I find it hard to believe that there were really 3,000 black confederates at one point or another. The idea that an individual would fight against their freedom is so foreign to me. But, on the other hand, they were slaves. Intentionally kept ignorant as long as the white owners could pull it off. I have no doubt that they were capable of convincing their slaves of their cause. Or just flat out ordering them to partake.

The part I find unrealistic is the 3,000 portion of it. That level of manipulation seems unmanageable, just from a logistics standpoint. But to comment on the dependability of the storyteller, I’m not sure Steiner was really on top of things. There’s no way he was the only person to see this army of black soldiers. Had it really existed there would have been some other accounts, I’m sure of it.

Why then, though would he commit to writing such an absurd story? As an educated man, you’d think he’d know better than to exaggerate to that extent.