Sam Richards and his family, members of the Second Baptist Church of Atlanta, fled the city in the wake of Sherman’s coming and temporarily moved to New York City. With the war over, today they depart New York for the return trip to Atlanta. The Richards are among a number of white Southerners who fled…
John Henry Yates (1828-1897) was born into slavery in Virginia. Although Virginia law forbade the teaching of slaves to read or write, the children of Yates’ master taught a young Yates how to read. The Bible was his favorite book. As a young man he “married” (marriage being informal for slaves, due to state laws)…
In May 1865 the American Civil War came to an official end with the capture of former Confederate president Jefferson Davis. With the rebellious Southern states forced back into the Union, black slaves emancipated (13th Amendment), and the U.S. government committed to providing education, job training, legal protections (14th Amendment), voting rights (15th Amendment) and…