More Civil War Discoveries Made

For one hundred a fifty years, a long standing mystery appearing in a poem written by Walt Whitman remained unsolved ... until now. The meteor in question, mentioned in Whitman's famed "Leaves of Grass," and referred to as "a strange huge meteor-procession," really did occur. It was discovered that a painting by Frederic Church shows the meteor streaking through the sky. The meteor appeared in 1860, which coincides with Whitman's publication. Period newspapers verified the event, which was visible from the Great Lakes to New York, but by the mid-twentieth century, the event was forgotten. The meteor actually split into multiple fireballs upon impacting the atmosphere. Earth-grazing meteor processions are so rare that few people have ever heard of them. There were also documented processions in 1783 and 1913.

Another artistic find recently discovered is a photograph believed to have been taken by famed Civil War photographer Matthew Brady. The photo portrays two young African-American children dressed in raggedy clothing, barefoot, and sitting on an upright barrel. The two boys are thought to be slaves. It was discovered at a moving sale in Charlotte, North Carolina in April, accompanied by a document stating that "John" sold for $1,150 in 1854. The photograph is believed to have been taken around 1860.

I find it extremely fascinating that old relics, photos, and historical artifacts keep resurfacing. Lost long ago, these connections to the past are an essential part of our American experience, thus making us who we are today. I hope these newly-discovered items are never again buried and forgotten.

More Interesting Facts Concerning Slavery and the Civil War

According to a book entitled "Black Confederates and Afro-Yankees in Civil War Virginia," a significant portion of freed slaves actually owned slaves themselves. It would stand to reason that these were relatives, but that wasn't always the case. Justus Angel and Mistress L. Horry of South Carolina each owned 84 slaves. In 1830, one-fourth of all freed slaves owned ten or more slaves, and eight of them owned 30 or more. In New Orleans, over 3,000 freed slaves (28%) owned slaves.

In 1860, only a small minority of whites owned slaves, estimated at 1.4% nationwide, or 4.8% in the South. Contrary to popular belief, slaves and their owners worked side by side, regardless of whether they were black or white. The majority of slave owners owned only one to five slaves. Interestingly, William Ellison, a slave at birth, was South Carolina's largest Negro slave owner in 1860. One has to wonder why a former slave would justify becoming a magnate slave master.

In Virginia, some black slave owners did own members of their families, and freed them in their wills contingent upon their deaths. Freed blacks were encouraged to sell themselves into slavery in order to ensure their adequate care, and "had a right to choose their owner through a lengthy court procedure." One particular freed slave, who changed his name to William Ellison, is documented as treating his slaves poorly. Except for a few female slaves that he kept as "breeders," he sold the female slaves, along with many of their male children. He had a reputation of abusing his slaves by not feeding or clothing them properly, and kept them in a small, windowless building where he would chain up the troublemakers.

This account provides true insight into the actual structure of the Old South, which is far different than what we have been led to believe. Because of significant changes that the South was experiencing, slavery itself would have undoubtedly become obsolete in time. The horrendous trauma that the nation suffered, and still suffers, could have been avoided.

Black America (And How It Almost Never Was)

We all know that the Civil War evolved into a war to end slavery. But that isn't how it began. Although he was an abolitionist at heart, President Lincoln was against freeing the slaves. His main intention was to preserve the Union, period. He thought it would be best for the nation if slavery was allowed to exist in slave states, and free states remained free. This had to do with westward expansion, as the South wanted to keep slavery in newly established states for free labor purposes.

Lincoln originally opposed emancipation, and refused to move on the slavery issue. "I would do it if I were not afraid that half the officers would fling down their arms and three more States would rise," he said. "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that."

The President backed a plan that called for paying slave owners $400 for each slave that was freed. He also favored sending the freedmen to separate colonies in Africa and South America. In essence, he wanted to do to them what was done to the American Indians. Because Frederick Douglas spoke so adamantly against it, Lincoln was forced to back down on that issue.

Freeing the slaves was essentially an act to undermine the Confederate economy, and although Lincoln personally felt slavery was wrong, he avoided emancipation until the Union had a decisive victory, which didn't happen until the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) in 1862. That fall, he made his Emancipation Proclamation public, and on January 1, 1863, it was put into effect. That is, only in the southern states, where Lincoln really had no influence. In fact, the proclamation didn't apply to slaves in northern states, and in Illinois, Lincoln's home state, freed blacks weren't allowed into the state at all.