Please note: Included below are links to two historical resources that include graphic language and racial slurs. When you visit Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow, two of the first objects you’ll see are books: The First Dixie Reader, used in the South, and The Gospel of Slavery: A Primer of Freedom, used…

Written by Rachel Walman This Saturday and Sunday, families who come to the Museum can meet living historians portraying the 6th Regiment of Infantry, United States Colored Troops (USCT). (“Colored” was considered a neutral term for African Americans in the 1800s, but it is considered derogatory today.) The men who served in this unit were…

This spring, Camp History at the New-York Historical Society was all about the Civil War – and Minecraft! Campers were invited behind the scenes at the Museum over the course of a fun-filled week to speak with conservators, librarians, scholars, and more to become experts on the time period and spent their afternoons translating their…

Slave catchers, medicine showmen, and the Battle of Gettysburg…They’re all part of The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg, this month’s read for the Reading into History family book club. Readers are invited to the Museum to discuss the book and Skype with acclaimed, multi-award-winning author Rodman Philbrick on Sunday, April 10 from 2…

It’s not too late to sign up for our next session of Camp History! From March 29 – April 1, a troop of lucky campers will delve into Civil War history through behind-the-scenes visits with librarians, conservators, and curators; chats with visiting living historians (historical reenactors); hands-on activities with educators; and create their own uniformed…

Guest post by Robert Christian Malmberg Starting Monday, August 11, photographer Robert Christian Malmberg will be photographing Camp History campers as people from the Civil War. We’ve asked him to guest-write a blog post for us to get to know him better. Here he is, in his own words: My fascination with “alternative process” photography…

Bloodiest War in History War Between the States War of Secession War of the Rebellion Mr. Lincoln’s War No matter what it was called, the American Civil War, fought from 1861 to 1865, was a brutal one – not only for the men who fought on both sides, but for those who remained at home….

One hundred and fifty years ago today, thousands gathered in Gettysburg, PA for the dedication of a national cemetery for those who died at the Battle of Gettysburg in July, 1863. The three days of this battle left over 51,000 Union and Confederate soldiers dead, missing, captured, or wounded. The country needed to heal from…

By Jacqueline Smith During the summer of 1863, New York City erupted in violence. July marks the 150th anniversary of the New York City Draft Riots-the largest civil uprising in our nation’s history. From Monday July 13, 1863 until Thursday July 16, 1863 mobs wreaked havoc on the streets of New York, looting stores, attacking…