Footsteps articles from January 1999

Footsteps archives from January 1999

Citizens AND Soldiers.
January 1, 1999... AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE CIVIL WAR 1861-1865 The Civil War forever ended African American slavery. On the eve of the war the black population was about four million (compared to today's 30 million). The majority, 3.4 million, were slaves;...

Glory Soldiers.
January 1, 1999... THE 54TH MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEEER INFANTRY An 1895 poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar, "The Colored Soldiers," praise black soldiers as America's heroes of freedom: "I would sing a song heroic Of those noble sons of Ham, Of the...

Let's Make Journey Cakes.(recipe)(Recipe)
January 1, 1999... One of the quick and filling foods that Civil War soldiers ate was Journey Cakes, also known as "johnnycakes." Actual cooking utensils were simple, consisting often only of bowls, pans, and a blazing campfire. Although the recipe below calls...

Assault ON Fort Wagner.
January 1, 1999... The 54th Massachusetts Regiment had its baptism of fire on July 18, 1863. At twilight that day it led an assault on Fort Wagner, a Confederate stronghold on Morris Island in Charleston Harbor. The two forts located on the island -- Battery...

Letters FROM THE Front.
January 1, 1999... REFLECTIONS ON THE BATTLE The following is an excerpt from a letter written two days after the assault on Fort Wagner by Frederick Douglass' son Lewis to his future wife. Lewis was a sergeant in the 54th. My Dear Amelia: I have...

The Civil War, the 54th, and Other Black Regiments.
January 1, 1999... The Massachusetts 54th was not the only black regiment during the Civil War. More than 180,000 African Americans served in the Union Army. The two maps below show sites where the 54th and other black regiments fought major battles. The two maps...

My Uncle, Sergeant Carney.
January 1, 1999... My uncle, Sergeant William H. Carney, was born on February 29, 1840, in Norfolk, Virginia. He was the son of slaves. In his fourteenth year, he attended a school that was run secretly by a minister in Norfolk, Virginia. In his fifteenth year,...

American Heroes.
January 1, 1999... "Be all that you can be." You have seen the commercial on television hundreds of times showing proud army men and women from various ethnic backgrounds. Today, African Americans play such key roles in the military that it is hard to imagine a...

Your Turn to Save Old Glory.
January 1, 1999... Pictured here is a model of the flag Sergeant William Carney saved during the battle for Fort Wagner. Notice that there are only 34 stars, one for each of the states that had been voted into the United States in 1863. The eagle that topped the...

The Spirit of the 54th Lives On.
January 1, 1999... I am very interested in talking about the Civil War, especially the 54th Massachusetts Regiment because there are so many ties to families, places, and friends in the New Bedford-Boston area in Massachusetts. The Civil War unlocked the...

Other Black Regiments.
January 1, 1999... IN THE CIVIL WAR When President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, there were fewer than 5,000 black troops in blue uniforms. Within a year, the number had increased by almost ten-fold and, by the end of the...

Black Contributions.
January 1, 1999... TO THE UNION WAR EFFORT By the end of the Civil War, African American soldiers had fought in a dozen major battles in nine states as well as hundreds of skirmishes. However, their role in the war was not limited to bravery on the field of...

Unity IN Music.
January 1, 1999... The 54th was known for its spirit, positive attitude, and unity. Those who came into contact with the men of the 54th knew that singing songs together helped them maintain not only a strong sense of community, but also their courage. All...

YOUR PAGES.(Poem)
January 1, 1999... Untitled As I see their black faces Marching past the sea, I realize that they Are just the same as me Because the only thing That tells us all apart Is the color of our skin Not what's in our...

BOOKS.
January 1, 1999... The African American Family Album by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler(New York: Oxford University Press, 1995) focuses first on Africa, the homeland of many black Americans, and then on slavery and the years after the Civil War through to the 1960s...

MEDIA.
January 1, 1999... The 54th Massachusetts (a 50-minute video produced by Arts & Entertainment -- A&E, 1993) tells the story of the regiment's assault on Fort Wagner.

RESOURCES.
January 1, 1999... The Outreach Program, African Studies Center, Boston University, provides resource materials for schools, the media, museums, and community groups and churches. Its library collection focuses on materials of use to classroom teachers and...

REFERENCE.
January 1, 1999... Black Confederates and Afro-Yankees in Civil War Virginia by Ervin L. Jordan, Jr. (Charlottesville, Virginia, and London: University Press of Virginia, 1995) Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw by...

PLACES TO VISIT.
January 1, 1999... Fort Sumter: National Memorial near Charleston, South Carolina Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial: African American National Historic Site in Boston, Massachusetts Ship Island: Civil War era masonry fort that was garrisoned by...

HEROES OF THE 54TH.
January 1, 1999... The African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C., honors the memory of all black soldiers who served during the Civil War, The centerpiece (ABOVE) is a nine-foot, 3,000 pound bronze sculpture titled "Spirit of Freedom" by Ed...

FOOTSTEPS' Resources.
January 1, 1999... The following materials provide a good cross-reference for this issue on the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. Highlights of the Civil War 1861-1865 (COBBLESTONE's April 1981 issue) tells of a press photographer named Matthew Brady, a "nurse"...