African American

Robert Carter III was born into the highest circles of Virginia's Colonial aristocracy, neighbor and kin to the Washingtons and Lees and a friend and peer to Thomas Jefferson and George Mason. But in 1791, Carter severed his ties with this elite at the stroke of a pen. Having gradually grown to feel that what he possessed was not truly his, clashing repeatedly with his neighbors, his friends, government officials, and, most poignantly, his own family, he set free nearly five hundred slaves in the largest single act of liberation in the history of American slavery before the Emancipation Proclamation.
(From the publisher's description)

"...a unique study of the traditions, institutions, and people who were involved in teaching and educating the black population throughout the county. In this volume, with many never-before-published photographs, you will take a visual journey through the area's past and visit the one and two-room schoolhouses of Templemans, Potomac, and some of the smaller areas, such as Frog Hall and Mudbridge; and meet the dedicated and creative teachers and their students who studied and learned in this picturesque region nestled between the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers."
From the publisher's description

Through a combination of intelligence, daring, and sheer luck, the men reached the protection of occupying Union troops. Historian Blight prefaces the narratives with each man's life history. Using genealogical information, Blight has reconstructed their childhoods as sons of white slaveholders, their service as cooks and camp hands during the Civil War, and their climb to black working-class stability in the North, where they reunited their families. In the stories of Wallace Turnage and John Washington, we find portals that offer a rich new answer to the question of how four million people moved from slavery to freedom.
From the publisher's description.

John Washington's recounting of his difficult years as a Virginia slave was made only seven years after his emancipation.

Recalls stories of rebellion, racism and reconstruction as experienced by Secessionists, Unionists and the African American population in Fredericksburg's landmark churches during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.
Using a wide variety of materials compiled from the local National Park archives, author Michael Aubrecht presents multiple perspectives from local believers and nonbelievers who witnessed the country's "Great Divide." Learn about the importance of faith in old Fredericksburg through the recollections of local clergy such as Reverend Tucker Lacy; excerpts from slave narratives as recorded by Joseph F. Walker; impressions of military commanders such as Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson; and stories of the conflict over African-American membership.
From the publisher's description

The African American community emerged from the ravages of war after more than 140 years of slavery. The community formalized the institutions they developed for survival during those years and charted a path for their growth. This volume pays homage to religion, work, service, education, and the human touch that brought families through undeniably difficult times.
Terry Miller is a writer and frequent visitor to Spotsylvania, and Roger Braxton is a native whose family can be traced to the early 1800s. Their combined curiosity about local history has produced a work of historical insight, humor, and reverence to an ancestral past. The photographs and accompanying stories come largely from private collections of Spotsylvania African Americans who gratefully shared their ancestors' heritage with the wider world.
From the publisher's description.