George Barber Raymond (1822-1870), a Massachusetts Congregationalist recently converted to the Baptist faith, is elected as a selectman (in effect, a member of the board of directors) of Winchendon (in Worcester County)*. He would serve in this post throughout the Civil War, until 1866. Only well-respected men in New England towns attained such a position.…
Mere days after Florida formally secedes from the United States of America, the state’s secession flag (pictured) flies over Tallahassee, the state capital. Meanwhile, shots from the Federal garrison in Fort Pickens on Florida’s western boundary force a Confederate reconnaissance mission to retreat. Fort Pickens would be one of few southern forts to remain in…
Alabama secedes from the Union, becoming the fourth state to do so (following South Carolina, Mississippi and Florida). E. S. Dargan’s speech outlines the reason for Alabama’s leaving the United States of America – namely, in order to preserve African slavery. Alabama’s Ordinance of Secession, declaring independence and issuing a southwide call for a convention…