Today the first Convention of Colored Citizens of the State of Arkansas is gathered in Little Rock. Many Baptists are among those present. The purpose of the convention is to exert the rights of freedmen and ensure that white Southerners respect their freedom. The road thus far has been brutal, and a future of true…
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…
Today John A. Rose, Free Will Baptist, is discharged from the Union Army. A native of Illinois and resident of Arkansas, Rose enlisted in the Union Army in 1863, prior to his 18th birthday. Serving in Company L, 2nd Kansas Cavalry, the young soldier fought in several small battles before being captured and taken prisoner…