Browsing All posts tagged under »Berkeley County West Virginia«

Christian F. Laise’s ties to Berkeley County’s freedmen and Unionists

February 17, 2013 by

1

A couple of years ago there was a good article in The Journal (Martinsburg, W.V.), in which postwar (1880s, actually) efforts by Christian Frederick Laise were part of the focus. Berkeley County has an African-American area listed in the National Register. After their freedom at the end of the Civil War, many former slaves had […]

“Did people call him a Union man?” “Yes, sir, and a great many called him a damn Yankee all the time.”

July 7, 2012 by

4

My attention to the details of his life just weren’t there… it seemed they didn’t need to be… as a father-in-law to one of my distant uncles, John William Neer was an indirect link in the family tree… and, at one time, I knew nothing of his life, other than that indirect connection. Over time, […]

“Pressed”, drafted, and conscripted – a quick note

March 15, 2012 by

6

Yesterday, I posted a piece about Thomas C. Suter, and his change from gray (Confederate service) to blue (Union service). I also posted a link to the piece on Western Maryland’s Historical Library’s Facebook page, as a response to their having posted the brief newspaper clip. In response, Tom Clemens, Professor of History at Hagerstown […]

Shenandoah Valley African-Americans in the Civil War… a sampling

October 30, 2011 by

2

You might recall a post from this past July, in which I briefly mentioned Shenandoah Valley African-Americans in the USCT. I haven’t had as much time to work with that project as I would like, but it’s one that is always on my mind. Perhaps, over winter, I’ll be able to wrap it up. Anyway, […]

Confederate oppression… there seems to be a trend here…

August 10, 2011 by

11

Just sayin’… …for all the talk in Civil War “memory” about how wicked and oppressive the men in blue were, there seems to be convenient forgetfulness when it comes to how wicked and oppressive the men in gray could be. What is it that is said? For one finger pointing outward, indicating blame, there are […]

“Do not expect to enter my house, if you disobey my orders.”

August 7, 2011 by

2

It’s just one example of what likely occurred in many a Virginia household, in 1861, and even later. Yet, popular contemporary “memory” of Virginia, at war on the side of the Southern Confederacy, seems to have no, or very little “recollection” of such instances. The following comes to us via the August 7, 1861 issue […]