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African-Americans' War for Freedom - From First to Last
Ironically, it was a losing case, and the persistence of Dred and Harriett Scott of St. Louis who brought the case in 1847, which contributed more than any other single event to the coming of war and the abolition of slavery.
The Scotts? suit, which was brought first in the Circuit Court in St. Louis, pursued the theory that they became free when they lived in a Free territory with the Army officer to whom they were bound. This was one of m…... Read more >
The Long Ride
In June, 1865, JO Shelby’s Missouri Calvary Division was the last Confederate military unit remaining in service in the former Confederacy. It never surrendered to federal authorities. Instead, it embarked on one of history’s remarkable odysseys.
After the disaster at Westport, Missouri in October, 1864, Shelby’s men began their trek south, wintering near Dallas, Texas. They operated in northern Texas through the Spring of 1865, and then we…... Read more >
Kentucky Cousins
Francis Preston Blair, Jr., Joseph Orville Shelby and Benjamin Gratz Brown are a part of one of the most remarkable families in the annals of Civil War history.
All from Lexington, Kentucky, Blair and Brown descended from the Gist family of Maryland and Kentucky, as had Shelby, distantly, on his mother’s side. Shelby’s mother Anna was the second wife of Kentucky pioneer Benjamin Gratz; Frank Blair’s aunt had been Gratz’ first wife, and Benj…... Read more >
Where was Phil?
The Camp Jackson incident, which occurred in St. Louis on May 10, 1861, was the first significant event to occur in the Civil War after Fort Sumter. It was the first time units of opposing infantry confronted each other.
An incredible congregation of the famous and soon-to-be-famous witnessed the events of May 10. Most remarkably, this included 3 of the 4 men who would command the armies of the United States in the post-War period. In 1860-…... Read more >
