The fortunes of the Confederacy have grown so desperate–some two-thirds of Confederate soldiers have deserted, and there are no more able-bodied white men available for military service–that a growing number of voices are calling for allowing slaves to serve in the army. President Jefferson Davis, unable to think of any other effective way to supplement…
Northern-born Southerner Jacob Eliot (1803-1870) of Corsicana, Texas is a successful attorney, a slaveholder, and the church clerk of the Corsicana Baptist Church. Born in New York in 1803 and raised in Kentucky, Eliot at the age of 46 had moved to Navarro County, Texas, with his wife, children, and grandchildren. Purchasing 3,605 acres, Eliot…
In the North, today’s edition of Harper’s Weekly features a celebrative illustration of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln‘s Emancipation Proclamation, drawn by Thomas Nast. A family of former slaves is pictured in the center, with a portrait of Lincoln hanging on the wall. The past is illustrated to the left, and a hopeful future is envisioned…