Monthly Archives: January 2012

Source: http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/7Illustrations/Slavery/InstrumentTorture.htm Civil War Emancipation has twice posted on the motives of slaves for fleeing to Union lines during the Civil War, on June 29 and again on August 22 of last year. In the February 15, 1862 issue of Harpers’ Weekly, there appeared another reminder of … Continue reading →

On January 21, 2011, I started this blog. One year and 172 posts later, it has been quite a trip. It has been a fascinating journey to follow the story of emancipation day-by-day, and to realize just how much changed … Continue reading →

Source: http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1862/battle-port-royal-ferry.htm In mid-January 1862, Gen. Thomas Sherman, commander of Union forces at Port Royal, South Carolina, was a man who believed he had a problem. It was one that had confronted other Union commanders before him, such as Benjamin Butler and … Continue reading →

One of the biggest factors in the survival of slavery in the American South before the Civil War was the belief of white Southerners that once freed ex-slaves would turn on whites in a barbaric war of bloody vengeance. This … Continue reading →

One of the problems in properly commemorating slave emancipation for the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War is the relative lack of black voices, especially slaves. This is particularly true of contemporaneous voices. That is, the words of African Americans … Continue reading →

Last Thursday’s Disunion in the New York Times has a piece by Richard Striner on Abraham Lincoln’s attempt in early 1862 to induce Delaware to accept compensated emancipation. This was a topic that Civil War Emancipation covered back in late November. As indicated then … Continue reading →

Of all the years of the Civil War, 1862 is the most portentous in terms of events leading to freedom for the slaves. Most famously, it would see Abraham Lincoln issue the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in September and have it … Continue reading →

Before moving on to 1862, Civil War Emancipation takes a last look at 1861, and how the collective will of many humble people thwarted and frustrated the powerful. In the last months of 1861, top Union officers struggled to control the … Continue reading →