Tag Archives: contrabands

Civil War Podcast, Episode 78

REHEARSAL FOR RECONSTRUCTION (Part the Second)


Salmon Portland Chase (1808-1873)
 
In which we discuss the Port Royal Experiment on South Carolina’s Sea Islands, which many people considered a dress rehearsal for the South’s postwar reconstruction.
 
 
Our book recommendation for this episode is Rehearsal for Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment by Willie Lee Rose.
 
“A triumph of historical analysis and a detailed re-creation of some of the Civil War’s noblest hopes and greatest tragedies.” ~ David Brion Davis
 
Listen to Episode 78: RehearsalForReconstruction

Civil War Podcast, Episode 77

REHEARSAL FOR RECONSTRUCTION (Part the First)

Former slaves of Confederate Brigadier General Thomas Drayton
photographed on Hilton Head Island, May 1862.


In which we set the stage for a discussion of the Port Royal Experiment, which took place on South Carolina’s Sea Islands and which many people view as a “rehearsal for reconstruction.”


Our book recommendation for this episode is Freedom National: The Destruction of Slavery in America, 1861-1865 by James Oakes.

“Was Lincoln really a ‘Reluctant Emancipator’?  Freedom National answers that question eloquently and fully.  Oakes argues that Lincoln, from the moment of his inauguration, began using every political and military means at his disposal to wipe out slavery forever.” ~ Howell Raines, Washington Post

Listen to Episode 77: PortRoyalExperiment

Civil War Podcast, Episode 50

CONTRABANDS / BIG BETHEL


In which we discuss the decision to declare runaway slaves “contraband of war,” and then we look at the Battle of Big Bethel which took place on June 10, 1861.


Our book recommendation for this episode is The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Foner.

“While many thousands of books deal with Lincoln and slavery, Eric Foner has written the definitive account of this crucial subject, illuminating in a highly original and profound way the interactions of race, slavery, public opinion, politics, and Lincoln’s own character that led to the wholly improbable uncompensated emancipation of some four million slaves.  Even seasoned historians will acquire fresh and new perspectives from reading The Fiery Trial.”  ~ David Brion Davis


Big Bethel: The First Battle by John V. Quarstein






Battle of Big Bethel: Crucial Clash in Early Civil War Virginia by J. Michael Cobb, Edward B. Hicks, and Wythe Holt

Listen to Episode 50: ContrabandsBigBethel