The 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry was a Union Army cavalry regiment during the Civil War. The cavalry regiment was organized at Camp Meigs, Readville, Massachusetts, during the Fall of 1863. On January 9, 1864, Company A was mustered into service, and by May … Read More5th Massachusetts Cavalry Regiment (1864-1865)
E.E. Ward Moving and Storage, recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce as the oldest continuously operating Black-owned business in the United States, was founded in 1881 by William Ward and his father, John T. Ward. The company’s beginning included two helpers, a team of … Read MoreE.E. Ward Moving and Storage (1881- )
Willie Melton was a farmer and a Civil Rights pioneer in Fort Bend, Texas, responsible for helping to settle what is now known as Kendleton, Fort Bend County, Texas. Melton was born on November 8, 1900, in Fort Bend, a county that in its origins … Read MoreWillie Melton (1900-1969)
William Henry West was a Civil War-era African American soldier and later a police officer in Washington, D.C. West was best known for arresting U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. This is the only known record of a sitting United States President being arrested. … Read MoreWilliam Henry West (1842-1915)
The Battle of Mogadishu, also known as Black Hawk Down, was part of Operation Gothic Serpent. It was fought on October 3 and 4, 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia, between United States troops as part of a larger United Nations peacekeeping mission, and Somali militiamen loyal … Read MoreThe Battle of Mogadishu (1993)
Isaac Lane was born March 4, 1834, in Madison County, five miles from the city of Jackson, Tennessee. His mother, Rachel, was an enslaved person belonging to his master and white father, Cullen Lane. Virtually abandoned by his parents, Lane suffered many of the harsh … Read MoreIsaac Lane (1834-1937)
In 1816, Rocky Fork near Godfrey, Illinois, was established by four free African American families who purchased five adjacent parcels of land and built homes and a church that soon became a large-scale secret Underground Railroad station for escaped enslaved people fleeing to safety from … Read MoreRocky Fork Underground Railroad Community (1816- )
Pierre G. Deslondes (last name sometimes spelled Deslonde) was an African American sugar planter and wealthy free man of color who served as Secretary of State of Louisiana during Reconstruction. He was the son of famed slave rebellion leader George Deslondes and Eloise Belly and … Read MorePierre George Deslondes (1829-1885)
Abraham Galloway, freedom-fighter, spy, abolitionist, and politician, is an unsung hero of American history. Galloway was born a slave on February 8, 1837 in Smithville (now Southport), North Carolina, the son of an enslaved woman and a white boatman. Little is known about his youth, … Read MoreAbraham Galloway (1837-1870)
Belmead is an historic plantation located near Powhatan, Virginia. The plantation’s main residence, a two-story Gothic revival style structure, was built about 1845 and designed by the architect Alexander Jackson Davis. In 1860, 124 enslaved people toiled on the plantation and over 130 were buried … Read MoreSt. Frances de Sales School (1896-1970); St. Emma Military Academy (1899-1972)
