Louisiana is in the news this day. The Union ship Kentucky leaves Shreveport late in the day with some 800 passengers aboard, many paroled Confederate soldiers, some with their families. Plying the Red River, the overloaded ship strikes a snag that rips a gash in the vessel. Two hours pass before the leak is noticed.…
The closing months of the war have been a bitter time for many white Floridians. Florida governor John Milton, despairing of the collapse of the Confederacy early in the year, had committed suicide on April 1. His last words to the legislature had been, “Death would be preferable to reunion.” When news of the Lee’s…
Prior to the war and despite the growing abolitionist movement, discriminatory laws against black citizens were common in the North. Known as “black laws,” the regulations often prevented blacks from voting, serving on juries, testifying in court against a white person or signing contracts. Freedom, in short, while real nonetheless came with restrictions for black…