At the close of the Civil War, wealthy northerners were interested in acquiring new farmland to develop. To do so, they needed to relocate to areas that were less populated than the North. Despite their admiration for South Carolina’s “lands and climate,” northerners feared living in the state, because of the potential violence. During this time, South Carolina began enacting black codes to restrict...
J.E.B. Stuart’s most celebrated act was his encirclement of the Union General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac in June of 1862. Newly appointed commander of the Army of Northern Virginia Robert E. Lee and Jeb Stuart devised the plan to circle around McClellan and gather intelligence. The aggressive strategy stemmed from the knowledge that McClellan was hesitant to attack the Confederate troops,...
The New Orleans Riot occurred on July 30, 1866 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Whites instigated the riot and targeted freedmen. However, this riot was different from those of its time because it centered primarily on disagreements regarding Reconstruction policies. Radical Republicans were unhappy with former Confederates gaining power and influence under Governor Wells. Wells himself eventually noticed...
The Colfax massacre of 1872, believed to be the most devastating occurrence of racial violence during Reconstruction, resulted in the death of around 150 freedmen at the hands of white supremacists. The events at Colfax resulted in only three men to convicted. However, disagreement led to the case entering the Supreme Court in the form of United States v. Cruikshank in 1876. The case brought in to...
On February 17, 1867 the New York Times reported on an act of reoccurring rebelliousness that happened within the city of Richmond, Virginia. The incident that sparked all of the emotion was the display of the Confederate Flag during an event within the city. Members of Congress and other Union loyalists decided that this act of rebelliousness proved that some of the southern states such as Virginia...
On February 16, 1863, a Union soldier from Huntingdon County Pennsylvania wrote home to describe the war as he saw it. “Here we are yet stuck in the mud, crushing the rebellion, over the left, and enjoying our hard tack as usual.” The soldier described the boring life that the Army of the Potomac went through as they were in camp. The man known as “TIMBER DOODLE” in his writings was going...
In January of 1863 Union General Ulysses S. Grant issued an order that excluded anyone from the Jewish descent from his military department. Order eleven read, “The Jews, as a class, violating every trade regulation established by the Treasury Department, also Department orders, are hereby expelled from the department within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order.” The order then explained...
In an article from the New York Times on August 31, 1863, it is made evident that the Peace Democrats or Copperheads were not so peaceful. The article stated that, “The Copperhead troubles still continue in the central and southern counties of this Illinois.” A group of around 150 armed Copperheads went to the county seat of Paris in Edgar County. The Copperheads threatened aggression against both...
On November 25, 1857, William Still recorded a story that told of the horrors of slavery in the South. Still assisted a group of slaves on the journey to freedom by way of the Underground Railroad. He was among the abolitionists during this time that believed that blacks should be afforded equal rights and opportunities that would allow them to earn a living. Still did not feel that blacks were...
In December 1868 a report from Little Rock, Arkansas stated that "In the Legislature last night, Mr. Brooks introduced a bill requiring all persons to withdraw from the Knights of the White Camellia...within thirty days, under penalty of heavy fine and imprisonment...". Following this resolution the state declared martial law in Conway County, Arkansas as reported in the New York Times. The Knights...