Black History Month Repost — Harriet Tubman & the Great Combahee Ferry Raid

Born a slave, Harriet Tubman escaped from enslavement and became a leading “conductor” on the “Underground Railroad” which helped slaves escape from bondage in the South to freedom in the North and in Canada, prior to the Civil War.   … Continue reading

Happy Juneteenth — When Emancipation Arrived by Steamship

Happy Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth National Independence Day is also the newest Federal holiday. The legislation, passed by both the House and Senate, was signed into law by … Continue reading

Thanksgiving Repost — Whaling Ships, Sarah Josepha Hale, Mary’s Lamb & a Liberty Ship

Happy Thanksgiving to those on this side of the pond and below the 49th parallel. (The Canadians celebrated the holiday in October.) What do whaling ships, a child’s nursery rhyme, a female magazine editor, and Abraham Lincoln have to do … Continue reading

Happy Juneteenth — When Emancipation Arrived by Steamship

Happy Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth National Independence Day is also the newest Federal holiday. The legislation, passed by both the House and Senate, was signed into law by … Continue reading

Black History Month Repost — Harriet Tubman & the Great Combahee Ferry Raid

Born a slave, Harriet Tubman escaped and would become a leading “conductor” on the “Underground Railroad” which helped slaves escape from bondage in the South to freedom in the North and in Canada, prior to the Civil War.  Nicknamed “Moses,” she … Continue reading

Thanksgiving Repost — Whaling Ships, Sarah Josepha Hale, Mary’s Lamb & a Liberty Ship

Happy Thanksgiving to those on this side of the pond and below the 49th parallel. (The Canadians celebrated the holiday in October.) Here is an updated repost of a story I think is well worth retelling. Until the Civil War, … Continue reading

Happy Juneteenth, Newest National Holiday — When Emancipation Arrived by Steamship

Happy Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. Juneteenth National Independence Day is also the newest Federal holiday. The legislation, passed by both the House and Senate, was recently signed into law … Continue reading

Black History Month Repost — Harriet Tubman & the Great Combahee Ferry Raid

With the arrival of the newly elected administration, Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and underground railroad “conductor” is back in the news and may, before too very long, grace our currency. In 2016, the Treasury decided to put the image of Harriet … Continue reading

Matthew Fontaine Maury — From Hero, to Traitor, to “Lost Cause” Statue

Recently, four statues of Confederates were removed from city property in Richmond, Virginia. Three of the individuals represented by the statues were well know — Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, and the Confederate generals, Stonewall Jackson and J.E.B. … Continue reading

Remembering Robert Smalls – Slave, Pilot of the Planter, First Black Captain in the US Navy & Congressman

Robert Smalls is an unsung American hero. If all goes well, he may soon get some of the recognition that he deserves. Last year, it was announced that Charles Burnett is directing a movie about Robert Smalls for Amazon Studios. … Continue reading

Remembering Robert Smalls – Slave, Captain of the Planter, First Black Captain in the US Navy & Congressman

Here is a story well worth retelling. An updated repost from 2012. The remarkable story of Robert Smalls. On May 13, 1862, Robert Smalls, a 23-year-old slave, who served as the pilot of the Confederate armed transport, CSS Planter, led eight fellow slaves … Continue reading

Civil Blockade Runner Agnes E. Fry Believed Found Off Oak Island, NC

The Confederate blockade runner Agnes E. Fry is believed to have been located off Oak Island, North Carolina. She is one of three blockade runners lost in the area during the Civil War, but the only ship longer than 200 feet. … Continue reading

Wreck of Steamer Planter Found On South Carolina Coast — Commanded by Robert Smalls

Two years ago, we posted about the the 150th anniversary of the seizure of the Confederate armed transport, CSS Planter, by Robert Smalls, a 23 year old mulatto slave, and eight fellow slaves. Smalls, who had served as the pilot of the … Continue reading

New Research – Civil War Submarine Hunley Possibly Sunk by its Own Explosive

The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is credited as the first successful submarine, in that it was the first submarine to sink an enemy warship in combat.  New findings, however, might cause some to reconsider this “success.”  The Hunley may have been sunk … Continue reading

Faces of the USS Monitor – Using Forensic Reconstruction to Identify Unknown Civil War Sailors

When the revolutionary ironclad warship USS Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, NC during the Civil War, in December of 1862, 16 of her crew of 62 were lost.  One hundred and forty years later, in August of 2002, when the turret of … Continue reading