People, Locations, Episodes

Charles S. Schaeffer, Soldier and Educator born.

*Charles S. Schaeffer was born on this date in 1830. He was a white American soldier and educator. Charles (Charlie”) Stoever Schaeffer was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, to John and Sarah Stoever Schaeffer. He fought for the Union Army in the American Civil War and rose quickly in rank with the 1st Delaware Volunteers. During […]

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 […]

Fort Hare (fortress) is Built

*The British-built Fortress, Fort Hare, is established on this date in 1835. Fort Hare was in the foothills of the Amatola Mountains, near the Eastern Cape in South Africa. White-European colonization in the 17th century invaded the lives and territories of Black African peoples, mainly the Zulu and Xhosa. The Fort was originally constructed in […]

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.

Francis E. Dumas, Soldier born

*Francis Dumas’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1837. He was a Black Creole plantation owner, slaveholder, and Union Army officer. Francis E. Ernest Dumas, born in Louisiana, was the son of plantation owner Joseph Dumas and was an octoroon from his mother’s side. He spoke five languages and had lived in France for […]

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 […]

Robert Smalls, Naval Hero, and Politician born

This date marks the birth of Robert Smalls in 1839. He was an Black slave who became a naval hero for the Union in the American Civil War (1861-65) and went on to serve as a congressman from South Carolina during Reconstruction (1865-77).

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 […]

Mary Elizabeth Bowser, Undercover Agent born

*This date in 1840 celebrates the birth of Mary Elizabeth Bowser. She was a Black undercover agent during the American Civil War.

Bowser was born a slave on a plantation near Richmond, Virginia to owner John Van Lew, a hardware businessman. Van Lew’s daughter, Elizabeth and her mother freed the slaves after his death in 1851. Mary Elizabeth stayed with the Van Lew family as a servant; the family had her educated in Philadelphia. She married William or Wilson Bowser, a free Black man, while she worked at the Van Lew home.

Christian Fleetwood, Military Officer born

Christian Fleetwood was born in this date in 1840. He was a Black army officer, editor, a musician, and a government officer.