Rev. Thomas L. Johnson, a former slave, begins his biography “Twenty Eight Years a Slave” with the words: “According to information I received from my mother, I was born August 7th, 1836, at a place called Rock-Rayman, in the State of Virginia; but I do not know the place, as I was REMOVED when a…
The day after Lee surrenders to Grant, celebrations erupt in Washington, D.C. The war is over! Neither rain nor mud dampens the occasion as thousands mill about in the city’s streets. Many gather on the grounds of the capitol, serenading President Lincoln. The commotion eventually leads Lincoln to make an appearance at a window. Looking…
When the war began four years ago, Richmond, soon to become the Confederate capital, had a larger number of enslaved African Americans–some 500,000–than any other city in America. Today, the fourth day of freedom in Richmond, the city’s newly-freed blacks hold a “jubilee celebration” at the First African Baptist Church, the celebration including soldiers of…