On this second day of the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia, Union and Confederate forces set about trying to form their respective lines to the best possible advantage in anticipation of the fighting to come. In the midst of the jockeying for position, Union Major General John Sedgwick is killed by a Confederate…
Included in the United States’ battle preparations for the coming spring engagements is the use of large numbers of black soldiers, former slaves who are ready and willing to fight for the freedom of their families and friends yet enslaved in the Confederate States. A number of “colored regiments” proved their mettle during the battles…
News of the Confederate massacre of black Union soldiers at Fort Pillow is spreading like wildfire throughout the North. As the public demands justice, famed black abolitionist Frederick Douglass today addresses a crowd assembled at the Twelfth Baptist Church in New York City. Expressing hope that Congress is finally committed to providing fair pay to…