African-American

In 1863, the Union was unable to adequately fill its black regiments. In an attempt to remedy that, Colonel James Montgomery led a raid up the Combahee River on June 2 to gather recruits and punish the plantations. Aiding him was an expert at freeing slaves--famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman. The remarkable effort successfully rescued about 750 enslaved men, women and children. Only one soldier was killed in the action, which marked a strategy shift in the war that took the fight to civilians. Join author Jeff W. Grigg as he details the fascinating true story that became a legend.

In Union County, New Jersey, many soldiers and sailors of African ancestry answered President Lincoln's call for troops during the Civil War and enlisted in regiments organized in Union County, the United States Colored Troops (USCT), out of-state-regiments and the United States Navy and Marine Corps. ¬They fought not only for country but also for their comrades in chains in the South and for the promise of equality that they had for so long been denied. ¬ rough their stories, never-before-seen photographs, documents and service records, local historian Ethel M. Washington tells a largely overlooked but riveting history of patriotic black servicemen in the North who defended the nation's ideals on the battle field even as they faced discrimination in the ranks and back home.

Experience the history of the antislavery movement in South Central Pennsylvania, a hotspot for both slave catchers and abolitionists alike.

Author Cooper Wingert reveals the history of the antislavery movement in South Central Pennsylvania. Influenced by religion and empathy, local abolitionists risked their reputations, fortunes and lives in the pursuit of what they believed was right. The sister of Benjamin Lundy, one of America's most famous abolitionists, married into an Adams County family and spent decades helping runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. National figures such as Frederick Douglass toured the region, delivering antislavery orations to mixed receptions. In 1859, John Brown planned his Harpers Ferry raid from Chambersburg while local abolitionists concealed his identity.