Emancipation along the North Carolina coast began over a year ago when Union General Ambrose Burnside landed on Roanoke Island in February 1862. Soon, much of the coastal mainland was under United States control, and New Bern became Union headquarters for the region. From the landing of Ambrose to the present, African slaves have, in…
In Virginia, an increasing number of blacks, both free and enslavesd, are experiencing the evolving nature of the Confederacy’s military struggle against Union forces. Nervous slaveholders are keeping an ever tighter rein on their slaves in an effort to prevent insurrections, even while publicly voicing confidence (against abundant evidence otherwise) that Southern slaves are too…
It is Sunday, a day of worship for some Baptist congregations in the Confederacy. While the intrusion of war or the infrequency of worship (many rural churches gather only once a month) prevent many congregations from assembling, morning services at the First Baptist Church of Atlanta proceed smoothly, as a member of the congregation notes…