Throughout the mid-nineteenth century, the Union feuded over the issue of slavery expansion in the western territories. On January 2, 1849, the newspaper of Suffolk, Virginia, The Suffolk Intelligencer, printed an article entitled The Great Question. This article examined this turmoil, and pleaded the Union to mend its internal strife. The author explained that Northern fanatics in Congress were imposing...
On March 14, 1862 in Shenandoah County, Virginia three Union soldiers marched to the door of Sigismunda S. Kimball, the wife of a southern planter, and demanded supplies. The soldiers threatened Mrs. Kimball saying they had plenty of ladies prisoners and continued to torment her. On July 6, 1862 two Yankee soldiers came up to the house and demanded for the key to the corn house, saying they had orders...
When Reverend W. M. Todd came to his new district, he heard threats that the white men in the area had a way of getting rid of men who came from the North to preach to the colored people. Todd may or may not have taken the threat seriously. Regardless, he worked with his superior Reverend I. G. Pollard to organize services that were open to mixed congregations. It was after such a service on March...
The Trail of Tears was named as such by the Cherokee Indians who survived the forced march west from their native lands throughout Georgia and North Carolina. Hostility toward the Cherokees was not a foreign concept for the native people of Georgia. The Cherokees were led by the chief called The Ridge, who allied the Cherokees with Andrew Jackson in 1814 at Horseshoe Bend. During his presidency,...
In January 1868, black and white men came together for the first time in a legislative body in Arkansas to discuss the state's re-entry into the Union.The participating delegates consisted of 47 Arkansas whites, 17 outside whites, and eight African Americans.According to Richard L. Hume, the Arkansas convention was unique, however, because it contained extensive debates about the role of race.The...
Every year the Fearn plantation threw a ball in honor of the magnitude of work that had been done the year prior. The slaves put much effort into the night to make it the happiest of times. Slaves on the plantation looked forward to the ball each year. This year the ball fell on a beautiful night. The Fearns were the last to leave for the ball. As they followed the path to get there, a large slave...
Union troops had finally secured Fort Butler in Donaldsville. Excitement was everywhere. George Smith was one of the proud soldiers who witnessed the raising of the Union flag. The soldiers had worked relentlessly to secure the fort and the moment was very emotional. By late morning the regiment was ready to celebrate. Cannons sounded. The Star Spangled Banner rang loud from the band. Miss Weber smashed...
The Emergence of Oil For several decades leading up to the 1900's, the coal and iron industries had grown to become the backbone of the southern economy. Places such as Luray, Virginia, located in Page County, and other Appalachian mining areas became large centers of industry, attracting workers, railroads, and Northern investors. However, with the depression of the 1890's still looming above their...
While aboard a steamer ship headed from Alexandria, LA for Shreveport, LA, J.M. Bundy, a northern soldier, witnessed human cruelty and the outrageous poverty encompassing much of the South. Bundy and his Union comrades were invited to ride up the Red River to Shreveport on the Confederate flag-of-truce boat before a conference with southern officers about terms of surrender. Flying towards this vital...
In March of 1818, Jackson invaded Florida, brought down Fort Negro, and seized parts of Florida, which was under Spanish control. Jackson's actions caused international repercussions. Spain protested the invasion, which led to the halt of negotiations to buy Spanish Florida. The invasion, also, led Britain to protest the execution of two of its subjects who had never entered the United State territory,...