The Union Army is now in control of Jacksonville, Florida and has orders to push inland. Among the regiments is the African American 54th Massachusetts Regiment, who led the way in capturing Jacksonville on February 7. The presence of black soldiers is a fearful sight for Southern whites of the city and the surrounding countryside.…
Today in Greene County, Georgia the Springfield Baptist Church of Greensboro is established. The founding of the congregation takes place at a time when many Baptist churches in middle Georgia are striving merely to keep their doors open nearly three years after the beginning of the Civil War. In the midst of such struggles, church…
Prior to the war, “Lee Town” in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa became a refuge for escaped slaves fleeing from Missouri, as well as slaves freed by Missouri slave owners who came to oppose the peculiar institution. The Underground Railroad was nearby. Some freedman passed through Lee Town; others, finding protection, stayed. Soon after the Civil War…