A New Book Worth Reading

A SLAVE NO MORE

Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation

By David W. Blight Harcourt.

307 pp. $25

In American mythology, the freeing of the slaves is a top-to-bottom affair: Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, and after that it was up to government to ensure their rights, though for about a century government didn't exactly do a good job of it. David W. Blight makes plain that it never was as simple as that. After careful study of two recently discovered memoirs by former slaves, John M. Washington and Wallace Turnage, Blight writes: "American emancipation was always a complex interplay between at least four factors: the geographical course of the war; the size of the slave population in any given region; the policies enforced at any given time by the Union and Confederate governments through their military forces; and the volition of slaves themselves in seizing their moments to embrace a reasonable chance for freedom. Turnage's and Washington's narratives throw into bold relief and confirm the significance of each of these factors. To the perennial question -- who freed the slaves, Lincoln or blacks themselves? -- the Turnage and Washington stories answer conclusively that it was both. Without the Union armies and navies, neither man would have achieved freedom when he did. But they never would have gained their freedom without their own courageous initiative, either." This is somewhat slippery ground, for inherent in it is the danger of generalizing from the particular -- and in this case, an exceedingly small and selective particular. At the time of emancipation, only about 10 percent of freed slaves could read and write; Washington and Turnage were in that 10 percent. Though reliable documentation of the slaves' response to the Emancipation Proclamation is sparse, we know that if their general reaction was jubilation, some also expressed caution and uncertainty. And, of course, in the places where the proclamation was intended to take effect -- the states of the Confederacy -- emancipation was nothing more than Union rhetoric unless and until federal forces arrived. By no means was it guaranteed even then, as the racial views of many Union soldiers were not discernibly different from those of Rebel soldiers, and their enthusiasm for enforcing emancipation was decidedly limited.

American Colonization Society - Petersburg

I'm wondering if anyone can help by identifying any other individuals on these manifest as having once resided in either Dinwiddie County or Petersburg?

Ship Harriet's company, arrived at Monrovia March 24, 1829
http://ccharity.com/liberia/shipharriet1829.htm
Lists Joseph Jenkins Roberts as "J.J Roberts" and his family

Ship Carolinian's company, arrived at Monrovia December 4, 1830
http://ccharity.com/liberia/shipcarolinian1830.htm
Lists Thomas Day's brother John Day, "cabinetmaker" and his family. Thomas Day had been rised and born in Dinwiddie, before moving on to N.C.. where became N.C.'s most noted cabinetmaker prior to the Civil War. John spent his life in Liberia, doing God's work.

Roberts emigrated to Liberia with his widowed mother, two younger brothers, and two younger sisters in 1829. He established one of the most prosperous trading firms in Liberia. He was Liberia's first African American governor in 1841 and its first president in 1847 [Huberich, Political and Legislative History of Liberia, 1:770-71, by Wiley, Slaves No More].

Flowerdew Hundred

Flowerdew Hundred closed its doors to the public last month.

For 388 years, the Prince George County plantation was a home or museum. In 1978, a commemorative representation of Flowerdew Hundred’s 17th-century windmill was built. It was recently restored. Flowerdew Hundred, which was once the home of the Prince George County Heritage Fair, announced its closure over the summer. “It’s a tragic loss of a terribly important part of our history,” said Joe Leming, chairman of the Prince George County Board of Supervisors.We agree with that assessment. The past of the plantation is long and illustrious, but the future is unclear.The land that would become Flowerdew Hundred was claimed by the Virginia Company of London. In 1619, the Virginia Company ceded the initial 1,000 acres to Gov. George Yeardly. He named the land Flowerdew Hundred in honor of his wife Temperance Flowerdew. Flowerdew Hundred changed hands several times and the property shrank due to subdividing the land. By the 1850s, the original 1,000 acres of Flowerdew Hundred, plus an additional 400 acres, were reincorporated into Flowerdew Hundred. Around 1970, David Harrison III and his wife, Mary, purchased the property and, under their ownership, Flowerdew Hundred became the site of archeological digs and a history museum. Along with the windmill, several replicated structures are on the site, including a detached kitchen, and visitors could have viewed the spot where General Ulysses S. Grant’s pontoon crossing of the James River ended in 1864. In 2001, the Flowerdew Hundred Museum underwent upgrades and remodeling. The museum itself was located in a 19th-century school house that was built for the Wilcox family.During its time as a museum. Flowerdew Hundred amassed more than 200,000 artifacts, which include items from prehistoric eras. What will happen to the grounds and the museum is still unclear. Officials at Flowerdew have not disclosed any details as to why the museum has closed and what may happen in the future. As Flowerdew is privately owned, it is not accountable or answerable to public oversight. We understand that. And we sympathize with the Harrison family. The family poured untold hours and dollars into renovating the plantation, its museum and the property. And for that we all owe the family our thanks. But we have now lost a treasured piece of the region’s past and a piece of the area’s historic tourism effort. It would be nice if the public could at least get some kind of answer about what is to become of Flowerdew Hundred.

Establishing Black Institutions and Leadership–1776 to the Early 20th Century

Public workshop: “Establishing Black Institutions and Leadership–1776 to the Early 20th Century”

The above-named workshop on Petersburg’s rich African-American history will be held this Saturday, November 10, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm

at First Baptist Church [map] in Petersburg.

The featured speaker will be Professor Melvin Ely of the College of William & Mary, the Bancroft Award-winning author of Israel on the Appomattox and Adventures of Amos ‘n Andy. The workshop is free and open to the public.

This workshop is the second of four public workshops that constitute the National Endowment for the Humanities-funded project entitled “African-American History in the Context of the Atlantic World–Case Study Petersburg.” The project is sponsored by the Department of History and the Institute for the Study of Race Relations at Virginia State University, in association with Petersburg 2007. It is also sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, with special designation as an NEH “We the People Project.”

In addition to Professor Ely, presentations will be made by professors Christina Proenza-Cole, Arthur Abraham, and Paul Alkebulan of the History Department at Virginia State University.
A tour of the church, which houses the oldest black Baptist congregation in the nation, will be available after the workshop.

Petersburg's Celebration of the Centuries

CELEBRATION OF THE CENTURIES
Come celebrate four hundred years of Virginia history

April 25, 26 and 27, 2008 (times TBD)

Throughout the last four centuries, Petersburg has been at the crossroads of this country’s most pivotal events, from the time of the early native Virginians who lived here before Jamestown, through the City's participation in the War of 1812, to the epic battles of the Revolutionary War, Civil War, all the way up to World War I and the Civil Rights Movement. This festival will focus on Virginia’s earlier years, and reflect many of the areas of our history that people the world over have come to love about our state. Petersburg’s Old Towne and adjoining historic districts are some of the most visually striking examples of historic urban architecture in the nation. The area has been part of many historic events, and will provide an unparalleled backdrop for festival activities.

Visitors will be invited to:
Walk down streets where Revolutionary War battles were fought
Drink and eat food from various historical eras, dance to period music & play traditional children's games
Talk with reenactors and experience history come to life
Watch weapons demonstrations and old-time crafts being made
View buildings struck by artillery fire during the Civil War
Visit the village of Pocahontas - one of the most important centers of early African American life in the country
Stand next to the ruins of Peter Jones' Trading Post - a once bustling frontier trading center
Stroll along the Appomattox in American Indians' footsteps

The program will be put together in a manner that is tasteful, culturally inclusive, family-friendly, historically accurate, full of activity, and visually exciting. Over the coming months, the Old Towne Merchants will be looking for Traditional Artists and Craftsmen, Living Historians, Private Collectors and Exhibitors, Early American Demonstrators, Performing Artists and Educators who want to bring this important history into public view.

In an effort to create an event with the highest integrity, a committee will be formed to establish participant standards and guidelines.

The types of individuals and groups needed to make the festival a success include:

Craftsmen who recreate period trades in costume using authentic tools and techniques
Craftsmen who create works using traditional and natural materials in ways reflective of cultural traditions
Artists who focus on subjects of Regional, Natural, or Historic interest
Private Collectors and Exhibitors who display their collections in a manner consistent with modern museum values
Living Historians and Re-enactors, Military and Civilian, who are historically accurate and can communicate effectively with modern audiences
Performing Artists who specialize in historic and traditional presentation
Vendors who sell period appropriate wares and foods
Credentialed individuals or groups who can act as guides and docents
Horse-drawn carriage operators and other appropriate horse-culture related contributors
Early American Agriculture, Farming, and Early Industry hobbyists
Early American boating and maritime history hobbyists

If you have an interest in participating, sponsoring, or helping with this proposed event, please get more information by clicking the links below, or contact Old Towne Merchant’s Group.

info@oldtownepetersburg.com

Edgar Allan Poe to Hiram Haines - April 24, 1840

My Dear Sir,
Having been absent from the city for a fortnight I have only just received your kind letter of March 24th and hasten to thank you for the "Star", as well as for your offer of the fawn for Mr' P. She desires me to thank you with all her heart--but, unhappily, I cannot point out a mode of conveyance. What can be done? Perhaps some opportunity may offer itself hereafter -- some friend from Petersburg may be about to pay us a visit. In the meantime accept our best acknowledgments, precisely as if the little fellow were already nibbling the grass before our windows in Philadelphia.
I will immediately attend to what you say respecting exchanges. The "Star" has my very best wishes, and if you really intend to push it with energy, there cannot be a doubt of its full success. If you can mention anything in the world that I can do here to promote its interests and your own, it will give me a true pleasure.
It is not impossible that I may pay you a visit in Petersburg, a month or two hence.
Till then, believe me, most sincerely Your friend
Edgar A Poe
H. Haines Esqr
Office Gentleman's Magazine

___________________________

Please add all data on Poe's friend Hiram Haines of Petersburg and the Office Gentleman's Magazine.

Virginia Historical Society's Banner Lecture Series

Decoding the Meanings of Thoroughbred Horse Racing in Early America, 1790–1840
Thursday, October 18, 2007 (noon)
By Ken Cohen
Banner Lecture Series

Although horse racing was a popular pastime in early America, historians have often missed the social and economic meanings of attending the races and owning racehorses. This lecture will explore sporting art, period race courses, and betting to reveal that horse racing in early America was different from how we have nostalgically represented it and in fact was much like racing today. Mr. Cohen is a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's McNeil Center for Early American Studies and a doctoral candidate at the University of Delaware. This lecture is cosponsored by the VHS and The Friends of Sporting Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Given the rich history of Dinwiddie County's and Petersburg horse racing this lecture is a must attend.

________________________________________________

Lee and Grant
Thursday, November 1, 2007 (noon)
By William M. S. Rasmussen
Banner Lecture Series

The two great opposing military commanders of the Civil War, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, towered over their contemporaries. In a major exhibition and book created in the 200th anniversary year of Lee's birth, the VHS explores the parallel lives of these two American heroes. In an illustrated lecture, co-curator and co-author William M. S. Rasmussen will examine Lee and Grant and their influence on our history. Dr. Rasmussen is the Lora M. Robins Curator of Art at the VHS.

428 North Boulevard, Richmond, Virginia 23220

Mail: P.O. Box 7311, 23221-0311 Phone: 804.358.4901