In northern Virginia near Warrenton on September 13, 1863 in the Battle of Culpeper Court House, the Union Army of the Potomac defeated the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, taking possession of the region of Culpeper County and securing their position in the Battle of Rappahannock Station on November 7. The victorious Army of the…
The coastal town of Fernandina, Florida has been occupied by Union forces since March 1862. The capture of the town had proven surprisingly easy. Despite the area’s heavy fortifications, the Confederates had abandoned the city without a fight. Fort Clinch, guarding the entrance to Fernandina but deserted upon the approach of Union naval forces, was…
Black Baptists have been well-established in Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia since the early nineteenth century. Their vibrant presence is testimony to the acceptance of blacks in Baptist churches, a preponderance of free blacks in the area, and three decades (the 1820s-1850s) as a disembarkation point for African American missionaries traveling to Liberia through the efforts…