Under an oak tree in the southeastern Virginia town of Phoebus, a quiet revolution begins: Mary Smith Peak teaches the first classes to African American children on the grounds of present-day Hampton University. Born in Norfolk in 1823 to an Englishman and a free black woman, Mary Kelsey received a formal education then returned home…
In Beaufort, South Carolina, citizens and soldiers wait anxiously for federal warships off the coast. “No Fleet yet, off Port Royal,” reports Thomas R S Elliott to his father. Batteries are being laid out, cannons put in place, a fort on Ladies Island is now finished, and the arrival of Dunnovants Regiment is anticipated. The…
Opining in this week’s Christian Index, Georgia Baptist editor Samuel Boykin, appropriating the language of providence, situates the Confederacy both under God’s control and as a part of God’s Kingdom. He also castigates the North for driving down the value of southern slaves and thwarting the Christian South’s efforts to save the souls of southern…