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Author Archives: Ashley Webb
Sundry Boxes and Mysterious Parcels
Today, the holidays bring lots of food, presents, and time spent with family and loved ones. Between 1861 and 1864, families were often separated, and the overall tone of the holidays was one of solemn reflection. Ann Godwin Figgat (Nannie), … Continue reading
Posted in Civilian, Common Soldier, Holidays, Material Culture
Tagged Christmas, Holidays, Presents
4 Comments
A Grand Christmas Ball
When I think of the Christmases of years past, I think of The Nutcracker Prince, the 1990 animated movie set to Tchaikovsky’s score of the famous Nutcracker ballet. The movie, set in Germany in the 1850s, opens with a grand … Continue reading
Traveling South during the first stages of Reconstruction
Shortly after the war, Francis Butler Leigh, traveling with her father, left the North to reclaim their plantation in the Sea Islands. Francis chronicled her journey through the South, as well as documented the transition of Southern society from the … Continue reading
Posted in Civilian, Economics, Memory, Reconstruction
3 Comments
Sailors, Slaves, and Henry P. Moore
While doing some research for an upcoming post, I came across several photographs by Henry P. Moore, a New Hampshire artist who traveled to South Carolina in 1862. Like many of his colleagues, Moore capitalized on the outbreak of the … Continue reading
Posted in Navies, Photography, Slavery
Tagged 3rd New Hampshire Regiment, contraband, Henry P. Moore, navy, Photography, Sailors, Sea Islands, slavery, South Carolina, USS Vermont, USS Wabash
2 Comments
The Port Royal Experiment-Setting the Stage for Reconstruction, Part 4
Conclusion to the Port Royal Experiment series. Despite the preparation, the enthusiasm, and the progress of the Gideonites based in Port Royal, South Carolina, the government had separate ideas for how Reconstruction should be structured. Educationally, the experiment was … Continue reading
Posted in Civilian, Economics, Reconstruction, Slavery
Tagged Port Royal, Port Royal Experiment, Reconstruction, slavery
1 Comment
The Port Royal Experiment – Setting the Stage for Reconstruction, Part 3
Because of Edward Pierce’s thorough report on the African American population in Port Royal, South Carolina, and his success with the growing contraband population at Fort Monroe, in Hampton, Virginia, President Lincoln and Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase quickly … Continue reading
The Port Royal Experiment—Setting the Stage for Reconstruction, Part Two
This is part two in a series. Edward Pierce, an agent to the Federal Government sent to visit Port Royal and the surrounding islands of South Carolina, wrote an in depth anthropological style report on the African American population abandoned … Continue reading
Posted in Memory, Reconstruction, Slavery
Tagged African Americans, contraband, cotton, Edward Pierce, Port Royal Experiment, Reconstruction, Sea Islands, slavery
5 Comments
The Port Royal Experiment – Setting the Stage for Reconstruction, Part One
In late October of 1861, the Union Naval fleet set sail for Port Royal, South Carolina, hoping to advance Winfield Scott’s plan to blockade the Confederate ports and prevent trade with European countries. Similar to the Chesapeake Bay, Port Royal … Continue reading
Posted in Reconstruction, Slavery
Tagged contraband, Edward Pierce, Port Royal Experiment, slavery
3 Comments
Mourning Keepsakes
Mourning jewelry and other similar keepsakes became popular objects created and worn to honor a loved one or a person of importance. Queen Victoria unknowingly propagated the trend upon the death of her husband, Prince Albert, in 1861. In the … Continue reading
Reactions to Lincoln’s Death
Six days after the surrender of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln while at Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC. Almost immediately, a word of mouth network began diffusing throughout the city. As news … Continue reading
Posted in Civilian, Memory, Reconstruction, Sesquicentennial
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln Assassination, Lincoln funeral
6 Comments
