— Meticulously researched by Francis S. Carl and Denice Evans Sheppard, contributors to an episode of the hit TV show ‘Who Do You Think You Are?,’ featuring their cousin Vanessa L. Williams. “Footsteps of a Forgotten Soldier: The Life and Times of David Carll” takes readers back one hundred and fifty years, as one brave African American signs up to fight in the civil war for the new Colored Regiment in the state of New York. However, returning from war brought the biggest battle of all – against a society that was growing increasingly intolerant with his interracial marriage. At a time when racial divides are once again growing, Carll’s descendants are sharing his story in the hope the nation doesn’t slide backwards into a state of irreparable damage. —
New York, NY — While virtually nobody has heard of David Carll, his life story is a ground-breaking chapter in not only the nation’s history books, but in the fascinating wider civil rights movement. Before it risks getting lost forever, two of his descendants have put hundreds of hours into researching Carll’s story in full, and publishing it to the world.
Take a remarkable and historical journey in the footsteps of a forgotten soldier. David Carll, an African-American Civil War Soldier, took those footsteps over a 150 years ago. Born in Oyster Bay, New York in 1845 David Carll fought with the 26th United States Colored Troop Regiment from New York. Now, his descendant are telling his story and the amazing life this man from Oyster Bay, New York lived. Take a journey back to 1863 to the small town of Oyster Bay, New York to deep behind enemy lines in South Carolina with David Carll and the 26th United States Colored Troop Regiment. A compelling story of a man and his determination to fight and survive a brutal war and return home to his beloved wife and town of Oyster Bay.
“During the Civil War the country was not only divided from a political perspective, but also through the ongoing issue of race,” explains Francis S. Carl. “David Carll defied all societal norms to marry a white woman and raise a growing family without ever shying away from those who looked down on him. We’re slowly beginning to once again drag up the racial divide which should have been squashed with the Civil Rights Act of 1866 shortly after the Civil War ended. Unfortunately, the racial divide has always been and continues to be a part of American society. I want Americans and the world to see how bad it could get and at the same time how the races managed to make it work, however turbulent.”
Continuing, “A large part of the story also focuses on the struggle to form a Colored Regiment in the state of New York. Like my relative, thousands of enlistees returned home from the war only to face yet another potentially deadly battle – and all because of the color of their skin.”
Since its release, the book has garnered a string of rave reviews. One reader comments, “I have read many stories about the African-American experience during the Civil War. Slavery, despair and the down-right mistreatment of an entire race of people. This story is unlike any story I’ve read. This perspective and experience of one African-American during the Civil War goes against everything I expected. A very interesting true story of one African-American man’s experience during such a turbulent time in our history. A must read!”
Footsteps of a Forgotten Soldier: The Life and Times of David Carll is available now at www.thebookpatch.com
For more information, visit the book’s official website at www.davidcarll.com
About the Authors:
Francis S. Carl and Denice Evans Sheppard are the great-great grandchildren of David Carll. Having strong roots on Carl’s Hill, property once owned by David Carll, now owned by David Carll’s descendants in Oyster Bay, they have pursued his story for some time. Research work on this topic has taken them from research institutions throughout New York and to the National Archives in Washington D.C. Denice Evans Sheppard, author of The Constant Struggle Within has been working for years promoting, creating and establishing herself within the publishing arena. She initially started out with writing Multicultural Children Stories “In All Forms.” She has published along with a storytelling program for local school districts, children museums and libraries on Long Island.
Francis has been on a mission of discovery in respect to his great-great grandfather David Carll and the 26th United States Colored Troop Regiment from New York. It has led him and his nephew Gilbert Frank Mcdonald in gathering information and presenting it to the African American Civil War Museum in Washington DC. Francis S. Carl has gone on to present his findings to the Oyster Bay Historical Society alongside an esteemed panel which included a PHD in anthropology, re-enactors of the 26th USCT Regiment, author Denice Evans Sheppard and a descendant of the former President, Theodore Roosevelt, Elizabeth Roosevelt of Oyster Bay.
Francis has applied for and received a Presidential Certificate to honor David Carll’s service to this county signed by President Obama. Together, Francis and Denice continue to provide ongoing presentations at libraries, historical societies, charity events and anywhere there is an interest in learning about African-American soldiers and how the Civil War affected the men who fought and their families left behind.
Francis S. Carl and Denice Evans Sheppard