People, Locations, Episodes

William T. Sherman, American Civil War Officer born

*William T. Sherman, a white American soldier, businessman, educator, and author, was born on this date in 1820. William Tecumseh Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio, near the banks of the Hocking River. His father, Charles Robert Sherman, a lawyer who sat on the Ohio Supreme Court, died of typhoid fever in 1829. He left […]

Martin Becker, Naval Sailor, and Printer born

On this date we celebrate the birth of Martin F. Becker in 1820. He was a Black sailor, printer, administrator, and barber.

Thomas Higginson, Abolitionist born.

*On this date, in 1823, Thomas Higginson was born. He was a white-American Unitarian minister, author, abolitionist, and soldier.   Thomas Wentworth Higginson was born in Cambridge, MA. He entered Harvard College at age thirteen and was elected Phi Beta Kappa at sixteen. He graduated in 1841 and was a schoolmaster for two years. In 1842, he became engaged to Mary Elizabeth Channing. […]

Andre Cailloux, Businessman, and Soldier born

*The birth of Andre Cailloux in 1825 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black businessman and soldier in the Civil War.

Clinton Fisk, Freedman’s Bureau Pioneer born

Clinton Fisk was born on this date in 1828. He was a White American soldier, prohibitionist, businessman, and educator.

Born near the Erie Canal in Western New York, Clinton Bowen Fisk was the son of Benjamin Bigford Fisk and Lydia Aldrich Fisk. His parents moved to what was then Michigan Territory while he was a baby. His father’s death caused him and his family to grow up in poverty.

Young Fisk did establish himself as a small banker in Coldwater, Michigan, where in 1850, he married Jeannette Crippen. Fisk’s bank business was ruined in the economic Panic of 1857.

Ignacio Zaragoza, Politician, and Soldier born

*Ignacio Zaragoza was born on this date in 1829. He was a Mexican government administrator, soldier, and abolitionist. He was born in the Mexican province of Texas, in the village of Bahía del Espiritu Santo, in Coahuila y Texas (now Goliad, Texas). He was the son of Miguel G. Zaragoza and María de Jesús Seguín. […]

The Baptist War Occurs

*The Baptist War began on this date in 1832. Also known as the Christmas Rebellion, it was an eleven-day rebellion that started on Christmas Day 1831 in Jamaica. The missionary-educated rebels had been following the progress of the abolitionist movement in London; they intended to call for a peaceful general strike. The relative independence of […]

Hannibal Carter, Soldier born

*Hannibal C. Carter’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1835. He was a Black soldier, abolitionist, and politician.   Carter was born in New Albany, Indiana, then moved to Toronto, Canada, for his early childhood. He and his brother were sons of George Washington Carter. Although the exact date is unclear, sometime in the […]

The Alamo Conflict, a story

*On this date in 1836, the Mexican army began attacking the Alamo. This saga of the American story is an important piece of African American history.

Most of the men and women who moved to the Texas territory were colonizers who came in search of wealth and adventure, eager to grab up the land Mexico was handing out by the acre. In doing so, they agreed to convert to Catholicism and become Mexican citizens. Few did either. Once in Texas, they also realized there was much money to be made in Mexico’s cotton industry.

William Hall, Mariner born

*William Hall was born on this date in 1827. He was a Black Canadian mariner.

Black Seminoles Defeat American Troops at Okeechobee

On this date in 1831, during the Second Seminole War, a force of Seminole Indians defeated U.S. troops in the Battle of Okeechobee in Florida.

Chief John Horse (a Black man) shared command with Alligator Sam Jones and Wild Cat. Blacks had a reputation as “fearless” fighters in the numerous battles with U.S. troops. Blacks also served with the American troops as scouts, interpreters, and even spies. In 1849, the U.S. attorney general’s office ruled that Black Seminoles were slaves by law. The U.S. government actively promoted slavery among relocated Native American tribes.

Samuel C. Armstrong, Soldier, and Educator born

*Samuel Armstrong was born on this date in 1839. He was a white-American soldier, educator, abolitionist, and administrator. The third son of Christian missionary Richard Armstrong, Samuel Chapman Armstrong was born in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii, the sixth of ten children. His mother, Clarissa Chapman Armstrong, grew up in a Congregational family in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. His father […]

The USS Dale is commissioned

*The USS Dale was commissioned on this date in 1839. Later, it was called the Oriole, a sloop-of-war vessel in the United States Navy. It was the product of a non-patented invention by Benjamin Bradley. The Dale was one of six warships authorized to be constructed by The April 3, 1837 Congressional Act. The first of this group was Princeton, the […]

Prince Romerson, Civil War Officer born

*The birth of Prince Romerson is celebrated on this date in c. 1840. He was a Native Hawaiian Union Army soldier. Living in the American Northeast before the war, Romerson enlisted in the Union Navy in 1863 as part of the Blockading Squadrons responsible for maintaining the blockade of the ports of the Confederacy. After […]

Elijah Marrs, Soldier, and Minister born

*This date in 1840 is celebrated as the birth date of Elijah Marrs, a Black soldier, minister, and educator. Elijah P. Marrs was born into slavery in Shelby County, Kentucky, to Andrews and Frances Marrs. His father, Andrew, had been granted his freedom by his master before Elijah was born, but his mother was still […]