Less than a month after the enactment of his Emancipation Proclamation, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln yet struggles with the question of how to accommodate black freedmen in a white-centric nation. Seemingly contrary to actions already underway and designed to assimilate freedmen into American society, Lincoln maintains an interest in the work of the American Colonization…
In terms of the war, the winter months are spent rather quietly. Harsh weather allows but few troop movements. Generals spend their time training troops and planning strategies, while soldiers’ main concern is to stay warm and fed. Boredom is not uncommon in the camps, and many turn to recreation – cards and other games…
Not all white Southerners are supporters of the Confederacy. Throughout the mountainous regions of the South in particular, an area where slaves are a relative rarity while poor whites struggle to eke out a living from the land, strong pro-Union sentiment was present prior to the war and remains to this day, increasing as the…