The Douglass home experiences many changes as all four children grow to adulthood. Rosetta, the volatile eldest child, spends most of her time living with distant friends and relatives, while her three brothers anticipate involvement in the war. To complicate matters further, Ottilie has become a frequent houseguest in Rochester. She holds the illiterate Anna in contempt and apparently envisions a future in which Douglass will divorce his wife and marry her. Most biographers speculate that the two are lovers by this time.

Much of Douglass’s attention during 1863 is deflected toward the war effort. After the Emancipation Proclamation is issued at the beginning of the year, the next step is to allow Black men to enlist in the Union Army. Douglass enthusiastically embraces his role as recruiter. He travels throughout Massachusetts and neighboring states, assuring hesitant freemen that enlistment is good for the country and good for them personally. They could, at last, establish themselves on an equal footing with Whites.

Douglass himself is in his mid-forties. Though still young enough to enlist, he prefers to serve in the capacity of a propagandist for the war effort. Meanwhile, two of his sons enlist while a third goes south to recruit more troops.