The University of North Texas Libraries invite applications for the 2017 The Portal to Texas History Research Fellowship. Research using the Portal is relevant to studies in a variety of disciplines including history, journalism, political science, geography, and American studies. We encourage applicants to think creatively about the opportunities that research with large digital library collections can enable. Preference will be given to applicants who demonstrate the greatest potential for publication and the best use of The Portal to Texas History.

The Portal to Texas History 2017 Research Fellowship Awardee

Brian Elliott

Project Title

Passing as Gray: Confederate Body Servants and their Legacy as Black Confederates

Project Description

Using various primary sources, my project looks to understand the relationship of Confederate soldiers and their body servants (slaves) during and after the Civil War. This project will ultimately help us to better understand these complex figures and post-Civil War conceptions of former slaves as “Black Confederates.”

Biography

Brian Elliott is a Ph.D. Student and Teaching Fellow with the History Department at the University of North Texas. Brian’s research focuses on slavery during the Civil War, and the legacy of former slaves as “Black Confederates.” Brian’s published materials include his Master’s thesis “Peculiar Pairings: Texas Confederates and their Black Body Servants,” as well as a number of published book reviews. Brian has presented his research at several conferences, including at the Society for Military History, and the Southwest Social Science Association, and has given informal talks on his research and the utility of digital resources in historical research.