, initially surprised at being saved by a Black man, thanks John and acknowledges his courage.

Chapter 3:

The war takes its toll on the Native Guard. Many men are killed or wounded, and Ames himself is injured. Despite the losses, the regiment continues to fight on. Ames is determined to prove that Black soldiers are just as capable as white soldiers.

* Example: Private Charles, a former slave, is haunted by the memory of his torture at the hands of his master. He finds solace in the camaraderie of his fellow soldiers and fights for his freedom.

Chapter 4:

The Native Guard is eventually victorious in capturing Port Hudson. They celebrate their victory, but they know that the war is not over. Ames is promoted to general and continues to lead his men into battle.

* Example: Private James, a veteran of the regiment, reflects on the changes that have occurred since the war began. He has gone from being a slave to a free man and a respected soldier.

Chapter 5:

The war ends with the Union's victory. The Native Guard is disbanded, and its soldiers return to their homes. Ames is proud of the accomplishments of his men and believes that they have helped to change the course of history.

* Example: Private William, a young Black man who joined the Native Guard at the age of 17, returns home to his former master. He refuses to work for him again and instead starts a new life as a free man.