On February 20, 1864, the Battle of Olustee, also referred to as the Battle of Ocean Pond, was fought in Baker County, Florida. Notably, it was a major battle fought by Black Union Army troops as well as the final Civil War battle in Florida, … Read MoreThe Battle of Olustee (February 20, 1864)
The Battle of Nashville occurred on December 15-16, 1864, south of Nashville, Tennessee. The battle, between approximately 55,000 Union troops led by Major General George Henry Thomas and 30,000 Confederate troops led by Lieutenant General John Bell Hood, was considered a major Union victory in … Read MoreThe Battle of Nashville (1864)
Few people recognize that the Civil War extended into Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). The largest battle in the territory, the Battle of Honey Springs, took place on July 17, 1863, when Confederate and Union forces clashed near Honey Springs, Indian Territory. Although three of the … Read MoreThe Battle of Honey Springs, Indian Territory (1863)
The Richmond-Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia during the third year of the Civil War. The campaign consisted of nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant, General George C. Meade, and Major General … Read MoreThe Battle of the Crater, Petersburg, Virginia (June 15-18, 1864)
The first instance of Black soldiers engaging in significant combat during the Civil War was the Battle of Island Mound on Oct 29th, 1862 in Bates County, Missouri. With the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation issued on September 22nd, 1862, black soldiers had for more than one … Read MoreBattle of Island Mound (1862)
Milliken’s Bend was a small community in Louisiana located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, about 15 miles above Vicksburg. It was near the border of Madison and Carroll Parishes (now East Carroll Parish). Cotton and corn were the primary crops, and hundreds … Read MoreThe Battle of Milliken’s Bend (1863)
In the five years following the Civil War, the U.S. Congress passed and the states ratified the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. These amendments permanently ended slavery and granted African Americans access to civil rights and suffrage as citizens of the United … Read MoreThe Enforcement Act of 1870 (1870-1871)
In 1837, Houston, Texas was incorporated and divided into four wards. The Southeast ward was named Third Ward and over time this area became an important center of African American-owned businesses and a hub for black culture. Third Ward originally comprised the area east of … Read MoreThird Ward, Houston, Texas (1837- )
Samuel Scottron was a inventor of the late 1800s, best known for his invention of the curtain rod. It is unclear if Scottron was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or New England in the years 1841 or 1843. What is clear is that the Scottron family … Read MoreSamuel Raymond Scottron (ca. 1843-1905)
The First South Carolina Volunteer Infantry was the first officially recognized black unit of the Union Army during the Civil War. It was quietly authorized by President Abraham Lincoln and organized in August of 1862. The regiment reached its full complement of 1,000 men and was mustered in during … Read MoreThe First South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment (1862-1866)
