“African Americans in Civil War North Carolina and a Southern Woman’s Perspective of Reconstruction”
Thursday, March 18
7:00 p.m. - FREE - Visitor Center Auditorium
Guest Speakers:
Dr. Jeffrey Crow, Deputy Secretary, NC Department of Archives and History
Terrell Armistead Crow and Mary Barden, co-authors of: “Live Your Own Life: The Family Papers of Mary Bayard Clarke, 1854-1886 (Women’s Diaries and Letters of the South)”
NEW BERN, NC - This presentation at Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, delves into a variety of topics relating to African Americans during the Civil War and Reconstruction era. Each of three speakers will present a brief talk followed by a panel discussion.
Dr. Crow will talk about African Americans in Civil War North Carolina and read an excerpt from, “A Spelling Book in One Hand and a Musket in the other: African Americans in Civil War North Carolina” dated February 1, 1863.
“No officer in this regiment now doubts that the key to the successful prosecution of this was lies in the unlimited employment of black troops. Their superiority lies simply in the fact that they know the country, while white troops do not, and, moreover, that they have peculiarities of temperament, position, and motive which belong to them alone. Instead of leaving their homes and families to fight, they are fighting for their homes and families, and they show the resolution and sagacity which a personal purpose gives.”
Terrell Crow’s focus is on “Mary Bayard Clarke’s ‘Betsey Bittersweet’ Articles 1867-1868: A Conservative Response to Reconstruction.” She will discuss Mary Barden Clarke’s satirical (and racist) newspaper articles attacking Republicans during Reconstruction
Mary Barden’s topic is her great grandmother, “Mary Bayard Clarke: The New Bern Years.” Barden’s husband, William J. Clarke’s participated in the Kirk-Holden War (1870) and trained George Henry White in law in the late 1870s. George Henry White, born a slave in 1852 in Rosindale, NC., after attending Howard University and training in law, went on to become a member of the House of Representatives and a Congressman. After leaving Congress in 1905, White moved to Philadelphia to practice law and establish the People’s Saving Bank.
African American Walking Tour - March 21
Don’t miss the 16 block walking tour that takes you back in time through New Bern’s amazing African American history. The walking
tour will be on Sunday, March 21, at 2 p.m. This is an easy paced tour that lasts about 90 minutes. Tickets are $4 per adult, $2 per student and reservations are required. Special arrangements can be made for groups. Please call 252.514.4935 for more information.
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The Department of Cultural Resources is a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history, and culture. For more information, visit www.ncculture.com
Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens’ mission is to engage present and future generations in the history of North Carolina from early settlement and development of statehood through the mid-twentieth century by collecting, interpreting and preserving objects, buildings, landscapes and events that enrich understanding of the making of our state and nation. The North Carolina History Education Center scheduled to open in July of 2010 complements and enhances this mission.
Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, located in New Bern, N.C., is part of the Office of Archives and History, an agency of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The Department of Cultural Resources is a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history, and culture. For more information, visit www.ncculture.com.
Buildings currently open to the public include the reconstructed Palace, the John Wright Stanly House, the George W. Dixon House, and the Robert Hay House. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Last tours begin at 4 p.m. The New Bern Academy Museum is closed until March 2010, but is open for group tours. Tickets and tour information is available at the Visitor Center located at the corner of George and Pollock streets.
The visitor center and the first floor of the Palace and gardens are accessible to visitors with disabilities. The North Carolina History Education Center is under construction and is scheduled to open in July 2010.
For directions and further information about special events, programs or group tours, phone (800) 767-1560 or (252) 514-4900 or visit our web site: www.tryonpalace.org.