The Battle of Saltville Champ Ferguson at Saltville became one of the controversial figures of the Civil War. Chronicled in the biography Champ Ferguson, Confederate Guerilla by Thurman Sensing, Champ’s role in the execution of black prisoners of war after … Continued
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was born free in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1825. Her story is covered in an earlier post (Oct 18, 2018) on HistoricalNovelsRUs on Facebook. But what about life aside from her writing? For many African Americans, life … Continued
When was Thomas McKean born? Thomas McKean was born March 19, 1734, to William and Letitia McKean in New London Township, Pa. close to the modern Maryland and Delaware borders. His father William was a well-to-do tavern keeper. William and … Continued
Black History day Larry Lapsley was a humble, unassuming man, and lived the life of a Kansas farmer. Few who knew him thought him unusual – but they didn’t know his story. Larry was born in Danville, Kentucky on the … Continued
Did you know… Mary Ellen Pleasant (19 August 1814 – 4 January 1904)? Black history day Mary Ellen’s origins have conflicting sources and birth dates. In one version of her memoirs dictated to her god-daughter Charlotte Downs, she claimed she … Continued
Tales of WW2… How a homeless vagrant corpse contributed to the British war effort In 1939, British intelligence wrote a memo popularly known as “the Trout memo”, about how to deceive the enemy. It said in part: “The memo reads, … Continued
Tales of the Old West In the mid seventeenth century, a large group of Native Americans began a westward migration. The exact reason for the move is not known – some say it was to escape pressure from the Europeans … Continued
John Letterman was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, son of a surgeon. He quickly followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating from Jefferson Medical College in 1849. He joined the Army as an assistant surgeon and served in Florida during the Seminole … Continued
Tales of the Old West When you think of Gary Cooper in the old Western movies, the strong silent type who got the job done, the real-life version was John Slaughter. John was born in western Louisiana, and grew up … Continued
Dora Hand( (c. 1843 – October 4, 1878) Tales of the Old West Dora was talented and beautiful. Born in 1843 in Boston, she had a musical education in Europe and sang opera in New York. There’s some doubt historically … Continued