People, Locations, Episodes

The American Civil War Begins

On this date in 1861, the Civil War began. This war is also referred to as “The War Between the States”, “The War of Rebellion”, or “The War for Southern Independence.”

Confederate Slave Contraband, and the American Civil War, a story

*Confederate slave contraband and the American Civil War are affirmed on this date in 1861. On that date, Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory, and James Townsend, Black field hands owned by Charles Mallory, rowed across the James River in Virginia and claimed asylum in a Union-held citadel. Fort Monroe, Va., a fishhook-shaped spit of land near the mouth […]

The American Civil War, a Summary

The American Civil War, waged from 1861 to 1865, is remembered on this date.

Before and during the Civil War, the North and South differed greatly on economic issues. The war was about slavery, but primarily about its economic consequences. The northern elite wanted economic expansion that would change the southern (slave-holding) way of life.

The southern states saw Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans making enormous changes to their way of life using free slave labor. Southerners believed that Abraham Lincoln, if elected, would restrict their rights to own slaves.

The First American Civil War Battle Occurs

The first encounter of the Civil War happened on this date in 1861 at the Fairfax Court House in Arlington Mills, Virginia.

The result was that all mail delivery between the US and the Confederacy stopped. The following year, 1862, on the same date, slavery was abolished in all United States possessions.

The Confiscation Acts are Introduced

*The Confiscation Acts were introduced on this date in 1861.   In U.S. history, this series of laws passed by the federal government during the American Civil War were designed to liberate Black slaves in the seceded confederate states. The first Confiscation Act passed on Aug. 6, 1861, authorized the Union seizure of rebel property, and […]

The Fremont Proclamation is Revoked

On this date in 1854, John C. Fremont, issued a proclamation freeing the slaves of Missouri rebels. Lincoln revoked his proclamation.

A major in the Union Army, Fremont would become a Civil War general. After the war, he became California’s first senator and ran for president of the United States.

The First Blacks Serve in the Union Navy

On this date in 1861, The Union Navy admitted Blacks for military service for the first time, almost a year before the army opened its ranks. Some former slaves risked their lives to enlist, swimming or rowing boats from plantations to Union ships anchored nearby.

The Port Royal Experiment Begins

*The Port Royal Experiment began on this date in 1861. This educational program involved former slaves successfully working on the land abandoned by white-American planters.    It started during the American Civil War after the Union captured the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and their main harbor, Port Royal. The whites fled, leaving behind 10,000 Black slaves. Several private Northern charity organizations stepped in to help […]

The Statehood of West Virginia, a story

On this date in 1861, West Virginia began the Secessionist Convention that would result in its breaking away from the Confederate state of Virginia, the only state to form by seceding from a Confederate state and one of three states to secede from another state. It was a key Civil War “border state.”

Slave-Trader Is Prosecuted, and Hhnged

*On this date in 1862, Nathaniel Gordon was hanged for slave trading. He is the only person in American history executed for slave-trading. Gordon captained the slave ship Erie.

Slavery is Abolished in Washington D.C.

On this date in 1862, the nations capitol ended slavery. President Lincoln signed an act abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia, an important step in the long road toward full emancipation and enfranchisement for African Americans.

Before 1850, slave pens, slave jails, and auction blocks were a common site in the District of Columbia, a center for domestic slave trade.

Slaves Overtake the Confederate Ship ‘The Planter’

On this date in 1862, Black slaves commandeered the Confederate ship “the Planter.”

It had just gotten dark on that evening in 1862, and General Roswell Ripley and the other White confederate officers of the steamer, had gone ashore to attend a party in Charleston, leaving the Black crew alone. Slave Robert Smalls and the Black crew’s families came aboard the Planter. Smalls was the quartermaster, or wheelman, of the ship and knew all the routing channels in Charleston harbor and the gun and troop positions of the confederate armies guarding the harbor.

Black History and American Agriculture, a story

*Black History and American Agriculture are affirmed on this date in 1862. President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation establishing the United States Department of Agriculture on that date. During the agricultural business’s most significant era, when the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was created, 90% of the American public were farmers. It was not until […]

The Homestead Act Is Passed by Congress

On this date in 1862, Congress passed the Homestead Act.

This legislation gave authorized unrestricted settlement on public lands to settlers, requiring only residence, cultivation, and some improvement to a tract of 160 acres. Any person who was head of a family or was age 21, a United States citizen, and owned less than 160 acres, was eligible.

The Morrill Land-Grant Act is Passed

*On this date, 1862, the Morrill Land-Grant Act was passed. This act allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states and paved the way for many Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) using the proceeds of federal land sales.   The Morrill Act of 1862 was enacted during the American Civil War, and the Morrill Act […]