Tens of thousands of former slaves were fighting for the United States against the Confederacy by the end of the war. One was Paul Sandridge. Born into slavery near Lynchburg, Virginia in 1841, Sandridge was liberated from bondage upon the death of his owner in 1853. As a free man he settled near Portsmouth, Ohio,…
While Confederate President Jefferson Davis quietly moves forward in preparing for secretive peace negotiations with the United States in Washington, Federal troops under Union General William S. Sherman execute a reconnaissance mission from Pocotaligo to the Salkehatchie River, South Carolina. With each passing day, anxiety grows among residents of the state of South Carolina. Confederate…
Elijah P. Marrs, Company L, 12th U.S. Colored Artillery, experiences an adventure-filled day in Kentucky. A slave until running away mere months ago, the Union soldier and Baptist layman, his company tasked with recruiting new black soldiers, unexpectedly confronts the prospect of death at the hands of Confederate soldiers. Fortunately, the encounter takes place in…