Category: Civil War 150

Civil War 150: West Baltimore’s Civil War History by Bike — Rescheduled

Many people know that President Street Station has its roots in the Civil War, but few know that Civil War history can be found throughout the city, including many sites in West Baltimore. In fact, West Baltimore neighborhoods served a central role in the conflict– housing Union troops on their south to fight, caring for injured soldiers, and witnessing the many ways in which the conflict on the battlefield came home to the city 150 years ago. As the home to the B&O Railroad, West Baltimore supported the movement of troops by train (a key advantage for the Union) and protected the city from invasion by Confederate troops through a ring of camps, hospitals and fortifications in Carroll Park, on Baltimore Street, in Lafayette Square and more.

West Baltimore’s Civil War History by Bike

Update: Due to today’s rainy and snowy weather, we have rescheduled our tour to Saturday, November 5, 10:00 am. Please contact Eli Pousson at pousson@baltimoreheritage.org or 301-204-3337 with any questions or concerns.

October 29, 2011, 10:00 am to 11:30 am
$10 for members & non-members, RSVP today!

This 90-minute bicycle tour starts and ends at the Mt. Clare Museum House rolling past rowhouses, parks, stables, and shops, scores of historic places grand and modest, where people lived and worked during the Civil War and its aftermath. We’ll learn about Confederate spies at Waverly Terrace in Franklin Square, take a look at the historic artifacts we recently dug up from the site of Lafayette Barracks, and trace the lives of immigrant workers who built the trains, bridges, and more that the Union military depended on at the Irish Shrine at Lemmon Street and the B&O Railroad Roundhouse. Please join us as we pedal through the history of the Civil War in West Baltimore and commemorate this nation-shaping event of 150 years ago.

Thanks to the support of Free Fall Baltimore at the end of the tour participants are welcome to take a free tour of the Mt. Clare Museum House. Mount Clare is a 1760 colonial Georgian home built by Charles Carroll and Maryland’s oldest house museum.

Connect with the Friends of West Baltimore Squares to learn more about heritage and community greening programs in West Baltimore neighborhoods!

Reminder! Civil War 150: Slavery & Historic Sites Lecture tomorrow

What do the historic sites of Cliveden in Philadelphia, Drayton Hall in Charleston, and Decatur House in Washington, DC all have in common? They are fantastic historic places with ties to slavery and are at the forefront in thinking about how to interpret slavery in a historic context. As we continue our commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, please join us and Ms. Nell Ziehl from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for a discussion on how sites across the country preserve and interpret the history of slavery. This field has evolved quickly over the last several years, with richer information and more accurate accounts displayed and featured. The National Trust owns several sites with strong ties to slavery (including the three listed above) and has been a leader in this movement, and Ms. Ziehl will share some of the challenges and successes in this ongoing endeavor. The location of the talk, Ebenezer AME Church, itself has ties to slavery and the Civil War. Constructed in 1865, it is the oldest standing church built by African Americans in Baltimore, and the congregation, dating to 1836, was active in the helping escaping slaves for many years.

Slavery and Historic Sites with the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Thursday, October 6, 2011
7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Ebenezer AME Church, 20 West Montgomery St., 21230
Free (thanks to Free Fall Baltimore!)
No RSVP required! Just show up. We have plenty of space.

Civil War 150: Slavery and Historic Places in Baltimore

In recognition of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, Baltimore Heritage is sponsoring a two-part program to explore sites in Baltimore with important ties to slavery and to learn about what historic sites around the country are doing to tell the story of slavery in America. The first part of the program is a walking tour of FrederickDouglass’s Fell’s Point, led by historian Louis Fields. The second part will be a talk by Ms. Nell Ziehl of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, on interpretation of slavery at historic sites nationally. Both are free, and I hope you can join us.

Frederick Douglass’s Fell’s Point Walking Tour

Saturday, October 1, 2011, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Free, RSVP
RSVP is required.  Expect confirmation with additional details.

Slavery and Historic Sites

Ms. Nell Ziehl, National Trust for Historic Preservation

Thursday, October 6, 2011, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Ebenezer Church, 20 West Montgomery Street, Baltimore 21230
Free, RSVP not required

Frederick Douglass is quoted as saying that knowledge is the pathway from slavery to freedom, and he certainly grabbed a good dose of it as a youngster in Fell’s Point. It was here that he learned to read and write, and from here that he escaped to freedom. In a two hour walking tour, local historian Louis Fields will lead us through Fell’s Point as experienced and shaped by Frederick Douglass in the years leading up to the Civil War and immediately after it. Mr. Fields was a driving force behind the creation of the plaques and monuments to Frederick Douglass that are now located throughout the area.

In the second part of our Civil War commemoration series, Ms. Nell Ziehl will lead a discussion on how sites owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation across the country preserve and interpret slavery. The interpretation and presentation of history involving slavery has evolved quickly over the last several years, with richer information and more accurate accounts in the forefront. The National Trust owns several sites with strong ties to slavery and the Civil War and has been a leader in this movement, and Ms. Ziehl will share some of the challenges and successes in this ongoing endeavor. Please join us for either or both of these free events.

These events are made possible by Free Fall Baltimore and its sponsors: Susquehanna Bank and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds, The Abell Foundation, William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, American Trading and Production Corporation (Atapco) and Baltimore Community Foundation. Thanks also to Free Fall media sponsors: The AFRO-American Newspapers, The Baltimore Sun, The City Paper, The Urbanite, The Jewish Times, , Maryland Public Television, WBAL-TV, WJZ-TV, WBFF/Fox45-TV, CW/Baltimore-TV, WMAR-TV, WUTB-TV, WYPR Radio, WEAA Radio, WWMX Radio , Radio One: Magic 95.9; Spirit 1400; WOLB; 92Q, and CityPeek.