Among the first steps taken by freedpeople, after reuniting with their family or securing their freedom and safety, was to learn to read and write. Numerous “Freedmen’s Schools” were established throughout Union-occupied territory in the South. In the spring of … Continue reading →
The case seemed solid enough. Three individuals – Kate Shields (widow), Padon Turner, and Henry Woods – all agreed on the details. Anderson Shields, who was Kate’s husband, had joined the Union army with his friends near Grand Gulf, Mississippi … Continue reading →
Kate Shields was the widow of veteran Anderson Shields. In 1910, she testified that she was 68 years old and was born and lived in Claiborne County, Mississippi all her life. “I was born Kate Street,” she said, and both … Continue reading →
Sarah Wadley was a young woman in Monroe, Louisiana. Her father was an official with the Vicksburg, Shreveport, and Texas Railroad, and her position in Monroe society, and its distance from the battlefields, insulated her from the war for a … Continue reading →
It occurred to me, when I wrote my recent post about Webster, a runaway slave, that with digitized texts, it has now become possible to develop a biographical sketch of an individual slave simply by performing a keyword search of … Continue reading →