Posted in Memory of Reconstruction Monuments

Three New Highway History Signs in Virginia on Civil War and Reconstruction Topics

Virginia has been marking its history along its highways for nearly a century. The state’s Department of Historic Resources has announced a set of new…

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Posted in Civil War

When Lee Threatened to Execute His Men for Telling Jokes About Desertion

In March of 1865, the situation of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was desperate. As the hungry army was in its last weeks of…

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Posted in Slavery

When Free Blacks Had to Wear Badges to Show Their Racial Status in South Carolina August 1860

While there were “free Blacks” living in South Carolina before the Civil War, their position was precarious and their freedoms were circumscribed. This article in…

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Posted in Podcast Podcasts

1865 Podcast Episode 2 & 3 Dramatizes the Days After the Lincoln Assassination

Episode 2 of the dramatic series 1865 covers the days after the Lincoln Assassination. It has some poorly sourced claims that Andrew Johnson and John…

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Posted in Podcast Podcasts

1865 Podcast Dramatizes Events Following Lincoln Assassination

I have seen the podcast 1865 described as a “new” series on the months after the Lincoln assassination. In fact, the podcast is in its…

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Posted in Music

NY Times on How the Fisk Jubilee Singers Helped Save the Black School During Reconstruction

The New York Times today has an interesting story on the history of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Fisk University is one of the oldest Historically…

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Posted in Memory of Reconstruction Monuments

Alabama Spending Half-Million Annually on Confederate Memorial Park: WaPo

The Washington Post has an article on expenditures by the State of Alabama to support the Confederate Memorial Park. The park is on the site…

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Posted in Book Reviews Civil War

Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army after Appomattox by Caroline E. Janney

Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army after Appomattox by Caroline E. Janney University of North Carolina Press (2021) Have you ever wondered…

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Posted in Slavery

How the Descendants of Slaves Are Impacting Plantation Museums

The Washington Post has an article on how the descendants of slaves are impacting how plantation museums tell their stories. From the article:  Robert Bellinger…

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Posted in Slavery

Sale of Free Negroes in the South Before the Civil War

Freedom was a precarious state for Blacks before the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment. Free Blacks were sold at auction if they fell behind…

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