Celebrating Black History Month: Henry Highland Garnet, first African American to speak to the US House of Representatives

Henry Highland Garnet, born December 23, 1815 in New Market, Maryland, was a slave, who escaped from slavery in Maryland with his family, and grew up in New York. He attended African Free School until 1828, when he went to sea as a cabin boy, a cook, and a steward, for a year.  He returned to New York City, but had to flee to Long Island when slave catchers tried to capture him.

He began attending Sunday school at the First Colored Presbyterian Church and was baptized. In 1842, he became pastor of the Liberty Street Presbyterian church in Troy, New York. Garnet and his friend William G. Allen, published the National Watchman, an abolitionist newspaper, and became an advocate for abolishing slavery.

He began speaking at abolitionist conferences, where he said that slaves should act for themselves to achieve emancipation. In 1861, he secured secured a US passport from Secretary of State William Seward, declaring him a citizen of the US.

During the Civil War, he helped the federal government with recruiting US Colored Troops.  He moved his family to Washington, DC to support black soldiers and the war effort.

On February 12, 1865, he preached to the US House of Representatives about the end of slavery, on occasion of the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. Although the House was not in session, he was the first black minister to preach to them.

He continued his advocacy throughout his life, until he passed away in February 1882 of malaria in Liberia.

Celebrating Black History Month: Lucy Higgs Nichols, Union Army nurse in the Civil War

Lucy Higgs Nichols, born April 10, 1838 in Hardeman County, Tennessee, was a slave, but escaped in late June 1862 with her daughter Mona and several other slaves.  She eventually arrived at the Union lines near Bolivar, Tennessee.  Major Shadrack Hooper of the 23rd Indian Infantry Regiment reported Lucy joining their regiment and described her as having integrity, honesty, intelligence, always smiling, cheerful and kind, a willing washer woman, seamstress, nurse, cook, and singer, as well as a "rattling good forager".

Her daughter Mona died at the Siege of Vicksburg.  After which she followed the Indiana 23rd Infantry when they were deployed to the war in Mississippi.  She was present at every siege.  She followed the Union army east in General Sherman's March to the Sea.

After the war, she was a free citizen of New Albany, Indiana.  She worked for officers and nursed veterans back to health.  Five years after the war, she developed measles and soldiers nursed her back to health.  When she had a stroke years later, soldiers cared for her again.

She passed away in January 1915 and is buried in an unmarked grave at West Haven Cemetery in New Albany, Indiana.

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Ely Samuel Parker, first Native American (Seneca) promoted to brigadier general in US Army

Ely Samuel Parker, born in Indian Falls, New York in 1828, was bilingual being fluent in English and Seneca. He worked for a legal firm in Ellicottville, New York, and applied to take the bar examine.  Unfortunately, Native Americans were not considered US citizens, and he was not permitted to take it. 

After a chance meeting with Lewis Henry Morgan, Parker helped Morgan with information on the Seneca for Morgan's book on the Iroquois.  With Morgan's help, Parker earned an engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

He worked as a civil engineer until the start of the Civil War.  President Grant appointed Parker to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, become the first Native American to hold that position. Parker tried to raise a regiment of Iroquois volunteers to fight for the Union, but was turned down.  He tried to enlist in the Army but was turned down since he was Native American.

Grant got Parker a commission to captain in May 1863. Later, Parker was appointed as military secretary to Grant with the rank of lieutenant colonel.  He helped draft the surrender documents for Robert E. Lee's surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse in April 1865. 

Parker was promoted to brigadier general of the US Army March 2, 1867, becoming the first Seneca to achieve that rank. 

He passed away in  August 1895.

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Romualdo Pacheco, first Hispanic governor in US

Jose Romualdo Pacheco, born in Santa Barbara, California October 31, 1831, became the first Hispanic governor in the United States when he was served as governor of California in February 1875.  He is also the only Hispanic to server as Governor of California and the first Latino to represent a state in the US Congress.

After serving as an apprentice on a trading vessel during the Mexican-American War, he entered politics in 1850.  With prominent family connections, he sought the position of judge in San Luis Obispo and won at the age of 22.  He was elected to the state senate in 1857 and was re-elected twice.

When the Civil War broke out, he was appointed the rank of brigadier general by Governor Leland Stanford to disarm military companies in Los Angeles that weren't loyal to the Union.

Pacheco served as state treasurer of California from 1863-1867, then became Lieutenant Governor of California under Newton Booth. When Booth was elected to the US Senate in 1875, Pacheco served as governor from February to December 1875. 

He ran for a seat in the US House of Representatives and defeated the incumbent Peter Wigginton by one vote.  Wigginton contested the election and managed to overturn Pacheco's victory in 1878. Pacheco went into business until winning a House seat in September 1879 and was re-elected in 1880. 

After leaving Congress and living on a cattle ranch in northern Mexico until he was appointed as US Minister to various countries in Central America in 1890.

Pacheco returned to California in 1893 and died in 1899.

Celebrating Pride Month: "South", first gay television drama 1959

ITV Play of the Week was a British anthology series which ran from 1955-1974, airing about 500 hundred 90-minute episodes.  The thirteenth episode of the fifth season, South, is considered to be the first gay drama on television.  It is the story of a Polish Army lieutenant Jan Wicziewsky, played by Peter Wyngarde, exiled to the deep South prior to the Civil War.  He meets and falls in love with a tall, handsome, blond officer Eric MacClure, played by Graydon Gould.

Of course, reviews were mixed, with one reviewer describing it as "the agonies and ecstasies of a pervert".  However, others were more objective in their criticism.  The Stage reported that the "dialogue was so full of compassion, understanding and tenderness that his subject didn't seem distasteful". 

The episode was based on a play by Julien Green, who is gay.  The play was set to be performed in London in 1955, but the Lord Chamberlain banned it because of its gay themes, but he had mellowed out by 1959, and Gerald Savory adapted it for television.

Celebrating Pride Month: William Dorsey Swann: The first "Queen of Drag"

Not Swann, but an image from a drag ball during that time.

William Dorsey Swann, born into slavery in  Hancock, Maryland in March 1860, is the first person in the US to lead a queer resistance group and self-identify as a "queen of drag".  After the Civil War, his parents bought a farm and began a job working as a hotel waiter.

During the 1880s and 1890s, Swann organized drag balls in Washington, DC and called himself the "queen of drag".  The men attending these drag balls were usually former slaves and rebel drag queens.  These events were very secretive and only communicated by word of mouth.

On April 12, 1888, he was arrested for female impersonation, the first documented case of such.  Swann stood up to the arresting officer and proclaimed, "You is no gentleman."

By choosing to resist instead of go along passively, Swann's arrest is one of the earliest-known instances of violence in the name of gay rights.

The publicity and public shaming made it even more difficult for Swann to throw his secret drag balls.

Swann stopped organizing drag balls in the 1890s, but his two brothers continued to participate in the drag community for almost 50 years.

Swann passed away in December 1925 in Hancock, Maryland.

Celebrating Black History Month: "Go Down, Moses" African-American spiritual

A Civil War-era African-American spiritual, Go Down, Moses, was first used as a rallying anthem for people who had escaped slavery sometime before July 1862. It could have originated from Virginia in 1853.  The sheet music was published under the title Oh! Let My People Go: The Song of the Contrabands in 1862, words and music by Rev. L. C. Lockwood, arranged by Thomas Baker and published by Horace Waters. 

The spiritual, also known as When Israel Was in Egypt's Land, describes the exodus of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. The lyrics discuss freedom to both Israelites and enslaved people.  

In an authorized biography of Harriet Tubman, she stated she used Go Down Moses as one of two code songs during her work with the Underground Railroad.  It is possible that the song predates the 1853 claim.  

Celebrating Black History Month: Joseph Rainey, first African-American elected to US House of Representatives

Joseph Rainey, born June 21, 1832 in Georgetown, South Carolina, was the first African-American to be elected to the United States House of Representative.  His father managed to purchase freedom for his wife and two sons.  Rainey worked with his father as a barber and developed a wide social network in his community.  

He traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1959, where he met a free woman of color.  They married and returned to South Carolina, where their three children were born. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Rainey was forced to work by the Confederates on fortifications in Charleston, SC.  He escaped with his family to Bermuda in 1862, where he resumed work as a barber. He and his wife, a successful dressmaker, made a prosperous living and became well respected in Bermuda.

They returned to South Carolina settling in Charleston in 1866 after the war ended. Rainey's wealth and experience helped establish him as a leader in the city, which was 43 percent African-American. He became involved in politics and was elected to the South Carolina Senate in 1870. That same year, he won a special election to fill a vacancy created by the departure of Benjamin Whittemore, who had been censured for corruption.

Rainey was seated December 12, 1870, becoming the first African-American to be elected to the US House of Representatives.  He served a total of four terms, a record for black Congressman, until William Dawson in the 1950s. 

After leaving Congress, Rainey continued to work in the government in both Washington, DC and South Carolina.  He returned to South Carolina when he retired in 1886. He contracted malaria in died in August 1887 in Georgetown. 

Celebrating Black History Month: Martin Delany, first African-American major in US Army

On February 8, 1865, Martin Delany, born as a free man in Charles Town, Virginia January 24, 1812, was commissioned as a major in the US Army, becoming the first African-American field officer.  

Growing up, Delany and his siblings learned to read and write by their mother, despite the prohibition of educating black people.  His mother moved them to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania to ensure their continued freedom and learning. His father joined them a year later, after he was allowed to buy his freedom.

At 19, Martin traveled to Pittsburgh, where he attended the Cellar School of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and apprenticed with a white physician.  He was one of four black men accepted into Harvard Medical School, but were dismissed after white supremacists complained.

Delany continued to be active in medicine and politics, attending his first National Negro Convention in 1835. He began publishing The Mystery, the first black-owned newspaper printed west of the Appalachians. 

In 1856, he moved his family to Chatham, Ontario, Canada, where he assisted in the Underground Railroad, helping escaped slaves who reached freedom in Canada. 

During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln called for a military draft.  Delany began recruiting black men for the Union Army, and raised thousands of enlistees, forming the new United States Colored Troops.  In early 1865, Delany was granted an audience with Lincoln and proposed a corps of black men led by black officers, who could win over black Southerners to the Union.

He was commissioned as major February 8, 1865 as the first black major in the US Army, and achieving the highest rank a black man would reach during the Civil War. 

Read more on this amazing man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Delany

Celebrating Black History Month: "Wade in the Water", African-American jubilee song

Wade in the Water is an African-American spiritual, a genre of music created and sung by African-Americans in slavery.  Wade in the Water was estimated to be written during the Civil War around 1863, but the lyrics were not published until 1901, by Frederick J. Work and his brother John Wesley. The first commercial recording was made by the Sunset Four Jubilee Singers and released by Paramount Records.

The song is associated with Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.  It is believed that Tubman, who made thirteen trips to the South and helped free more than 70 people, used this song to warn slaves to get off the main trail and into the water to prevent the slavers' dogs from finding them.

The song has been modified, updated, and recorded many times in the past one hundred years.  Billy Preston and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass have released instrumental versions of it.

Bear River Massacre 1863

The Bear River Massacre, which happened January 29, 1863 in present-day Franklin County, Idaho, is the largest massacre of Native Americans in US history.  The Shoshone tribe occupied Cache Valley, where they farmed as well as hunted large and small game. Fur trapping was a successful venture, and trappers recommended Brigham Young to settle his Mormon pioneers there.  Instead he chose Salt Lake Valley. Young encouraged his followers to establish friendly relations with the surrounding American tribes, saying they should help "feed them rather than fight them".

Despite this, the settlers consumed much of the game and food resources, which forced the Shoshone further away from their traditional hunting grounds.  The Native Americans began to starve, and therefore out of desperation, they attacked farms and cattle ranches for food.

After years of skirmishes, Major McGarry and the 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry arrived at the Shoshone camp on the banks of the Bear River.   Although he hoped for a surprise attack at dawn, the chief realized soldiers were nearby.  

They tried a direct attack but the Shoshone overwhelmed them with gunfire, and the California Volunteers suffered their biggest lost during this first assault.  Smaller groups retreated, regrouped, and attacked the camp from the sides and behind, blocking any attempt by the Shoshone to escape.  Fortunately, some of them did.

The attack lasted about four hours.  The California Volunteers suffered 14 deaths, but the Shoshone casualties numbered in the hundreds, most of them women and children.  Estimates of death range from 224 to 493. Some Shoshone survived by hiding or playing dead.  

The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation purchased the site in 2018 to protect it as a sacred burial ground.  

The Bear River Massacre is little known since it occurred during the Civil War, when the nation's attention was directed elsewhere, and it took place in a remote area where locals wouldn't even talk about it.

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Peter Pitchlynn, Choctaw Ambassador to US

Peter Pitchlynn, born January 30, 1806 in Noxubee County, Mississippi, was a member of the Choctaw Nation.  He graduated from the University of Nashville in 1827 in a graduating class of 12 students. 

Because of his Choctaw and European-American ancestries, he served as an interpreter and liaison between the Choctaw and US Government.  He was relocated to Indian Territory in the 1830s with his family, including his mother, who died there.  Hers is the oldest known grave in Oklahoma.

He was in Washington DC addressing national affairs of the Choctaw when the Civil War started.  He returned to the Choctaw Nation, hoping to stay neutral, but their territory was invaded in May 1861 and were forced into an alliance with the Confederacy.

He became the Principal Chief of the Choctaw Nation in 1864 and returned to Washington in 1866 to reestablish diplomatic relations with the US.  He hoped to avoid attempts to colonize Indian Territory.  

He met with Queen Emma of Hawai'i at some point, conducting a cultural exchange. It is the only time in history of bilateral relations between the Choctaw Nation and the Hawai'ian kingdom.

Pitchlynn passed away in 1881 in Washington and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery.  

Celebrating Black History Month: 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment, Civil War Heroes

In August 1862, Kansas territory army recruiter James Lane authorized the recruitment of black men for raising a regiment.  This went against the wishes of the Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.  Nevertheless, many freed black men and escaped slaves volunteered.  The newly formed regiment had three black officers, William D. Matthews, Henry Copeland, and Patrick Minor.  

They were the first black regiment to be organized in a northern state and the first black unit to see combat during the Civil War.  In the skirmish at Island Mound in Missouri, African-American soldiers showed they could fight and they could lead.

At the Battle of Poison Spring in Ouachita County, Arkansas in April 1864, the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry lost more men than any other unit during the Civil War.  

Celebrating Black History Month: Thomas Elkins, African-American inventor

Thomas Elkins, born in 1818, was a dentist, surgeon, pharmacist and inventor.  He received an education in pharmacy and ran a small drugstore until economic difficulties forced him to close.  He focused on dentistry and minor surgery.  He studied dentistry under Dr. Charles Payne, and surgery under Dr. Marsh.  

He participated in the Underground Railroad, helping slaves escape to Canada.  The house where he and his wife operated the "best-run" Underground Railroad station in New York is now owned by the Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc.

During the Civil War, Governor John Andrew of Massachusetts appointed him to be the medical examiner in the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantries. He improved the refrigerating apparatus, which prevented the decay of human corpses and food.  

He patented an chamber-commode, a predecessor to the toilet.  

Elkins died in August 1900.

Celebrating Black History Month: 1st Louisiana Native Guard, first US militia unit with officers of color

In 1861, after Louisiana's secession, Governor Thomas Moore issued please for troops to defend the state in the upcoming Civil War.  At a meeting in New Orleans on April 22 at the Catholic Institute, 2000 people attended and of those, 1500 signed up.  Moore accepted their services.

A new regiment was formed  in May 1861, consisting mostly of French Creoles of color.   Moore appointed three white officers as commanders and company commanders were appointed from the men of color.  The 1st Louisiana Native Guard, as it was called, was the first of any militia in North America to have officers of color.

They offered their services to the Confederate army but were declined.  The Louisiana State Legislature passed a law in February 15, 1862 that reorganized the militia into only "...free white males capable of bearing arms..."  Therefore, the Native Guard was disbanded.  

Governor Moore reinstated them when Confederate forces abandoned New Orleans ahead of Admiral David Farragut entering the Mississippi.  The Native Guards were left to fend for themselves.  They were officially ordered to disband by General John Lewis April 25, 1862.

Chadwick Boseman "Black Panther" born 1976

Chadwick Boseman, born November 29, 1976 in Anderson, South Carolina, first made waves in his performance as Jackie Robinson in 42, but garnered millions of more fans when he appeared as T'Challa, or Black Panther, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

He first appeared as T'Challa in Captain America: Civil War and went on to play the character in his own movie Black Panther.  He performed as T'Challa in Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, and the TV series What If...?

He many awards for his performance as T'Challa and for his performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Unfortunately, Boseman passed away in August 2020 after a long battle with colon cancer. 

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Sam Sixkiller, Cherokee Deputy US Marshal, Oklahoma territory

Samuel Sixkiller, born in 1842 in the Cherokee Nation, which is now Adair County in Oklahoma, was the first Captain of the United States Indian Police in Muskogee.  He supported the Confederacy in the Civil War and became a private in the 1st Cherokee Cavalry.  At 19, he switched sides and fought for the Union with his father, 1st Lt. Red Bird Sixkiller.

In 1875, he was appointed to High Sheriff of the Cherokee Nation and Warden of the National Penitentiary.  The position gave him authority of the Cherokee Nation and he became a Deputy US Marshall.  In 1880, he became the first Captain of the United States Indian Police in Muskogee.  

In 1886, he was murdered by two men on Christmas Eve.  In March 1887, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill that made assault against an Indian policeman a federal offense. 

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Lola Sanchez, Confederate Spy

Lola Sanchez, born in 1844 in Armstrong, Florida, and her two sisters became spies for the Confederate Army during the Civil War.  Their father had been falsely accused being a Confederate spy and imprisoned by the Union Army.  Officers from the Union Army occupied the Sanchez residence.  

On May 21, 1864, Lola overhead the officers planning a raid on the Confederate forces.  After telling her sisters what she heard, she decided to notify Captain John Jackson Dickison, a commander of Confederate force 2nd Florida Cavalry in Camp Davis, only a mile and a half from their home.  Lola's sisters covered for her in her absence that night.  

Lola met with Capt. Dickison and told him what she heard.  She returned home, having been gone for only an hour and a half.

Capt. Dickison set a trap and waited for the arrival of a Union transport and gunboat. On May 22, they ambushed the Union forces when they arrived.  The confrontation became known as the Battle of Horse Landing.

Lola and her sisters continued spying for the Confederate army throughout the Civil War.  

 

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: John Ortega, Civil War recipient of Medal of Honor

John Ortega, born in Spain in 1840, immigrated to the United States and became a resident of Pennsylvania.  He joined the Navy in 1863 and was assigned to the USS Saratoga. In January 1864, Gideon Welles, the Secretary of the US Navy, order the USS Saratoga and its commander George Colvocoresses to participate in the Union blockade of Charleston, South Carolina.  

Ortega participated in several raids from landing parties to capture prisoners, and the destruction of ammunition, supplies, buildings, and bridges.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service and promoted to acting master's mate in August 1864.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: Cipriano Andrade, Mexican Rear Admiral in the Civil War

                                                     

Cipriano Andrade, born September 1, 1840 in Tampico, Mexico served in the US Navy for 40 years and attained the rank of Rear Admiral.  During the Civil War, he served aboard the USS Lancaster from August 1861 to October 1863.  He served aboard the USS Pontiac from December 1863 to June 1865.  He served as chief engineer on the USS Ashuelot from September 1, 1881 to November 1881.

He was changed to Captain on March 3, 1899 and in July 1901, he was transferred to the retired list of the Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral.

He passed away in June 1911 in Connecticut.