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John Browns Raid at Harpers Ferry
This blog will take you through the early life of John Brown and his raid at Harpers Ferry, through original photographs in our collection. John Brown is best known for his radical abolitionist views and the violence he would take to see those views become a reality. Humbling Begining for the Life of John Brown […]
September 17, 1862: The Battle of Antietam
You are there: General Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the north ends at Sharpsburg, Maryland with a total of 22,727 American casualties during the bloodiest one day battle in U.S. history. Lee makes his bold move after turning back George McClellan’s 105,000 man force south of Richmond in June and repeating an earlier Confederate […]
September 14, 1814: Ft. McHenry
You are there: The Atlantic coast phase in America’s second war for independence from Britain better known as the War of 1812, comes to an end with the successful defense of Ft. McHenry in Baltimore harbor. Battle of Lundy Lane On July 25, 1814, the bloodiest single battle of the war takes place at Lundy’s […]
September 9, 1837: Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary Opens
You are there: When Mary Lyon opens her Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary, the movement toward educating women and achieving gender equality takes a giant step forward. From the colonial era on, the role of women in America’s society is carefully prescribed according to the rules of “coverture” inherited from British Common Law. A married (or […]
September 2, 1864: The Fall Of Atlanta
You are there: Fourteen months after the Confederate losses at Gettysburg (7/3/63) and Vicksburg (7/4/63), the fall of Atlanta seals the fate of the deep south. The battle matches two of the leading generals of the entire war: the rebels Joseph Johnston and William Tecumseh Sherman for the Union. Johnston is born in 1807 at […]
August 21, 1837: Nat Turner’s Black Uprising
You are there: On Sunday, August 21, 1831 the apocalyptic vision of enslaved people murdering white masters to win freedom becomes reality as Nat Turner strikes at Joseph Travis‘s farm near Jerusalem, Virginia, seventy miles south of Richmond. This uprising is preceded by four others, the most successful to date being the 1811 rampage led by […]
August 16, 1780: Britain’s Southern Strategy At The Battle of Camden, SC
You are there: As the Revolutionary War enters its third year, Britain makes a radical shift in its plans to prosecute the conflict. Instead of driving inland from its two northern garrisons in New York City and Philadelphia, it adopts what becomes known as its “Southern strategy” focused on taking control over Georgia, the Carolinas […]
August 8, 1846: The Wilmot Proviso Shakes The Foundation Of Congress
You are there: Fighting between American and Mexican troops begins along the Rio Grande border on May 3, 1846, and Congress officially declares war on May 13. By then, U.S. troops led by General Zachary Taylor have already won at Palo Alto and Resaca and are marching inland on their way to victories at Santa […]
The Real Day the Declaration was Signed
You are there: Despite some residual controversy, most historians believe that while agreement on the content of the Declaration occurs on July 4, the official day the declaration was signed is delayed until August 2, 1776. This conclusion is based on two facts. The first is that New York State doesn’t signal its approval until […]
Louis T. Wigfall
Louis Wigfall’s future is shaped by his origins. On his mother Eliza’s side he is descended from the Trezevant family, long among the South Carolina elites. Her husband, Levi Durand Wigfall, is a prominent merchant in Charleston with a plantation in Edgefield, where Louis is born in 1816. He is surrounded by wealth and the […]