Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in History
The 2017 Fortenbaugh Lecture: “I’M A Radical Girl”, Olivia Ortman
The 2017 Fortenbaugh Lecture: “I’M A Radical Girl”, Olivia Ortman
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
In Gettysburg, we celebrate the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address in two ways: the Dedication Day ceremony and the Fortenbaugh Lecture. Every year on November 19, Gettysburg College and the Robert Fortenbaugh family invite a scholar to present their new Civil War research. This year, that scholar was Dr. Thavolia Glymph who presented her lecture titled “I’m a Radical Girl”: Enslaved and Free Black Women Unionists and the Politics of Civil War History. As the title reveals, her lecture revolved around black women unionists and their place in war efforts—a role which has often been overlooked. [excerpt]
The Real 54th Massachusetts: Dr. Douglas Egerton On The Lives Of United States Colored Troops In Lincoln Lyceum Lecture, Nick Tarchis
The Real 54th Massachusetts: Dr. Douglas Egerton On The Lives Of United States Colored Troops In Lincoln Lyceum Lecture, Nick Tarchis
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Two weeks ago, the Gettysburg College community was treated to a lecture by special guest Douglas Egerton, one of the recipients of the 2017 Gilder-Lehrman Lincoln Prize. Dr. Egerton works at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, where he teaches courses on race in 19th century America. Egerton’s most recent book Thunder at the Gates: The Black Civil War Regiments that Redeemed America chronicles the lives of ten men from the 54th and 55th Massachusetts United States Colored Troops, documenting their experiences from the pre-war era to their deaths. [excerpt]
Discovering The War At Home: Oakland Manor, George Gaither, And The Shipley Brothers, Anika N. Jensen
Discovering The War At Home: Oakland Manor, George Gaither, And The Shipley Brothers, Anika N. Jensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
From my high school, which is majority African American, it takes only ten minutes to drive to Oakland Manor, a grand, sweeping 19th century-style stone house that sits in my hometown of Columbia, Maryland, a town made up mainly of apartments and identical suburban homes. Growing up, the manor was no more than a big, old building that hosted weddings and was somehow tied to my local history. Growing up, moreover, I did not realize the extent to which my hometown was tied to slavery and the Civil War; both seemed too far removed from a community that stressed diversity …
We All Bleed Red: African American Soldiers And The 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, Savannah A. Labbe
We All Bleed Red: African American Soldiers And The 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, Savannah A. Labbe
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Years before the United States military was officially desegregated in 1948, African Americans fought alongside white men in the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery during the Civil War. Most African American men that fought for the Union in the Civil War did so in United States Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.) units, separated from white men. Because of this segregation, many black men, such as Andrew J. Williams of Industry, Maine, left home to find and fight with a U.S.C.T. regiment. Williams would not be accepted into a Maine regiment, or at least so he thought. His brother, Aaron E. Williams, decided to …
Interpreting The Life And Times Of Maggie Walker, Lucy A. Marks
Interpreting The Life And Times Of Maggie Walker, Lucy A. Marks
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
As a part of my orientation as an intern at Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, I was told that 90% of visitors who come into the site have a very limited knowledge of who Maggie L. Walker was and what she had accomplished in her 70 years of life. Equipped with that information I felt a heightened sense of responsibility for the overall quality and accuracy of my tour of her home. In my opinion, Mrs. Walker is one of the most extraordinary people in history, a big claim to make, but this claim speaks for itself even in …
A Beacon Of Hope: Contraband Camps, Harpers Ferry, And John Brown, Alexandria J. Andrioli
A Beacon Of Hope: Contraband Camps, Harpers Ferry, And John Brown, Alexandria J. Andrioli
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Stereoviews were created by using a twin-lens camera that captured the same subject from two slightly different angles. The photographer then placed the two images on a stereoview card that could be inserted into a special viewer that merged the two images together and created a life-like, three-dimensional image. Stereoviews’ low cost meant they were an inexpensive way to insert one’s self into realistic three-dimensional scenes like the pictured contraband camp.
Marching In Step: Usct Veterans And The Grand Army Of The Republic, Ryan Bilger
Marching In Step: Usct Veterans And The Grand Army Of The Republic, Ryan Bilger
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
For many United States Colored Troops, remembering the Civil War and their comrades who fell in it became an important part of their post-war life. One of the primary opportunities for public expression of remembrance was Decoration Day, now known as Memorial Day. African Americans played a critical part in the creation of this holiday. On May 1, 1865, the newly-freed black residents of Charleston asserted their place in Civil War memory by leading a parade to a recently constructed cemetery for Union prisoners at the city’s horseracing course. The procession heaped flowers upon the graves of the honored dead, …
Black Servicemen On The Seas: African Americans In The Union Navy, Hannah M. Christensen
Black Servicemen On The Seas: African Americans In The Union Navy, Hannah M. Christensen
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
When the Civil War began, the United States Navy’s Atlantic Squadron, commanded by Commodore Silas H. Stringham, sought to blockade the entire Eastern Seaboard of the Confederacy. It faced two major problems: a shortage of manpower and an abundance of fugitive slaves flocking to the Union fleet. The commander of one vessel, Commander O.S. Glisson, had fifteen refugees on his ship, none of whom he intended to return to their owners. Glisson wrote to Commodore Stringham asking for advice, and Stringham wrote to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles with an idea. Arguing that “if Negroes are to be used …
Finding Meaning In The Flag: Ex-Slaves And Newsies, Olivia Ortman
Finding Meaning In The Flag: Ex-Slaves And Newsies, Olivia Ortman
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Thus far we’ve talked about predominately white Union and Confederate views of the Confederate flag, so for my last piece on perspectives during the war I want to talk about the views of African Americans. For African Americans, especially, the Civil War was tightly intertwined with the matter of slavery. They realized that the outcome of the war would be instrumental in determining the fate of slavery as an institution and believed that a Confederate victory would be detrimental to the prospects of their freedom. If Southerners had their way, slavery would likely never die.