This Black History Month, learn how Frederick Douglass almost became a staff officer for Adjutant General of the United States, Lorenzo Thomas, to aid in the recruitment of U.S. Colored Troops for the Union Army. In late July 1863, abolitionist, … Continue reading →
Milliken’s Bend is now featured in an entry in the Louisiana online encyclopedia, 64 Parishes. The article provides a brief but solid overview of the battle and its significance. It contains links to other related articles at 64 Parishes, and … Continue reading →
“At 2:30 a.m. …the enemy’s pickets fired upon my cavalry scouts and skirmishers. The cavalry scouts fell back…upon the skirmishers [who thought they were part of the enemy’s cavalry] …consequently they fired upon them, wounding…horses…[but]…fortunately no man was killed or … Continue reading →
The story of Milliken’s Bend is at its core, a story of Black resistance. And not just on one day, June 7, 1863, when a small brigade of newly enlisted Black Union soldiers fought fiercely against a Confederate attack. The … Continue reading →
The logbook of the gunboat Choctaw records the names of some of the men wounded at Milliken’s Bend. Lt. Commander F. W. Ramsay reported that Lt. Jonathan W. Ayers of Company K, 9th Louisiana, was wounded and “picked up in … Continue reading →