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Posts Tagged ‘African American History’

Dr. Alexander Augusta: The U.S. Army’s First Black Surgeon

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Learn the incredible story of the highest-ranking African American in the Civil War! Join us at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office on February 28 at 2:00 PM as historian and re-enactor Dr. Michael A. Hill presents the story of Brevet Lt. Col. Alexander T. Augusta, M.D.: the first African American to be commissioned […]


Missing Soldier Spotlight: Pvt. Joseph Binn

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In 1866, New Jersey became the last Northern state to officially abolish slavery. Decades of a “modified” institution allowed for a slow gradual emancipation process and a transitional status from enslaved to “apprenticed for life.” This delay did not inhibit enslaved and free populations from enlisting in the Union Army.[1] Private Joseph […]


Healing and Teaching: Susie King Taylor’s Life in Service

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Healing and Teaching: Susie King Taylor’s Life in Service – Dr. Dawn Chitty Join us Saturday, September 20 at 2PM as Dr. Dawn Chitty, Director of Education at the African American Civil War Museum, explores the extraordinary life of Susie King Taylor. Taylor, a formerly enslaved woman, served as a nurse, teacher, […]



Section 27: Separated at Death in Arlington

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Section 27: Separated at Death in Arlington

Uncover the history of Arlington National Cemetery’s historic Section 27 and what it tells us about race and healthcare during the 19th century.


Seeking Asylum

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From a Confederate wartime hospital, to our nation’s first hospital exclusively for mentally ill African Americans, discover the story of Central State.


Seeking Asylum

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Historian Craig Swenson will discuss the turbulent process of securing medical care for mentally ill African Americans after the Civil War.



Harriet Jacobs

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Born a slave, Harriet Jacobs became an unstoppable truth teller, activist, and reformer.


Weeping No More

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Photograph of the Pension Office, now the National Building Museum, courtesy of the LOC

Southern black women artfully navigated the U.S. pension bureaucracy to gain recognition as Union widows.


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