The Civil War:
The South Carolina Black Regiment

Book by Tanya Barfield, Music and Lyrics by Eric Schorr

"Movingly presents a historical landscape that is populated not by heroes, but by flawed yet still heroic human beings.”
– The New York Times

THE CIVIL WAR: THE SOUTH CAROLINA BLACK REGIMENT is inspired by events surrounding the formation of the first Black regiment of the Civil War. Historical figures and events intertwine with new songs and traditional spirituals to tell this original story of Kofi, a brave young African-American boy and his quest for freedom.

On March 3, 1859 in Savannah, Georgia, 436 slaves were sold at a massive auction, henceforth known as “The Weeping Time.” Kofi, a young slave boy, is separated from his mother and shipped to St. Helena, South Carolina to work on a cotton plantation. As news spreads of the coming Civil War, Kofi and his friend Sam Samson seize on the opportunity for escape. 

Following a perilous journey to the Sea Islands, the two encounter Colonel Thomas Higginson, who is enlisting contraband slaves for the First South Carolina Volunteers, the first regiment of Black soldiers in the Union Army. Promised freedom upon the war's completion, Kofi and Sam sign up to fight for liberty, and to reunite Kofi with his family. 

Higginson and his men face many obstacles. There are some in Washington who doubt the Black soldiers' competency, refusing to allow the regiment to bear arms or wear Union Blue. However, they do allow Higginson to send for the African-American teacher, Charlotte Forten. She arrives from Philadelphia determined to teach Kofi and the soldiers to read and write, and to prepare them for freedom. 

The musical follows the stories of Kofi, Colonel Higginson and Charlotte Forten as they fight for liberty, recognition, and education, so that they, and all future generations of Americans, can be, to quote Abraham Lincoln, “forever free.”

Read more about the show in the New York Times and The Detroit News.

Listen to a song from the show: