July 4th, 1861
We have little idea how the Brome family celebrated the fourth of July each year. It is likely that there were events healed in Leonardtown that they attended, or perhaps …
Some Walk Together Updates
[two_third]A few updates and follow up about what’s happening with the Walk Together Project: Juneteenth Lecture Last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak at Historic St. Mary’s City …
The Beginnings of the Brome-Howard Inn Exhibits
Steven Gentry is an intern at Historic St. Mary’s City from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. He has been working this summer to begin planning exhibit panels for the inside …
Landscapes of Slavery and Freedom at the Wye House Plantation
Archaeologists and historians throughout the United States conduct research about the transition from slavery to freedom. Occasionally, we will be featuring guest posts from these researchers to demonstrate ways that these …
A Research Trip to the US National Archives
Over the holiday break, I visited the United States National Archives in Washington, D.C. for a short research trip. The Archives are home to a seemingly unlimited amount of …
Understanding an African American Community in Gloucester County, Virginia
Archaeologists and historians throughout the United States conduct research about the transition from slavery to freedom. Occasionally, we will be featuring a guest post from these researchers to demonstrate the ways …
An African American Family Escaping North During the Civil War
This photo is part of the Library of Congress collection, and appears on their Flickr page. When used with a special viewer, the image would have appeared in 3D. The …
Maryland Slaves in the Civil War: How it Happened in St. Mary’s County
[one_third]The enlistment card of Aelxander Gough (courtesy of ancestry.com)[/one_third][two_third_last]On October 19th, 1863, Lieutenant Eben White of the Union Army headed to St. Mary’s County to recruit African American slaves to …
St. Mary’s City, the 15th Amendment, and the African American Right to Vote
[one_half]A newspaper article from the St. Mary’s Beacon describing the celebrations near Leanordtown in 1870. [/one_half][one_half_last]On May 19th, 1870, a group of African Americans got together in Leanordtown in St. Mary’s …
Looking for Comparisons: Shirley Plantation Duplex Quarters in Virginia
One of the difficulties in working with archaeological material is that our data set is inherently incomplete. While looking at what people from the past have left behind does give …