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…
As the war rages on, some Baptist congregations of the South faithfully hold monthly days of fasting and prayer, imploring God to put an end to the conflict and lead his chosen nation to victory. Other Baptist congregations avoid such meetings altogether, while still others are irregular in observance. Rev. E. Dodson of North Carolina…
In the Baptist churches of the Confederacy, most of which are integrated, tensions between white and black members have steadily grown as the war drags on. For enslaved African Baptists, the church house is the one place where, at least in theory, a semblance of equality of the races is partially realized. This relative degree…