There is a rich history for Black Women when it comes to the Civil War era. During the Civil War, over 100,000 African American served in the US army and most of them had previously been slaves. Pension law originally would only recognize marriages that were legal and wouldn’t recognize slave marriages. However, in 1864 the US Congress amended a bill which allowed the widow and children of African American soldiers to receive the pensions that they were entitled to.
Key Takeaways:
- Historians typically will rely on federal collections for the history of government agencies and also regulatory policies from the past.
- Pension records were created so that widows of soldiers who served could get monthly compensation due to the loss of their husbands.
- The US Congress amended a pension bill in 1864 that allows children and widows of African American soldier to receive the pension they were entitled too.
“From Brown’s pension file, historians can learn about the customs surrounding slave weddings. The testimonies within the pension file also describe the war experiences of African Americans who left their plantations to become free.”
Read more: https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1997/summer/slave-women
Leave a Reply