Showing results 1 through 10 of 437
- A Contraband Works for the Union
April 14, 1862 to April 28, 1862
KANAWHA, Virginia
African-Americans, Politics, Race-Relations, Slavery, WarThe contraband only spent a short time working for James D. Templeton's brigade before his death, but in that time the ex-slave managed to leave a lasting impression. Templeton was a young Union soldier from Savannah, Ohio who took part in several major battles of the Civil War, including Antietam. He spent much of his first two years in the mountains of West Virginia, as the horn player in a military...
- A Desperate Confederate Plea for Troops
October 14, 1864
SMYTH, Virginia
Government, Slavery, WarA desperate order was issued by the Adjutant and Inspector General of the Confederate government on October 14, 1864, late in the Civil War, all details heretofore granted under the authority of the War Department, to persons between the ages of 18 and 45 years, are revoked: and all such detailed men together with those within the said ages who had furloughs...will be promptly assembled. Though the...
- Mr. Brown and the Indians
January 13, 1831
TERRITORY, Territory
Crime/Violence, Government, Politics, Migration/Transportation, Native-Americans, Race-Relations, WarMr. Brown's absence was a strain on the family that he left behind. Taking care of day-to-day business without a husband and father in the rough settlement of San Felipe de Austin was not an easy feat. The pressures upon the family increased as time went by, and the news of him they received after his absence spanned one month was not heartening. Brown was taking part in an exploration of the upper...
- Louisiana's Involvement in the Mexican War
July 8, 1847
ORLEANS, Louisiana
Politics, Urban-Life/Boosterism, WarBy the summer of 1847, the Mexican War had been going on for just over a year. Newspapers kept citizens up to date with daily progress by their American troops south of the border, including lists of the casualties as well as those enlisting. New Orleans residents opened up their Times Picayunes the morning of July 8 to read a familiar notice, entitled Departure of Troops. It announced that the steamship...
- Inheriting Property
September 22, 1842
ORLEANS, Louisiana
African-Americans, Economy, Migration/Transportation, Native-Americans, Slavery, Urban-Life/Boosterism, WarBy the 1840s, it was clear to most Americans that the United States existed on a fair bit of land. This vast space stretched westward, father than many imaginations even reached. Word trickled back east of rich soil and bountiful harvests, but also of great hardships. Thousands of Native Americans perished on the over 2000 mile long Trail of Tears in 1838. It was in this context that O.G. Murrell...
- Northern Abolitionists Influence on Charleston
January 25, 1837
CHARLESTON, South Carolina
Migration/Transportation, Slavery, Urban-Life/Boosterism, WarAs the years passed, it seemed that more and more Americans became frustrated with the institution of slavery. But there were many in the South who dissented from this opinion, who held steadfast to the ideal that slavery was a just institution. E.W. Taylor was one of them. Taylor, who moved to Charleston from the North to become a slave owner, enjoyed the perks of ownership to the fullest extent....
- Charleston Women Discuss Support of States Rights
January 7, 1833
CHARLESTON, South Carolina
Economy, Government, Slavery, War, WomenWomen like Laura Margaret Cole Smith of South Carolina were not blind to the implications of politics for the Union as a whole. Upon receiving news of the 1832 Nullification Crisis, Laura wrote to her cousin Camille explaining her opinions on the state of the Union. Smith held steadfastly to her belief in South Carolina's states rights. Although the prospect of war saddened her because her father and...
- The Arrest of Senator Clay in the Assasination of Lincoln
May 22, 1865 to April 17, 1866
Washington City, District of Columbia
Crime/Violence, Politics, War, WomenWhen Mrs. Virginia Clay, the wife of Senator Clay of Alabama, received news of her husband's arrest, she was immediately enraged. Up to this point in 1865, she had been enjoying the life of a socialite in Washington, DC, while Mr. Clay had taken on the role of Senator for the Confederacy. President Johnson had Clay arrested, alongside Jefferson Davis for allegedly conspiring in the assassination of...
- John Scott's Estate and Removal to the South
1818 to 1822
ALBEMARLE, Virginia
Economy, Migration/Transportation, Native-Americans, Urban-Life/Boosterism, WarJohn Scott III of Scottsville was the grandson of the man on whose land the first Albemarle County seat was located when the county's was created in 1744. Edward Scott had offered his land to build the first courthouse, in the hopes that commerce would develop nearby and increase the value of his large patent. The proximity of the site to a section of the James River especially conducive to crossing...
- The Establishment of the United States Colored Troops
October 13, 1863
Washington City, District of Columbia
African-Americans, Race-Relations, WarIn the midst of the Civil War, with its end undetermined, the War Department in Washington, D.C., requested the Lieutenant Colonel George Wagner to serve as the Captain for the Eighth Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops. The U.S. Colored Troops had been established only a month before Wagner received this request. Many of the men within the Colored Troops had originally escaped into Washington where...