The new paradigm of Southern freedom poses a challenge for white citizens. Following two centuries of enslavement, blacks, now free, have little interest in maintaining close associations with whites. At the same time, a general lack of education, housing and jobs among freedmen ensures that relations with whites will have to continue, at least to…
On the third day of freedom in Richmond, many of the remaining upper class whites want to believe that the setback is only temporary. The brief reflections of Richmond resident Margaret White are not atypical: “Kept in a constant state of anxiety,” she writes this day, “by not being able to hear anything reliable. Some…
Five Forks is a road junction in the vicinity of Petersburg, important to the viability of Robert E. Lee‘s last supply line, the South Side Railroad. Today the Federals advance upon the junction and score a significant victory over the Rebels, capturing many prisoners and forcing, by the end of the day, Confederate defenders into…