The Confederate raid on St. Albans, Vermont seems like a western bank robbery movie
On October 19, 1864, a group of Confederates under the command of Lt. Bennett Young rolled into St. Albans, Vermont, from Canada. The plan was to rob the population of 4,000 town’s banks, cause chaos, burn buildings, and divert Union troops. Roughly 20 men, many of whom had escaped Union prisons and made their way…
“A Southern Season: Rural Stories” is now available for preorder
My next book, due out in February 2023 from Black Rose Writing, is A Southern Season: Rural Stories. It is most easily categorized as a follow-up to Memory Cards: Portraits from a Rural Journey, my first book that came out in 2015. The publisher has made it available for preorder at their website, and if…
Oakwood Cemetery put into service in a hurry after Civil War
In Chapter 13 of my book Galvanized, I write about how the Confederate monuments originated in North Carolina. The story can be connected to two cemeteries in Raleigh: Rock Quarry and Oakwood. During the occupation of Raleigh by the Union army, troops stayed in Pettigrew Hospital in Raleigh. The hospital overlooked a plot of land…
Enjoy some fun facts on July 4th
Happy July 4th! History nerds must unite on this great holiday and share knowledge — it’s fun — so hopefully these are interesting and maybe even fresh: •Thomas Jefferson wrote most of the Declaration of Independence, but he got considerable editing and help from Benjamin Franklin. Roger Sherman, John Adams, and Robert Livingston were also…
Celebrating July 4th with some trivia
Happy July 4th! Here are some interesting July 4th facts: •Independence from Britain was officially voted on and approved by the Second Continental Congress on July 2, 1776. The final Declaration of Independence document was revised up until July 4, when it was adopted. •Most people came to recognize July 4th as Independence Day…
Charlotina could have been the 14th colony
The British and the French both had pretty good slices of North America prior to the French and Indian War (aka The Seven Years War). The Brits and colonists prevailed and took a lot of territory. Many Brits wanted to make a quick move to get settlers in the newly acquired regions to make sure…
Slave made daring escape and eventually ended up in Congress
In 1862, a slave named Robert Smalls was working as a pilot on a Confederate steamer named the Planter based in Charleston. The three officers were white, while the rest of the crew was composed of Smalls and six other slaves. The officers were supposed to stay onboard the ship according to regulations, but they…
State rep tried to make Boston into its own state
[Note: This is part of a new ongoing series about lost, altered or “never were” states] In July of 1919, Massachusetts state representative James H. Brennan went to the clerk’s office and filed a bill to make Boston a state. Ironically, the main issue for Brennan was unjust taxation. He was upset that Boston was…
Spies, a telegram, and Cuba: some Memorial day history bits
Memorial Day is not only a time to honor those who died to defend the country, but also a good time to learn about our history. I found a couple of episodes about which relatively little has been written, but which you might find interesting. •The Confederacy had quite an operation going in…