Throughout the South many black Baptist churches are now hosting schools for freedmen, both children and adults. White Southerners for generations prevented slaves from obtaining education via state and local laws. Many insisted that blacks were simply unable to learn. Now, against the wishes of many whites who believe that blacks should remain in servitude,…
Many Union soldiers and officers are yet serving on active duty. Today Nathan Church from Michigan, of a Baptist family and the son of a Baptist minister, musters out of the service. “Civil War hero Nathan Church, was born on November 22, 1840, the son of LaFayette Church. Until the age of 16, Nathan attended…
Six months following the conclusion of the war, many Baptist churches in the South are just now resuming congregational life with some sense of normalcy. Some do not reopen until this month, while others continue adjusting to the realities of freedom for black members. This month the Oak Grove Baptist Church of Arkansas finally reopens…