Category Archives: Slavery

Fort Sumter’s Cat Jack: the Cat that Went to War

Posted on March 11, 2014 by

I have often wondered exactly why the point of view of animals in any historical situation is of any interest whatsoever. Everyone knows animals really have no well-defined point of view. Anthropomorphizing animals is one of the things all “pet … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Book Review, Books & Authors, Memory, Monuments, National Park Service, Personalities, Preservation, Slavery, Ties to the War | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Top 15 Posts of 2013

Posted on December 26, 2013 by

From now until the new year we will be running the top 15 posts of 2013 (we will also include some that deserve honorable mentions). We wanted to take a moment and thank all of our readers. From all of … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Emerging Civil War, Leadership--Confederate, Slavery, Ties to the War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Seizure of the Planter

Posted on August 27, 2013 by

During a recent trip to Charleston, I came across the following story, presented on a historical marker by the Historic Charleston Foundation and the African American Historical Alliance: The Seizure of the Planter

Posted in Civilian, Navies, Personalities, Slavery | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

My Life as a Black Civil War Living Historian—part three

Posted on June 3, 2013 by

Part three in a series One fall day in 2010 at the Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield, while giving a tour, I ran into John Cummings, a Spotsylvania Civil War historian I had known for a while. We served together on … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War Events, National Park Service, Slavery, USCT | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

My Life as a Black Civil War Living Historian—part two

Posted on May 30, 2013 by

Part two in a series As a Park Service historian, I give tours on all four of the Park’s battlefields: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. I loved talking about the military history but never said much about the … Continue reading →

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Beyond the 150th: Where academic and public historians are one and the same

Posted on April 5, 2013 by

by Rebekeh Oakes, part of an ongoing series One hundred and fifty years ago, the sleepy town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania became the sight of a bloody three-day battle immortalized in the American consciousness. This past March, Gettysburg College was flooded … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Authors, Civil War Events, Civilian, Common Soldier, Emerging Civil War, National Park Service, Preservation, Sesquicentennial, Slavery, Ties to the War | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hotel De’Afrique: The first safe haven for African Americans in North Carolina

Posted on March 27, 2013 by

The capture of the Confederate forts located at Hatteras Inlet on August 29, 1861, provided the first Union victory of the Civil War. Almost immediately fugitive slaves began arriving on Hatteras Island in search of freedom. In a letter to … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Monuments, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Winter at White Oak Church

Posted on January 28, 2013 by

Between the ill-fated campaigns of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, the Union Army of the Potomac spent the winter months of 1862-1863 encamped across the whole of Stafford County, Virginia. There are countless landmarks noted in the diaries, memories and letters of … Continue reading →

Posted in Armies, Battlefields & Historic Places, Emerging Civil War, Monuments, Slavery | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Watch Night: The 150th Anniversary

Posted on January 7, 2013 by

December 31, 2012 was the 150th anniversary of “Watch Night.” On New Year’s Eve, like many African-Americans, I go to church to celebrate Watch Night.  Depending on which church you attend, you may have a midnight Mass, have a special church … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Slavery | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

The Sesquicentennial of Stones River

Posted on December 29, 2012 by

Don’t forget the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Stones River, going on now in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The battle itself took place Dec. 31, 1862-Jan. 2, 1863, but 150 years ago right now, the armies were moving into position. For more … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War Events, National Park Service, Sesquicentennial, Slavery, Western Theater | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment