Today U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment, thus sending it to the states for ratification. Also today, from Savannah Assistant Adjutant-General E. D. Townsend writes to the U.S. War Department concerning the January 12 meeting that took place between General William T. Sherman and “the colored ministers in Savannah.” From that meeting, during…
Today the 13th Amendment passes in the House of Representative, thus clearing the United States Congress. The amendment abolishes slavery, declaring “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Now, the…
Formed in the 1780s, the Robertville Baptist Church today falls victim to the Civil War. Sherman’s troops, descending upon the town that serves as a crossroads between Savannah, Augusta and Charleston, also destroy a number of other structures in Robertville, including many businesses and homes. Located just inside the state line and about four miles…