Camp Barker Memorial (Washington, DC)]]> Civil War
Refugee camps--History--19th century
Fugitive slaves--United States
Slaves--Emancipation--United States
Public art
Public sculpture
Mid-Atlantic United States

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Commemorative sculpture]]> After Architecture, 2019.]]> After Architecture

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After Architecture]]> Portal widths: 78 in. (198.12 cm.) to 192 in. (502.92 cm.) ]]> Architectonic. Accessed May 3, 2021, https://www.architonic.com/en/project/after-architecture-camp-barker-memorial/20076736.]]>
Camp Nelson National Monument (Nicholasville, KY)]]> Men--United States Colored Troops
Associations--Military
Southeastern United States]]>
National Monument]]> Camp Nelson National Monument, formerly Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park, is a 525-acre national monument, historical museum, and park located in southern Jessamine County, Kentucky, 20 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky.

The camp was established in 1863 as a depot for the Union Army during the Civil War, becoming a recruiting ground for new soldiers from Eastern Tennessee and escaping freedom seekers.

Among the many African American freedom seekers who arrived at Camp Nelson, were the families— wives, children, elderly parents— of the men who would later enlist and serve in the Union Army. The women, children, and parents built (makeshift) settlements on the outskirts of the camp, fueled by racist assumptions about African American women’s sexuality, a number of the white officers erroneously feared that the African American women would spread venereal disease among the black soldiers and began to agitate for their removal (Richard Spears. “John G. Fee, Camp Nelson, and Kentucky Blacks, 1864-1865.” The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Vol. 85, No. 1 (Winter 1987), 34).

Moreover, the freedom seekers from Kentucky were particularly vulnerable as they were still legally owned by Kentuckians who never officially join the Confederacy. At various points over 1864 Commander Speed Smith Fry successfully expelled unwanted refugees from Camp Nelson.

On November 23, 1864, Fry ordered the forcible expulsion of more than 400 women and children. Leaving almost no time to gather their possessions, mounted Union soldiers drove the women and children from the camp in freezing temperatures and then destroyed their makeshift homes. More than 100 freedom seekers perished in the freezing weather. To read an affidavit of a USCT soldier from Kentucky whose family was forcibly removed in November 1864 from Camp Nelson, click here. 

 

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Camp Nelson, National Park Service]]> https://www.nps.gov/cane/learn/historyculture/index.htm]]> https://exploreuk.uky.edu/fa/findingaid/?id=xt77sq8qcb8z.]]>
Captured Africans (Lancaster, England)]]> Middle Passage
Transatlantic Slave Trade
Slave Trade
Lancaster, United Kingdom]]>
Commemorative sculpture]]> Six rectangular perspex blocks, suspended between a rectangular, stainless steel column and an oblong, stone column, rests on a circular base embellished with a mosaic and small metal sculptures. The work is meant to recall the decks of the transatlantic slave ships that carried enslaved Africans to the Americas. The six perspex blocks are inscribed with the names of the different commodity objects these ships transported to and from the Americas: wealth, cotton, rum, mahogany, sugar, and slaves. The stainless steel column lists many of the slave ships that departed from Lancaster and the number of slaves these vessels forcibly seized in Africa. Underscoring the history of these horrific nautical journeys, the mosaic depicts a map detailing the routes of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, while the metal figures personify the trauma and violence of the Middle Passage.

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Lancaster Guardian. Accessed April 29, 2019, https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/slave-memorial-is-labour-of-love-1-1165642]]>
Clave (Rotterdam, The Netherlands)]]> Slavery
Middle Passage
Transatlantic Slave Trade
Slave Trade
Rotterdam, The Netherlands]]>
Commemorative sculpture]]> here.]]>
"Het lichaam is dat slaaf is vertrekt de ziel die vrij is blijft"]]>
http://www.artatsite.com/Rotterdam/details/Silva-Alex-da-Slavernijmonument-Clave-sculpture-statue-Art-At-Site-Rotterdam.html]]>
Colored Union Soldiers Monument (Hertford, NC)]]> Men--United States Colored Troops
Associations--Military
American South
Public art
Public sculpture]]>
Commemorative sculpture]]> Colored Union Soldiers Monument, Hertford ]]>
"In Memory

Of the

Colored Union

Soldiers Who

Faught in the

War of

1861-1865

Inscriptions on the rear:

"Erected by the United Daughters of Veterans"

The Informational placard provided by North Carolina Civil War Trails:

"News of the bombardment of Fort Sumter inspired many African American men to enlist in the U.S. armed forces, but federal law prohibited their service. Frederick Douglass and other black leaders urged changes to allow black enlistments. By mid-1862, as the numbers of white volunteers diminished, the needs of the U.S. Army grew, and the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation became imminent, more voices called for black recruitment. The Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, formally authorized African American military service. By the end of the war, about 180,000 blacks – including some from Perquimans County – had borne arms in the U.S. Army (almost 10 percent of total enlistments) and about 19,000 had served in the U.S. Navy. To remember the county’s African American Union soldiers, women of the black community, many of them the wives and widows of those men, erected one of the few such monuments in the nation on Academy Green in 1910. Coordinated by First Baptist Church and the United Daughters of Union Veterans, the monument is inscribed “In Memory of the Colored Union Soldiers Who Fought in the War of 1861-1865.” Academy Green was the location of the county’s first black school, library, and church (present-day First Baptist Church), which freed-men formed in a bush shelter in 1866. The congregation later built a church across the street. They Answered the Call Three of the men whom this monument commemorates are buried in Perquimans County. Sgt. John Gordon served in Co. A 1st U.S.C.T., organized in Washington, D.C., in May-June 1863. The regiment fought in Virginia (Wilson’s Wharf, The Crater, New Market Heights) and North Carolina (Fort Fisher). It also participated in Gen. Edward A. Wild’s eastern N.C. expedition in Dec. 1863 and burned a Confederate camp near Hertford. It mustered out on Sept. 29, 1865. Pvt. John Sharp enlisted in Co. B. 37th U.S.C.T. at age 19 on Jan. 21, 1864, in Plymouth, N.C. His regiment fought at New Market Heights and Fort Fisher and mustered out on Feb. 11, 1867. Pvt. Arthur Mixon served in Co. G, 40th U.S.C.T., organized in Aug. 1864 in Tennessee, where it guarded railroads and bridges. It mustered out in Oct. 1865."

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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina. Accessed January 22, 2019: https://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/117/]]>
Commemorative Sign to the United States Colored Troops of the Civil War, Philadelphia National Cemetery (Philadelphia, PA)]]> Men--United States Colored Troops
Associations--Military
Northeastern United States]]>
Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative placard]]>
Hidden in plain sight: Cemeteries and civil rights ;
To watch a video of the placecard dedication click here 

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National Council on Public History. Accessed January 23, 2019: https://ncph.org/history-at-work/hidden-in-plain-sight-cemeteries-and-civil-rights/]]>
Corinth Contraband Camp (Corinth, MS)]]> Subject (Topic)
American South
Civil War
Corinth (Miss.)
Fugitive slaves--United States
Mississippi--History
Public art
Public sculpture
Refugee camps--Southern States--History--19th century
Slaves--Emancipation--United States

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Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture

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Hardee's Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics from his haversack . Included at the site: two bronze plaques with inscriptions attached to a concrete wall near the greeter; two bronze low reliefs on a concrete wall opposite the greeter; and an informational panel explaining farming at the site in front of the farmer.

The two bronze low reliefs are based on nineteenth-century photographs: Timothy H. O'Sullivan, [Rappahannock River, Va. Fugitive African Americans fording the Rappahannock], August 1862 and G.W. Foster, Refugee camp; street scene, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864.]]>
Corinth Civil War Interpretative Center]]> Inscription on bronze plaque at entrance:
Site of the Corinth Contraband Camp
November 1862-December 1863
Here a newly freed people took their unswerving first steps on the long road to full citizenship.

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Inscription on bronze plaque at entrance:
“This is a great opportunity afforded your race. Will you improve it?” — Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General, United States Army, in a speech to the Corinth Contraband Camp, May 15, 1863

Warmly received amid cheers of the assembled crowd, General Thomas’s words formed a challenge met daily by all who arrived to fulfill the mission of this camp.

Assisted by the American Missionary Association, some 6,000 ex-slaves here practiced free enterprise and pursued an education for themselves and their children.

Bravely affirming their unalienable right to equality. Men from this camp swelled the ranks of two infantry regiments raised for services in the U.S. Army.

Although short-lived, the Corinth Contraband Camp served as a model endeavor for later United States efforts during the American Civil War.

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Information sign in front of farmer statue:
Contraband Camp

The Corinth Contraband Camp offered former slaves the first step toward self-sustainbility and freedom through profitable farming. These men, women, and children grew 300 acres of cotton and 100 acres of vegetables. All of the crops were sold, and the profits combined to about $5,000 per month, which would exceed $70,000 in today's money.

Individuals also had smaller gardens that fed themselves and their families. These gardens consisted of tomatoes, cabbages, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables. This was the first time that many of the former slaves had grown crops for themselves rather than for someone else's benefit.

Even though the Corinth Contraband Camp was only active for a little more than a year. It helped over 6,000 African Americans take a major step toward eventual citizenship. These newly freed African Americans would go on to use the skills they learned at the Corinth Contraband Camp to raise families, work paid jobs, and become self-sufficient members of society.

This working garden was designed and created as part of an Eagle Scout project. (The rest of the text has weathered away.)


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https://www.nps.gov/shil/planyourvisit/contrabandcamp.htm.]]>
Denmark Vesey Monument (Charleston, SC)]]> Subject (Topic)
Anti-slavery movements--United States
Public art
Public sculpture
Slave insurrections--South Carolina--Charleston
Slave revolt--South Carolina--Charleston
Slavery--South Carolina
South Carolina--History

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Subject (Name)
Vesey, Denmark, 1767-1822

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Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture

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The work is dedicated to Denmark Vesey, a carpenter and self-educated black man who planned one of the most extensive slave revolt in U.S. history in Charleston, SC in 1822. Vesey, elegantly dressed in a collared jacket, trousers, and an exceedingly long and slim cravat, is shown holding his carpentry bag, his hat, and his Bible. The figure stands atop a massive granite pedestal that is inscribed on two sides with biographical and historical information about Vesey and his vital contributions to the fight for the emancipation of black people.

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here.]]> Inscription on front of black granite plinth:
Denmark Vesey
Slave Rebellion Organizer
Born Circa 1767-July 2, 1822

Denmark Vesey, previously named Telemaque, was born either in Africa or on the Caribbean island of St. Thomas. At the age of 14, he was purchased by the slave trader Captain Joseph Vesey and transported to the French Colony of St. Domingue, where the young African was sold along with 389 other slaves. Claimed to be suffering from epilepsy by his new owner, Denmark was returned to Captain Vesey.

The young man accompanied Captain Vesey on many trading voyages as part of the crew. In 1873, immediately after the American Revolution, Captain Vesey relocated to Charleston, South Carolina, where Denmark continued to serve him for approximately another 17 years. In 1799, however, Denmark won $1,500 in the East Bay Street Lottery in Charleston and purchased his freedom for $600.

Denmark Vesey was a highly skilled carpenter and well known within free black and slave society. According to his contemporaries, he harbored frustration at his inability to legally free his wife and children. His antislavery sentiments may have received a wider audience when in 1818 enslaved and free black Charlestonians established a branch of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church where he served as a church leader.

Vesey envisioned a community where all would be free , but recently planned state legislation of 1820 made legal emancipation of slaves nearly impossible. Furthermore, municipal authorities repeated attacks on the AME Church convinced Vesey slavery was such a violation of God's law that rebellion was necessary to obtain liberty. He placed his own life at risk as he dared to plan to recruit others to achieve the goal of freedom.

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Inscription on back of black granite plinth:
Denmark Vesey

Vesey and his lieutenants "Gullah" Jack Pritchard, Peter Poyas, and Monday Gell developed a plan for a revolt, which may have involved thousands of followers. Their war of liberation was originally planned for July 14, 1822, and called for conspirators to seize weapons and set fires around the city. Once reinforced by rural slaves, as many as possible were to escape to Haiti where African people had already abolished slavery and formed an independent nation. According to Congregational minister and abolitionist Thomas Wentworth Higginson, the plan was "the most elaborate insurrectionary project ever formed by American slaves."

When two slaves informed the authorities of the plot, the conspirators tried to move the date to June 16, but their plan failed. Arrests and trials followed and beginning on July 2, 1822, two days before Independence Day, Vesey and 34 of his compatriots were hanged. This figure represents the greatest number of slave conspiracy-related executions in American history. 37 were banished, most outside the United States, and four whites were briefly fined and incarcerated for for sympathizing with the conspirators. To strenghten security, officials demolished the AME Church, and the state legislature imposed rigorous new laws, including the Negro Seaman Act subjecting free black sailors from outside the state to arrest when their ships docked in Carolina ports. Free black men were required to have white guardians, and those who left the state were barred from returning. By the mid-1820s, the city fortified itself with an arsenal and barracks. In 1842, the Military College of South Carolina, now known as the "The Citadel," was established on that same site.

Despite the daunting opposition, Vesey's Spirit and liberating vision did not die. He became an inspiring symbol of freedom for later abolitionists including David Walker, John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. His resolve demonstrates the timeless universality of men and women's desire for freedom and justice irrespective of race, creed, condition, or color.

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Round sign on side of black granite plinth:
Charleston Stories
Hear Denmark Vesey here
Completing the Story:
Bringing a Community Together
www.charlestonstories.org
History calls back

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Granite base: 44 ¾ x 59 in. (113.67 cm.)]]> Parker, Parker, "Denmark Vesey Monument Unveiled before Hundreds." Post and Courier, February 14, 2014. Accessed April 12, 2019, https://www.postandcourier.com/features/arts_and_travel/denmark-vesey-monument-unveiled-before-hundreds/article_35622532-8a45-5060-a819-0e33a47c8a20.html.

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Mellnik, Ted. "The Remarkable History of Charleston's Racial Divide, As Told by the City's Silent Statues." Washington Post, June 24, 2015. Accessed April 12, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/24/the-remarkable-history-of-charlestons-racial-divide-as-told-by-the-citys-silent-statues/.

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"Denmark Vesey Monument." Charleston Justice Journey. Accessed May 27, 2020, https://charlestonjusticejourney.org/locations/denmark-vesey-monument/.

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"Denmark Vesey, Hampton Park." Charleston Stories. Accessed May 27, 2020, http://charlestonstories.org/statues/Denmark-Vesey/.

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Wright, Deborah and Daron Calhoun. "Remember Denmark Vesey of Charleston!" Avery Messenger (Summer 2014): 6-8. Accessed May 27, 2020, https://avery.cofc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/messenger_springsummer2014.pdf.

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Desenkadena (Willemstad, Curaçao)]]> Tula Monument]]> Slavery-Emancipation
Middle Passage
Transatlantic Slave Trade
Slave Trade
Diaspora 
Willemstad, Curaçao]]>
Commemorative sculpture]]> Desenkadena (unchained) suggests, the figures are breaking free from the chains that bind their wrists. The central figure is flanked by a man and woman, both of whom gaze at him as he breaks their chains. The “chain breaker,” a muscular, semi-nude man, stands in front of an anvil. Simon captures the figure mid-swing as he raises a hammer over his head with his right hand. In his left hand he holds iron chains in place with a chisel. The work commemorates the 1795 slave rebellion led by an enslaved person called Tula.]]> here.]]>
Dred and Harriet Scott (St. Louis, MO)]]> Abolitionists--United States
Antislavery movements--United States
Public art
Public sculpture
Slavery-Emancipation

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Scott, Dred, 1799-1858
Scott, Harriet, 1815-1876

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Commemorative sculpture]]> WikiData.]]> Inscription on base of work:
Dred and Harriet Scott filed suit for their freedom at this courthouse in 1846. Their case reached the United States Supreme Court and Was decided in 1857. The court ruled that the Scotts and all African Americans were not citizens of the United States. Opposition to the decision was one of the causes of the Civil War and led to the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The Scotts' struggle for freedom stands as a defining moment in the history of the Civil Rights Movements.

Dedicated June 8, 2012
Gift of the Dred Schott Heritage Foundation
Harry Weber, Sculptor 

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]]> https://racstl.org/public-art/dred-and-harriet-scott/.]]>