Today crowds line Boston’s Beacon Street in celebration of the deployment of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. Massachusetts governor John A. Andrew presents the unit’s colors, after which the regiment parades down the street and to the waiting steamer De Molay for transport to Port Royal, South Carolina. Port Royal and environs, under Union control,…
Freedom finally arrives today for some African slaves, including many Baptists, of Port Royal, South Carolina. Following a four-day coastal siege held in check by stormy weather, a Union Navy fleet accompanied by soldiers overwhelms the meager Confederate defense, sending Confederate soldiers and white civilians fleeing inland and/or northward to Charleston. The “Day of the…
One of the most important offenses of the autumn season is unfolding off the coast of South Carolina near the Georgia state line. A United States Navy fleet and Army expeditionary force has been stationed off the mouth of Port Royal Sound for the past two days. Until today, bad weather has prevented the Union…