Slave names are a topic that most people seem to know something about. It’s common knowledge that enslaved people frequently had the same family names (surnames) as their enslavers. Not all the time, of course… but fairly …
African Americans Face the Invasion of Maryland, 1862
African Americans living in Washington County had to face the Confederate invasion of Maryland in 1862, including the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. Below is an excerpt about the invasion, from my forthcoming book, …
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Root Doctors of Western Maryland
Traditional African American healers go by many names in history and today, but in the slave era “root doctor” was the most common term.[1] Today I’m looking at some western Maryland men who practiced this folk medicine, and …
Hearing the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
On this day in 1862, five days after the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Below is a short piece about it, excerpted from my forthcoming book, Black Antietam: African American …
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The Veterans Buried at Halfway African American Cemetery
As Memorial Day 2021 approaches, for the first time in many decades—perhaps for the first time ever—flags will mark the gravestones of African American veterans who were buried at Halfway, Maryland. This historic cemetery …
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Ebenezer’s Lost Cemetery
In this free online talk, I'll be tracing the history of a lost African American burial ground in downtown Hagerstown, MD. The Ebenezer or Bethel cemetery dates from at least the 1840s and was the main cemetery for …
