People, Locations, Episodes

A Black Woman is Kicked Off of a Cable Car

On this date in 1863, a Black woman was forcibly removed from a horse-drawn streetcar in San Francisco.

Charlotte L. Brown, the daughter of James E. and Charlotte Brown was the victim. Her father, who ran a livery stable in San Francisco, brought suit on her behalf against the Omnibus Railroad Company. The successful suit resulted in $5,000 in damages awarded as well as the right of blacks to ride the street cars. The Charlotte Brown case was one of a few civil rights cases brought by prominent free blacks in California to protest discrimination on public transportation.

African and Native Americans at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, a story

*On this date in 1863, African and Native Americans intersected on the upper Mississippi River, witnessing the final chapters of American chattel slavery and “Indian removal” in Minnesota. On May 4, the steamboat Northerner pushed up the Mississippi River from St. Louis, bound for Fort Snelling, a military outpost north of St. Paul, Minnesota. Captained by […]

The 54th Union Massachusetts Infantry is Formed

*This date celebrates the creation of the all-Black Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry in 1863.

Robert Gould Shaw, twenty-six year old member of a prominent Boston abolitionist family, organized the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry in March of that year at Camp Meigs, Readville, and Massachusetts. Shaw had earlier served in the Seventh New York National Guard and the Second Massachusetts Infantry, and was appointed colonel of the Fifty-fourth in February of that year by Massachusetts’s governor John A. Andrew.

The Combahee River Raid occurs

*The Combahee River Raid occurred on this date in 1863; led by Harriet Tubman. In May of 1862 Tubman traveled to South Carolina where she joined Dr. Henry K. Durand, the Director of the freedman’s hospital at Port Royal. Soldiers as well as fugitives were dying; some of the most common illnesses were typhoid, cholera, […]

The 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment is Formed

*On this date in 1863, The 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was formed. This was the sister regiment of the Massachusetts 54th Volunteers during the latter half of the American Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation, enacted by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, opened the way for the enlistment of free men of color and newly liberated slaves to fight […]

Slavery Abolished in Suriname, and the Dutch Antilles

*On this date in 1863, slavery was abolished in Suriname and the Dutch Antilles. This ended around 200 years of slavery in these former Dutch colonies. Various activities were organized to mark the 150th anniversary of Dutch abolition in 2013, including exhibitions in the National Library of the Netherlands, the History Museum of The Hague, and the […]

Black History and the New York Draft Riots, a story

On this date in 1863, the New York Draft Riots occurred. This has been described as Four Days Of Terror centered on racism over the Civil War.

Lincoln had freed the slaves and now he was recruiting Northern men into the army and forcing them to fight and die to make his proclamation a reality. As a result, many white workers in the North reasoned that free Blacks would be competing for their jobs. The unfair draft laws caused deep resentment throughout the North, and in the summer of 1863, protests and outbreaks of violence were common in virtually every Northern state.

The Battle of Honey Springs Occurs

*The Battle of Honey Springs, also known as the Affair at Elk Creek, occurred on this date in 1863 during the American Civil War. This was a significant victory for Union forces in gaining control of the Indian Territory. It was the most crucial confrontation between Union and Confederate forces, eventually becoming Oklahoma. In the battle, […]

The First Black Man Receives The Congressional Medal of Honor

On this date in 1863, the first Black soldier received America’s Congressional Medal of Honor.

Sergeant William H. Carney was the recipient because of his bravery in action during the Civil War. Carney, a member of the 54th Massachusetts Colored infantry, was wounded twice during the charge on Fort Wagner, S.C., while rescuing the Union Flag.

After making it through the barrage of bullets and delivering the flag he shouted, “The Old Flag never touched the ground.”

Miscegenation, and Racial Intimacy in America, a story

On this date, the African American Registry discusses miscegantion.

The 14th United States Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment is Formed

*The 14th United States Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment was formed on this date in 1863. They were a Black artillery regiment that served in the Union Army through the U.S. Department of War’s Bureau of Colored Troops during the American Civil War. The 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored) was organized in Providence, Rhode Island, and mustered for […]

The 8th United States Colored Infantry is Formed

*On this date in 1863, the 8th United States Colored Infantry was formed.  This infantry regiment comprised Black enlisted men who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops. The 8th U.S. Colored Infantry was organized at Camp William […]

The 7th United States Colored Infantry is formed

*On this date, in 1863, the 7th United States Colored Infantry was formed. This an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers. It was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops, which the United States War […]

A Black Slave Finishes the ‘White House’ Dome

*On this date in 1863, “Freedom,” the statue on top of the dome of the U. S. Capitol, was put in place permanently.

The Man responsible for this architectural feat was Philip Reid, a Black man. Reid was a slave at the Bladensburg (Maryland) Foundry when he supervised the bronze casting of the statue. The story of the building of the nation’s capital began in 1856. At that time Thomas Crawford completed the full -size plaster model of Freedom at his studio in Rome, Italy. When cast in bronze, it was intended to stand atop the Dome of the United States Capitol.

The 62nd Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops Formed

*On December 7–14, 1863, the 62nd Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops was organized. They were a Black infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was re-designated from the First Missouri Regiment of Colored Infantry. The Regiment was organized at Benton Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri, December 7–14, 1863, attached to the District of St. Louis, Mo., to January 1864. The designation changed to […]