Writing the Civil War: From State Power to Personal Identity

Join two acclaimed authors for a conversation that bridges the gap between historical analysis and fictional narrative. In this program, Philip Gould, author of War Power: Literature and the State in the Civil War North, discusses the expansion of federal power during the Civil War, while David Wright Faladé, author of the novel Black Cloud Rising, explores the ground-level experiences of the United States Colored Troops (USCT). The discussion will specifically focus on the USCT's campaign in North Carolina in 1863 and the historical complexities of formerly enslaved men taking up arms against their former enslavers. Moderated by HSP Librarian and CEO David Brigham, they will examine how literature and history diverge, with fiction writers using the past to explore themes of identity, while historians grapple with the limitations and silences found within the archives. Together, Gould and Faladé will explore the push and pull between these approaches to illuminate a crucial chapter in American history.

About the Speakers:

Dr. Philip Gould is the Israel J. Kapstein Professor of English at Brown University, where he teachers in both English and History Departments. He has published a number of books on 18th- and 19th-century American and British literature, most recently War Power: Literature and the State in the Civil War North (Oxford UP, 2024).

David Wright Faladé is the author of The New Internationals (2025), Black Cloud Rising (a New York Times Critics’ Pick and one of The New Yorker‘s Best Books of 2022), Away Running (Outstanding International Book by the US Board on Books for Young People), and Fire on the Beach: Recovering the Lost Story of Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers (a St. Louis Post-Dispatch Best Book of 2001). He teaches at the University of Illinois.

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, founded in 1824, is one of the nation’s largest archives of historical documents. We are proud to serve as Philadelphia’s Library of American History, with over 21 million manuscripts, books, and graphic images encompassing centuries of US history. Through educator workshops, research opportunities, public programs, and lectures throughout the year, we strive to make history relevant and exhilarating to all. For more information, visit hsp.org.