Civil War

Engraved portrait of Abraham Galloway from William Still's The Underground Railroad, published in 1872.

Books
Arts

Abraham Galloway is the Black figure from the Civil War you should know about

8:19pm February 08, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

Galloway escaped enslavement, became a Union spy and helped recruit thousands of Black soldiers to fight with the North, but his name has been largely left out of the Civil War narrative.

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A Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission plaque is seen along a roadside in New Castle, Pa. A recent review of all 2,500 markers has resulted in the state removing two markers, revising two and ordering new text for two others so far.

Racial reckoning turns focus to roadside historical markers

3:17am December 27, 2021

by The Associated Press

Pennsylvania is reviewing its 2,500 roadside markers, scrutinizing factual errors, inadequate historical context, and racist or otherwise inappropriate references.

World News

New waves of Syrian migrants are fleeing postwar misery

9:19am December 21, 2021

by The Associated Press

While the numbers are far below the levels during the height of the civil war, the number of Syrians applying for asylum in the EU increased 70% over last year.

A Tigray People's Liberation Front fighter poses in Mekele, the capital of Tigray region, Ethiopia, on June 30, 2021.

World News

Social media misinformation stokes a worsening civil war in Ethiopia

11:39am October 15, 2021

In Ethiopia, old ethnic tensions are being incited in new ways. And that means the bloody civil war may be entering an even more destructive phase.

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A signed copy of Emancipation Proclamation.

To Celebrate Juneteenth, Listen To A Reading Of The Emancipation Proclamation

4:57am June 18, 2021

To mark Juneteenth, NPR staff members read the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth — the celebration to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States — is now a federal holiday.

A Maryland state flag waves near the Statehouse in Annapolis. Maryland has decided to drop a state song that originated during the Civil War and alludes to Abraham Lincoln as a tyrant and a despot.

Maryland Repeals State Song That Called Lincoln A 'Tyrant'

10:53am May 20, 2021

by Scott Neuman

Maryland, though a slave-holding state, did not secede from the Union and attempted to maintain neutrality during the Civil War. The song was a full-throated defense of the Confederacy.

Race

Two Perspectives On The Pain And Preservation Of NC’s Confederate Monuments

1:58pm August 05, 2020

by David Ford

Gaston County signed off on a plan this week to relocate a century-old Confederate monument.

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National

U.S. National Archives Unearths Original Juneteenth Order

7:57pm June 19, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free," states General Order No. 3.

A sign at Fort Bragg, N.C., one of the army bases named after a Confederate leader. As the nation erupts in protests over police treatment of African Americans, these base names are coming under scrutiny — again.

National

Pressure Mounts To Rename Army Bases That Honor Confederate Officers

5:17pm June 10, 2020

by Tom Bowman

Many U.S. military bases in the South are named after Confederate officers. Now protests over treatment of African Americans are prompting a new call to change those names.

A portrait of 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass is unveiled at the Maryland governor's residence in Annapolis on Sept. 15, 2014.

Voters Face A Big Decision In 2020: Could A Lesson From Frederick Douglass Help?

6:01am January 13, 2020

by Steve Inskeep

In 1856, Frederick Douglass had a choice to make: support the big change he believed in — abolition of slavery — or settle for a less sweeping shift from a candidate better positioned to win.