Who freed the slaves?
It often bothers me when I hear people say, “Lincoln set the slaves free.” He did not. What he did do was to issue a proclamation that – by declaration – freed those persons held in bondage in certain specific more »
Category Archives: African Americans
Emancipation – It Changed Everything (or Did It?)
150 years ago, the entire reason for the Civil War changed. Although the majority of men in the Northern ranks enlisted to restore the Union, on Jan. 1, 1863, President Lincoln’s final Emancipation Proclamation declared that all persons held in more »
Davis Bend
The story of Davis Bend is not what you’d expect. Confederate President Jefferson Davis made his home at Brierfield. His older brother, Joseph, had his home nearby at Hurricane. Both of these estates were located on a thumb-like pennisula of more »
Slavery or States’ Rights? Or Something Different?
There’s no more emotionally contentious topic today than the heated discussions that can break out among Civil War buffs or descendents (of either side) than the question of “Was the Civil War about slavery?” And I believe there is the more »
Who were the “Colored Troops”?
The African American regiments that fought at Milliken’s Bend would serve in what would later become known as the “United States Colored Troops” – or USCT for short. In fact, the Bureau of Colored Troops was established in the U.S. more »