Category Archives: Slavery

Virginia’s Governor urges use of slaves as Confederate Soldiers

By December of 1864 it was clear to anyone who cared to see that the Confederacy was fast approaching exhaustion. Union armies under Grant in Virginia and Sherman in Georgia had placed a chokehold on the military resources of the … Continue reading

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The “blunder” in the Declaration of Independence

When the Confederate states seceded from the Union, they considered themselves, rather than the North, to be the true upholders of American liberty. It’s always been hard for me to understand how people who fought for the right to hold … Continue reading

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Mary Elizabeth Bowser: A Union Spy in Jefferson Davis’s House

In the final months of the American Civil War, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, knew that critical information was somehow being leaked to the Union Army under General Ulysses S. Grant. He was right about the … Continue reading

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Slavery and the Golden Rule

White Christians in the South who supported slavery (as most did) had a problem. They were assured from practically every pulpit throughout the cotton states that slavery was an institution sanctioned by God. After all, they were taught, Abraham owned … Continue reading

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Pardoned For Being Black

I was first introduced to Governor Richard Yates of Illinois as the man who gave Ulysses S. Grant his first command at the start of the Civil War. It was his appointment by Yates to be the Colonel of the … Continue reading

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South Carolina says “NO!” to Blacks as Confederate Soldiers

Were there significant numbers of black troops who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War? Many today who identify with the “Lost Cause” interpretation of Southern history believe there were. Yet, the historical record is clear that if there … Continue reading

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General Dorsey Pender: the Rebel, the Christian

As I was reading Shelby Foote’s account of the battle of Gettysburg (Civil War, A Narrative, Vol. 2), I was struck by his description of the death of Confederate Major General Dorsey Pender. [T]here still was Pender, whose division was … Continue reading

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Jefferson, who?

This past Wednesday at Bible Study in my church, I was making a point about the necessity of forgiving people who have hurt or offended us. To illustrate the idea that forgiveness is even more important to the one who … Continue reading

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Why are those happy slaves shooting at us?

Throughout the Civil War, many Southern whites professed an unwavering conviction that their slaves were happy and content in their bondage, and extremely loyal to their masters. That comforting belief was reinforced again and again by newspaper accounts claiming that … Continue reading

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