union members, and talked about, you know, these hard -- as he put it, hardworking police and barber shop workers and beauticians who are revolting against not just african-american unrest, but also the kind of pointy headed overeducated elites. it was in that sense a modern campaign. we do see the republican party today much of its strength still remains in the south. not just the deep south, but also the border states, and that has -- and that really happened in the '60s, it happened over time, you do see by the end of the '68 election, you do see the republican party in the south and dominant. >> very quick follow-up, are there parallels between '68 and 2016? >> history doesn't repeat itself, and it's hard to create these analogies, because the issues in '68 were different from the issues today. for instance, the issue of trade, immigration, having said th that, donald trump -- while nixon repeat ed this notion of american carnage and crisis, i'm the voice for the forgotten americans. he really used some of that language, used some of those ideas, and i do think that some of trump

chapters and treated african-american soldiers equally. this hour-long talk was hosted by pamplin historical park in virginia. dez: our next speaker is dr. barbara gannon. she received her doctorate from penn state university in 2005. she is currently assistant professor of military history at the university of central florida. her areas of specialty include military history, civil war and reconstruction, veterans, and african-american history. her book, "the won cause: black and white comradeship in the grand army of the republic," which is the topic of her speech today, was published by the university of north carolina press in 2011. it was an honorable mention for the lincoln prize in 2012, and was recognized that gilman lehrman institute. it was a finalist for the jefferson davis prize, and also won that weiler silver prize for having the best first book on the civil war. i am pleased to announce dr. barbara gannon. [applause] barbara: first, thank you all for being here. thanks, dez and terry and patrick and collin and the entire staf

chapters and treated african-american soldiers equally. this hour-long talk was hosted by pamplin historical park in virginia. dez: our next speaker is dr. barbara gannon. she received her doctorate from penn state university in 2005. she is currently assistant professor of military history at the university of central florida.

occasionally, lincoln invited african-americans to the white house to discuss public affairs. in august 1862, he met with five leading members of washington's black community to enlist their support for colonization. among other things, he told them "your race are suffering, in my judgment, the greatest wrong inflicted on any people." shortly before that meeting, he conversed with joseph jenkins roberts, a virginian african-american who had served as president of liberia. two years later, lincoln consulted frederick douglass about the urgent necessity of encouraging slaves to run to union lines. lincoln'sound willingness to summon him remarkable. months after that meeting, douglass wrote that the president, quote, knew that he could do nothing which would down upon him more fiercely the ripaldry of the voter than by showing him any respect as men. douglass added "there are some men who can face death and dangers, but have no moral conviction to contradict a prejudice or face ridicule. in daring to admit, nay, in daring to invite a negro to an audience at the white house, mr. l

recalled thes african-americans having to feed union officers for a night. he was angry that they did not pay for what they were fed and they took every horse and mule we had. is other thing he describes when the marchers moved on, they took his uncle ben with them. this is the word he uses. he says they took my uncle with them. we don't know if his uncle went of his own accord or not. says, theys on and got in a fight. they gave uncle ben horses, five sacks of silverware, five saddles. the goods were taken in the fight. uncle ben brought it back with him. the boss took all of the silver away from him. uncle ben didn't know what to do with it. it to him. he come back because he wanted to. what might uncle ben have thought of all of this? the yankees are stealing from the planters. they give their gains to ben. presumably for safekeeping. ben's master steals them from him. he also seems to have fallen into the population who don't want to follow sherman's men. they would rather -- rather stay with the devil he knows with his former master in the short term ra

newsouth african constitution has, in fact, a and whenof that britain agreed to come into the ofopean union for purposes the european convention on human rights that was what was the britishore judges could say this act of -- the full european court could do had to go back to the british parliament. tried. have everybody can propose lots of fixes. you have other ones. have, you know -- mine are more rooted in the judicial branch because that's where i agree to somei extent that there are lots of sayps of people i would that the difference between thurgood marshall was doing with the naacp, it was those lawsto get had thethe people who votes in those situations. had no alternative, but to court. and so i would say some of the most important things are who's giving the right to vote, who's challenging it, who's keeping people from voting? and that's i think worthy of a huge other discussion and i only to judgesit to decide that. briefly going back for a moment, as you know, madison writes to spencer roan after the decision saying that if they had known in 1787 that written,ion would be

, attacking the freedom of all working people to come together and speak with one voice in a strong union, have we reached that promised land? when communities of color are disproportionately poor, when too many children must go to underresourced schools, when african-american futures are obliterated by mass incarceration, have we reached the promised land? we know the answer. the answer is not yet, sisters and brothers. dr. king's work, our work, isn't done. we must still struggle, we must still sacrifice. we must still educate and organize and mobilize. that is why, that's why we're here in memphis. not just to honor our history. but to seize our future. i.n. -- i.m. 2018 isn't just a commemoration, sisters and brothers, not just a commemoration, it's a call to action. a call to action to fight poverty, a call to action to fight prejudice. a call to action for today and tomorrow. a call to action state by state, neighborhood by neighborhood, block by block. a call to action to advance civil rights, labor rights. and human rights. sisters and brothers, a call to action to reach that prom

some african-american men organized and drilled and volunteered to defend pennsylvania. a group of men did manage to fight as emergency union militia, to help defend a bridge over the susquehanna. this was the battle of wrightsville bridge, and was considered one of the first military engagements of men of color in the war. some black women in the gettysburg area hid as best they could. this is when they were not called on to assist white families. some of them found safe spaces and haystacks, up in attics, in belfries, in attics, and so forth. more and more research is uncovering the fact that black pennsylvanians, particularly women and children did not escape and were taken south during the gettysburg engagement parade to prison, to be in recently -- to be re-enslaved or enslaved for the first time. what the civil war about slavery? this is a topic that continues to be raised again and again and debated again and again. more recently, certainly, it has become prominent. in the civil war statue controversy. the matter is, as i said, still debated today. ask these peopl

church built after union occupation in alexandria. in the 1860s, during the civil war, this would have been the edge of town, further down the street, would have been more countryside, this is where contraband camps were located. contraband camps are like refugee camps that we would recognize today, and there were encampments of 4 million people who found their refuge and freedom here in alexandria, dc, maryland, and these encampments and camps started popping up very early on into the civil war, so in 1861, general benjamin butler was stationed at portland row in virginia, he was the general at this fort, and during his time there, african-americans escaped from there in slaver and sought refuge, but the next day, they were knocking at these doors, demanding that the people returned. butler, who was a lawyer before the war, said no, these people are now contraband of war. that's where the term comes from, and with terms spreading like wildfire, this term today, we use it as historians to describe his historians who found our refuge a

if you are the member of a labor union, you could call on your labor union. you can make that claim during the arrest that you have can't electt they this because you will have this can'tal support -- they treat you like this because you will have this external support. last part, us to the the last question, which is the one i really care about. the other questions are meant to feed into it. it is also the question that we will fail to answer, but we will start taking a stab at answering it because i think it is really important. about beinge feel arrested? what was it like at that moment that you were arrested? about, in the beginning, about how hard it was to get at this question because people don't like to answer it, and also because people don't often care to ask it or recorded or keep it where it has been recorded. is thinki want to do about what it feels like to be arrested now and now-ish. and i want to try to triangulate that, sort of push that back ,nto these historical arrests to imagine how it might have been similar and different from the histor

self-emancipated african americans who knew that women -- that when you ran behind union army lines, you would not only be safe, you would be given liberty. and, for a number of these people, initially, especially initially women, there would be opportunities to work and be paid for it. we love this photograph because clearly some official portrait that has been taken. diane: it is a squad. they have decided to have their picture taken, which was a big deal. and look who managed to get in on the picture. their cook. i love the fact that she's anonymous but she did manage to go into history by sneaking into that picture. aaron: women, of course, also did a lot of duties at home involving more traditional roles like sewing. diane: women turned their homes into miniature factories. they produced all kinds of things but, in particular, socks and bandages and uniforms. but they did have contest to see who could knit the most number of socks. one woman did 1000 pairs of socks. she won. aaron: it should be noted here that one of the features of the civil war we have overlooked now is the fa

if you weren't wealthy, if you were an african-american, and, you know, you could call on the naacp, who was always fighting, various kinds of groups, if you were a member of a labor union early in the century, you could call on your labor union. so you could make that claim during the arrest, that you have support, right, that you can't treat you like this, because you're going to have this sort of external support to push back against it. >> you had a certain amount depending on who you were, you had a certain amount of discretion in the arrest. that brings us to the last part of, the last question, which is the one i really care about. and the question that the other questions are meant to feed into. it's also the question that we're going to fail to answer, but we're going to start taking a stab at it because i think it's really important, and that is, how did people feel about being arrested? what was it like at that moment that you were arrested? and i talked about, at the beginning, about how hard it was to get at this question because people don't want to answer it and people

, various kinds of groups, if you were a member of a labor union century, you could call on your labor union. so you could make that claim the arrest, that you have can't , right, that you treat you like this, because you're going to have this sort to push backupport against it. >> you had a certain amount depending on who you were, you of a certain amount discretion in the arrest. part rings us to the last of, the last question, which is care about.ally and the question that the other questions are meant to feed into. it's also the question that going to fail to answer, but we're going to start taking think at it because i it's really important, and that about did people feel being arrested? what was it like at that moment were arrested? about, at the beginning, about how hard it was at this question because people don't want to answer it and people don't care to record keep it, where it's been recorded. but what i want to do is think feels like to be and nowish, right? want to push that back to these historical arrests, to how it might have been similar to and different from given is

in fact, the attitudes of white union veterans toward slavery, african-americans, and race were exceedingly complex. white veterans admitted sometimes that black veterans into post of the gar. union statues from boston shaw memorial, to what i still maintain is the largest civil war monument in the country, a shout out for pete, if we don't count the lincoln memorial, the center city monument in indianapolis. you can see it might be paternalistic, but the freeing of slaves, removing the shackles of slaves, was essential in the 1902 -- this monument was dedicated in 1902. white unionists had not forgotten slavery had caused the war and african americans have fought as united states colored troops, and that the united states army had freed the slaves. they could celebrate emancipation as something that published -- punished rather the old slaveholding oligarchy. had helped restore the union. ending slavery prevent any future disagreement between the sections, but this did not mean they advocated or supported civil and political rights for african-americans. most white u.s. veterans and white

you are asking me, what does this have to do with the african american museum? decided later, it was to do a reenactment of the grand review. this is from "the new york times" in 1915. they anticipated union veterans from all over the country coming to washington for this reenactment. the good news is that black veterans that were still alive were going to be able to participate. the bad news was that this was , so theof jim crow veterans organization that put this together, the grand army of the republic, said that all of the balls, bank wentz tors and accommodations will be for the white veterans, though black veteran -- black veterans are on their own. a group of african americans put together a committee, the colored citizens committee, to greet these members of the army and they got people to open up their homes, because these visiting african-americans cannot stay in the hotel's. the organized banquets, and etc.. and were able to come participate. here is an image of them coming down pennsylvania avenue. of course, some were too old to make the two mile jo

all paying homage to the fact that union victory and african-american soldiers helped save the union and end slavery. but white veterans, both union and confederate, often fail to forget that slavery played a role in the war. the dedication of the very first national park to come out of chattanooga was an occasion that was supposed to be a shining example of the reconciliation of spirit of the late 1800s. for three unseasonably warm days, more than 53,000 people have enjoyed this reconciliation of spirits. had come to celebrate the dedication of this park and the memory of all americans. we are supposed to talk about fraternity and healing. even in this occasion where they are with confederate veterans, union veterans can't help but talk about the role of slavery. crowd, they in the say things like this. the principles confederates fought for meant the perpetuation of human slavery. aey were fighting for condition in which the humanity of the age protested. palmereneral john in likewise informed to those in the blue and the great african slavery had been "the root of sectional bitter

victory to african-american soldiers helped save the union and and slavery. white veterans, but union and confederate also failed to forget that slavery had a role in the war. the dedication of the very first national military park in chattanooga in 1895 was the occasion that was supposed to be a shining example of the reconciliation spirit of the late 1800s. 43 and suitably warm days in september 1895, more than 50,000 people had enjoyed this reconciliation spirit. they had time to celebrate the memory and dedication of this park in memory of all americans and they were supposed to talk about american soldiers, we are supposed to talk about fraternity and healing, even at this occasion where they are with confederate veterans, the unionist veterans cannot help talk about the role of slavery. to the confederates in the cloud -- crowd they say things like this, the principle that confederates will format the perpetuation of human slavery. they were fighting for conditions against humanity. the union general palmer, who would be another governor of illinois sai

americans, 180,000 african-americans had served in the union army to help preserve this republic. they fought to literally save this nation. and they were not invited to the parade. the second parade i showed, they get the 50 years too late belated invitation and we are treated as second-class citizens and the specter birth of a nation was hanging over them. the third parade, african- americans were invited, the parade was for an african american that happens to be commander and chief of the armed forces. this time, we see the parade coming down pennsylvania avenue, you see the tables had turned. you think about the symbolism of president obama speaking at the opening of this museum. this museum so many people had been waiting to see and fought to build. at the museum, to open it, they brought a belt from an african- american church -- a bell from an african-american church in virginia, it had been around since the 1700s. they had ruth bonner, that was then 99 years old ring the bell. her father had been born a slave in mississippi. you had someone, one generation from bondage rin

the attitudes of white union veterans towards slavery, african-americans and race were exceedingly complex and varied. white veterans admitted black veterans into the post of the gar, and integrated the largest fraternal organization, again, of the late 19th century, was integrated. in some cases, white women worked alongside the wives, widows and daughters of the united states color troops. and union statues from boston's famed shaw memorial, the 54th massachusetts, to what i believe is the largest civil war monument in the country, if we leave aside the lincoln memorial, the grand monument that sits in the center of indianapolis. this too pays homage to the role of slavery in the war. albeit, in paternalistic ways. i'm not denying that. but the point is, union veterans knew that the war had been about slavery. this was not lost on them. they had not forgotten that african-americans or slavery had been part of the war. but this does not mean that most white union veterans or white northerners in general sought civil and political rights for newly freed men and women. we seem to have forgo

lee in 1864 sanction the use of african-american p.o.w.'s working on the frontline st. petersburg. grant had to retaliate by putting confederate troops to work, prisoners to work on union fortifications under confederate -- to respect the fact it was the color of the skin accounted. we are also talking about a man during the second volume is dying of cancer. asking for a level of literary production from a man who can't get any sleep. it was coughing up half his body and deteriorating day by day. i know plenty of people in pretty good healthy can't write worth a lick. [laughter] every once in a while i reviewed one of the books. [laughter] >> thanks. [laughter] >> in all seriousness, sometimes we ask more from the memoirs that should be sustained by a better understanding of the circumstances under which they are produced. >> that is 11 months. he writes these memoirs and 11 months and finishes his last words any guys three days later. if brooks can read about 11 months, we would have that second volume of the grant biography. >> which was still beat all the meade biographies of th

the attitudes of white union veterans toward slavery, african-americans, and race was exceedingly complex and very. white veterans admitted sometimes that black veterans and in some cases, white women worked alongside the wives and daughters and widows of united states colored troops in the women's relief corps. unit statues from the boston shell memorial to what i still maintain as the largest civil war monument in the country, if we don't count the lincoln memorial, the center city monument in indianapolis. you can see in might be paternalistic, but the freeing of slaves, removing the shackles of sleighs, was central in the 1902. in other words, white unionist had not forgotten that slavery calls the war, but african-americans -- caused the war. the united states army had freed the slaves. they could celebrate emancipation as something that punished the older slaveholding oligarchy. it helped restore the union and ending slavery would prevent any future disagreements between the section, but this certainly does not mean they advocated or supported civil and political rights for african-

labor union membership has shrunk from about 25% of private jobs then to about 6% now. inequality of income in our country has greatly worsened. in 1970 the richest 1% of americans took home mcgee less than 9% of total national income. by 2016 they took home 24%, about a fourth of national income. wages have stagnated, and the greatest share of all new income in america has gone in recent years to the top 1%. rich people are healthier, and they live longer. what is fair about that? they get a better education, too, and a better education produces greater inequality of income. then that greater economic power translates into greater political power. so where do we go from here? we northwest what need to be done, and we know what works. a more progressive tax system, making rich people and big corporations pay their fair share. stopping tax and spending subsidies that redistribute wement and income in wrong direction. strengthening unions and eliminating legal and other barriers which impede the right of workers to organize. raising the minimum wage to a livable wage, whi

and we had to change our mind shift as a union. that a lot of organizations have that we build solidarity across what we have in common. and we had to change that to a guiding principle of we build solidarity and celebrate difference. is and so when we started our work on inclusion, a lot of the same principles of really understand iing what it meant t work while black for many security officers, understanding what it was to be an undocumented immigrant woman working on the night shift, understanding what the lgbtq community is experiencing within our industries. so i would say that a lot of what you heard from veronica today does supply what we have used as cohorts. we have a black worker justice campaign if our jury trial industry where a lot of african-americans are being run out of california and are being displaced like the way that they are around the country. and so the same principles, that is actually organizational inclusion is what allowed before we started three years ago is what opened up the doors for really an a-ha m

he spoke about the need of citizenship for african americans who fought for the union. he announced he expected to let some african americans vote. one listener at the speech, john wilkes booth, read his darkest fears into lincoln's vision. that simple determination precipitated the final act. booth told his companion that is the last speech he will ever make, and it was. lincoln believed the emancipation proclamation was the central act of my administration and the great event of the 19th century. but i believe it was not the emancipation proclamation, but lincoln's belief in liberty. if you can take an ideal topology and put complete freedom over here, you can get an idea of where the emancipation is in terms of democracy. but i do think it is lincoln's legacy that's in the constitution that is most important. lincoln's devotion to our country's mission statement. lincoln worked to include equality in the constitution, which is our country's rulebook. while he was still alive, he knew that the country needed more than a presidential proclamation of freedom. a constitu

surprisingly, the fate of more than 4000 african american troops engaged in their first test of arms goes almost unmentioned. perhaps in the future, my friends at the national park service will rectify what i think is an oversight and attempt to explain or at least start a conversation about how other -- otherwise honorable men , and int in such a way so doing, we can relearn the lessons that william t sherman taught us -- that war is cruelty and there is no refining it. thank you. [applause] mr. greene: is the time for questions, pete? don't travel yourselves on the way to the microphone. here comes a victim. >> just a question. in regards to the explosion that took place, was there any indication in your research -- do you find anything where union troops might have brought ladders into the crater and go up and maybe assault the defenders? mr. greene: no, i have not. gave leslie, there was a fellow who had an ancestor who was a white officer among the black officers. i have seen no evidence -- i told him if he had evidence of that, i would love to see it. relevant question because

this was the first african-american church built after union occupation in alexandria, and in the 1860's, during the civil war, this would have been the edge of town. further down, the street would be more country side, and this is also where contraband caps on -- camps were low trait -- were located. they were like refugee camp that we would recognize today. they were encampments of formerly enslaved sleep will -- people. term encampments and the contraband camp started cropping up early on into the civil war. in 1861, general benjamin butler, stationed at fort munro e in virginia, he was the general at this fort, and during his time there, african-americans escaped from there in slaver, soft refuge, -- and sought refuge at the fort. the next day the man was demanding enslaved people were returned. butler, who was a lawyer before the war, thinking on his toes, and said that these people are now contraband of war. this term spread like wildfire. this term today, we use it as historians to describe formerly enslaved people who found refuge and freedom during this time. during the war th

own camps or attended camps with white union veterans. all of these activities helped free people, their citizenship and belief that the civil war had in fact been fought over the issue of slavery and that it had resulted in a triumph for human freedom. so that is the counter narrative that should be a topic of the stone lecture. >> one central figure a lost cause mythology is confederate jubal early, he served in the army of northern virginia under robert e. lee and, in his speeches and writings, early argued that lee's army was equal in terms of its accomplishments, victories on the battlefield, bravery, to any army in human history. he repeated over and over how lee's army had ultimately been worn down undefeated after four years by the overwhelming numbers of the enemy. so, he is essentially parroting the argument robert e. lee made at appomattox. >> lee, after the war, served as president of a washington college and lexington and passed away in 1870 and this is engraved at his death in lexington. after lee's death, jubal early and ot

the confederacy refuses to exchange their soldiers for african-american soldiers because they do not see them on an equal level. >> just one thing they talked about was how overcrowded and how for the southern prisons, for the union soldiers in the north, how they were treated and it said that it might have been a little bit over exaggerated because these were well-educated men so they knew how to write and their imaginations got the best of them at times. but it looks pretty bad. it is noticeably like the holocaust in a sense because their bodies are like former shelves of themselves. >> two of the most notorious prisons, there is a 24% mortality rate. at andersonville, there was a 29% rate. some of the things that happened there, the commander will be tried as a war criminal and executed after the war. i brought in some pictures. this is an idea of the graves anderson built. what were some issues besides the end of exchanges or the perceived high mortality? >> i think the important thing to remember is the effect it has and that it hurts the south more than the north. the south has

were voters. 150,000 african-americans from the south into the military. they were not voters. the southerners who reject the confederacy, do they want to see lincoln as president? they are saying, we have andrew johnson as the number two man. he is a war democrat, a southern unionist. play like lincoln's 10% plan of reconstruction. they despise the 15% plan. so the bottom line here is that the votes are going to tally up. the soldiers' votes are going to come in, three quarters of them are going to go to lincoln. would the defeat of lincoln lead to the independence of the south? no. if mcclellan had to become president at this point, most people are saying, the generals are going to win this war regardless of what mcclellan does. the war ends within 60 days after the inauguration. looking back, the generals at this point are going to win the war no matter what mcclellan does. on march 4, 1865, if we have president mcclellan, lincoln's policies are there. if the memorandum comes to fruition and he is not president, everything is in place, that mcclellan ha

this is the very idea behind the late -- in cameroon spearheaded by the african union. this is the reason we should be supporting the au initiative. for a better definition of responsibility between the united nations and african union, i would like to seek by the end of the year a resolution adopted along these lines. we are strong in the face of terrorism when together we undertake responsibility to push back against all financing thereof. we do this together in the alliance for -- we ask in the name of the development, agriculture, education, attacking the root causes of terrorism in the very ways terrorists acquire weapons. the $7.5 billion have already been pledged, pooled together with all states and partners of the alliance. these are just the first results and one that must be built upon. as you can see in each one of these crises, the solution was not simply leaving states to their own devices nor acting in their stead nor imposing solutions but rather to uphold the principle of sovereignty, to engage in genuine regional cooperation and international cooperatio

there were 179 african-american soldiers. 19,000 sailors. they are making negotiations with the union and it is because they are able to make these negotiations -- yes, they are enthusiastic to sign up as was harry jarvis but he was always writing letters back and forth with his wife. there are a lot of black men in these refugee camps during the civil war who said -- i will enlist but the $300 is not enough. you have to guarantee my family will be given rations and taking care of. -- and be taken care of. that they will have the opportunity to homestead. as migration severed that bond to the land. even the makeshift spaces of the refugee camp. the one group of soldiers on the mississippi river valley -- they actually come to a recruiting agent and say, you cannot keep giving us a. -- cannot keep giving us paper. they ripped it up. you need a big book. they are pushing centralization. you need one big central book where you list all of the marriages. and then we will know that it is anchored. and it is these negotiations that make the bureau

the union received men by enlisting the soldiers. 180,000 african-american men served in the u.s. army and helped save the nation from dissolution while destroying slavery. most of the men came from slaveholding states.the union ry in recruiting these people, the army incorporated men committed to fighting for freedom. army ind to fighting for freedom. the men had escaped bondage and from ruined societies they sought shelter from slaveholders. they made their way to the union army, which of course confederates avoided. new the army, contraband can't formed. -- camps formed. they had a trinitarian agency, making the army de facto institution for assisting tired, hungry and homeless african-american refugees. generals conducted military campaigns, not refugee cap's. walk -- camps. the army lacked the will or infrastructure to support refugees, so while the camp's became spaces to protect themselves and begin their lives after lavery, the undersupplied camps were overcrowded. unlike women, the men could escape by enlisting in the army, making hotbeds for recruiting. many formerly ens

as for the first time, a lot of union soldiers come into contact with african americans in the south and there is a groundswell of political agitation on the lincoln administration to do something more about slavery. so my next turning point, then, is antietam and the emancipation proclamation. antietam is another huge momentum shift. the confederates were on the offensive. the confederates were invading northern territory. they stopped at antietam , where itselfetam, the battle was a stalemate. the confederates were forced to return to virginia. then of course, the emancipation proclamation itself. it was probably a surprise to a lot of you, the proclamation changes the nature of the war and gives the union another cause, reuniting the country, but also attacking slavery. and it is going to pave the way for the enlistment of a large number of african-americans. it also has huge political and diplomatic ramifications. in issuing the proclamation over territory that he does not control, president lincoln is saying to the world, we don't recognize this as a conflict within our nation,

this was the first african-american church built after union occupation in alexandria. and in the 1860's, during the civil war, this would have been about the edge of town. so further down, this street would have been more countryside. this is also where contraband camps were located. contraband camps were like refugee camps we would recognize today. they were encampments of formerly enslaved people who found refuge and freedom in alexandria, d.c., maryland. the term contraband camps started cropping up very early on into the civil war. in 1861, general benjamin butler -- he was stationed at fort monroe in virginia -- he was the general at this fort, and during his time there, african-americans escaped from their enslaver. they sought refuge at the fort. they were taken in, but the next day there was knocking on the door demanding that their enslaved people were returned. butler, who was a lawyer before the war, thinking on his toes, said that these people were now contraband of war. that is where the term comes from. this term spread like wildfire. today as historians

this was the first african-american church built after union occupation in alexandria, and in the 1860's, during the civil war, this would have been the edge of town. further down, the street would be more country side, and this is also where contraband caps on were located. they were like refugee camp that we would recognize today. they were encampments of formerly encamped people. the term contraband can't started cropping up early on into the civil war. general benjamin butler, stationed at fort munro in virginia, he was the general at this fort, and during his time there, african-americans escaped from there in slaver, --t refuge, but the next day was knocking at the doors demanding enslaved people were returned. butler, who was a lawyer before the war, thinking on his toes, were now thinking these -- was saying these people were now contraband one. people this to describe that found their refugee and freedom during the time. during the war the term was used describingtory term, formerly enslaved people, but with the idea that they were helpless were childlike, and in the african a

the cooperation of african-american union. according to memorize this. --.ion or three bright sharp college met on the watch near libby prison. always rate to conduct a escaped prisoner to safety. the richmond underground represented in interracial collaboration under her discussion. thanks that discretion to that her agent, her family mentioned provided a way station for fugitives on the journey beyond confederate lines. the most fabled of those african-american to work the richmond underground is mary elizabeth bowser. rumors began to circulate after van lose death in 1900. war, she planted a black servant as a spy in the inner sanctum of the confederate. up, it seemed so improbable. by thecle published richmond leader of 1900, furnished some details. passing from the scene according to this article, they sent one of their slaves to philadelphia to be educated, then center onto liberia, only to welcome her back to richmond on the eve of the war. is of the richmond papers did not name initially was planted so this article cla

, black rebels in union blue traces the resistance of african-american soldiers and re-maps the progress of emancipation in the army. -- research entitled tired trials of freedom appeared in a journal in 2016. dr. landing. [applause] jonathan: good morning. thank you for the introduction, appreciate it. i would like to thank the cwi for having me here. it is my first time coming to the conference. it is fantastic, all the books and conversations. the talks, i have enjoyed them. i have also enjoyed meeting a lot of you, so i thank you all for coming and spending your sunday morning with me. today i will be speaking about african-american soldiers who served as the colored troops and deserted during the civil war. specifically i will detail the reasons these african-american men left the army and how their so-called desertions were rooted in their lives as enslaved men. as you will see on the surface, their reasons for leaving do not differ from the white troops'. but i hope you see that their departures were distinct because their lives in slavery and thirst for freedom during the process