Bellona is the name of a foundry established on the south bank of the James River in Virginia in 1856. It was named after Bellona, the Roman goddess of war. The foundry was known for manufacturing cannons during the Civil War, particularly one gun called the Dahlgren which swiveled on top of an ironclad called the Merrimac. Bellona was probably a good place to go for getting Civil War monuments made after the war. The gun was named after an Admiral in the Union Navy whose brother was a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army
Dhalgren is the name of a novel written in 1974 by Samuel R. Delany, America's first prominent African-American writer of science fiction, a genre of pulp fiction which he nearly single handedly elevated to canonical status by establishing literary post-modernism within the genre and necessitating a form of criticism now known as CRT or critical race theory. Dhalgren is often referred to by critics as a "monument" to the 1960s.
Delany was born and raised in Harlem, the son of a school librarian. His father owned a funeral home. A number of his relatives figured in, or were associated with artists identified with, the Harlem Renaissance. I suspect at least one of his ancestors may have had first hand knowledge of the Bellona Foundry and the slaves who were 'employed' there during and after the Civil War. Bellona is the mythical city in which Dhalgren is set. It could be any city anywhere in the United States large enough to have had slums in need of urban renewal in the 1960s.
I can't stop thinking about this. I lived in Northern VA for 7 years, and PA for the last 25. Loved visiting Civil War battlefields and museums. Never did I encounter or think about enslaved people being part of the armies/battles/camps. We heard about the heroes, villians, camp followers, nurses, wives...but never slaves unless just in passing. It's like you are opening up a whole new dimension on an old story. One that is long overdue, but we are all eagerly waiting to discover. Thank you.
Do tour guides mention the Confederates' taking time out to kidnap African Americans sand send them south for sale? I've been to Gettysburg but never taken a formal tour.
I can't say to what extent this story of Confederate kidnappings is part of a typical NPS tour. I believe it is referenced in the Gettysburg museum and I suspect that tours which focus specifically on the African American experience reference it.
Keep in mind that visitors can also hire a Licensed Gettysburg Guide for a tour of specific places on the battlefield. They focus overwhelmingly on the military side of things.
I had the opportunity to study at Gettysburg for a week during a GLI seminar in 2014. I don’t recall a single mention of this in any of the primary or secondary literature that we studied. Can you make any recommendations of books or primary sources that address this topic? I would like to include the story of the 10,000 enslaved when I teach this in the fall. Thanks for all that you do!
I also humbly recommend my own book, Searching for Black Confederates, which focuses specifically on the roles played by enslaved people in the Confederate army.
Wikipedia (please forgive me) says the rebel forces at Gettysburg numbered between 71,000 and 75,000, while the United States Army had 104,256 “present for duty.” But as we’ve learned from your research, there were 10,000 enslaved men accompanying the rebels. So can we say the rebel strength was actually 81-85,000?
That's right, but thankfully there are wayside markers on the site as well as exhibits in the museum. In recent years, I've heard NPS guides make it a point to discuss the Bryan family during battlefield tours.
As always, I appreciate your insights. I had never heard about the large number of enslaved men present at Gettysburg, and its striking to me the degree to which the Confederate war effort relied almost entirely on the labor of enslaved men and women.
I have made the point more than once that, but for Jim Crow, our monument landscape would look very different. That said, I think you are placing too much emphasis on monuments. Even without the monuments memory of the battle of Gettysburg is infused with Lost Cause nostalgia. Your concerns could just as well be used to justify shutting Gettysburg down and building a shopping mall over it.
I think these are wonderful opportunities to explore the difference between history and memory on the battlefield. I've led numerous battlefield tours and have had some of the most interesting conversations around just this topic.
Unfortunately, not all tours are of the same quality or offer the same insights. As you point out, you can still find the Lost Cause in battlefield interpretations and tours--with or without monuments.
As I have pointed out many times, I interpret monuments as reflections of memory and stress the difference with the history of the battle.
At the same time I believe that we must not reduce Confederate soldiers to one-dimensional caricatures for the same reasons that we speak out against doing so re: enslaved people. All aspects of soldiering deserve to be explored.
Bellona is the name of a foundry established on the south bank of the James River in Virginia in 1856. It was named after Bellona, the Roman goddess of war. The foundry was known for manufacturing cannons during the Civil War, particularly one gun called the Dahlgren which swiveled on top of an ironclad called the Merrimac. Bellona was probably a good place to go for getting Civil War monuments made after the war. The gun was named after an Admiral in the Union Navy whose brother was a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army
Dhalgren is the name of a novel written in 1974 by Samuel R. Delany, America's first prominent African-American writer of science fiction, a genre of pulp fiction which he nearly single handedly elevated to canonical status by establishing literary post-modernism within the genre and necessitating a form of criticism now known as CRT or critical race theory. Dhalgren is often referred to by critics as a "monument" to the 1960s.
Delany was born and raised in Harlem, the son of a school librarian. His father owned a funeral home. A number of his relatives figured in, or were associated with artists identified with, the Harlem Renaissance. I suspect at least one of his ancestors may have had first hand knowledge of the Bellona Foundry and the slaves who were 'employed' there during and after the Civil War. Bellona is the mythical city in which Dhalgren is set. It could be any city anywhere in the United States large enough to have had slums in need of urban renewal in the 1960s.
I can't stop thinking about this. I lived in Northern VA for 7 years, and PA for the last 25. Loved visiting Civil War battlefields and museums. Never did I encounter or think about enslaved people being part of the armies/battles/camps. We heard about the heroes, villians, camp followers, nurses, wives...but never slaves unless just in passing. It's like you are opening up a whole new dimension on an old story. One that is long overdue, but we are all eagerly waiting to discover. Thank you.
I really appreciate this comment. You are just the kind of person I am hoping to reach with my writing and research.
Do tour guides mention the Confederates' taking time out to kidnap African Americans sand send them south for sale? I've been to Gettysburg but never taken a formal tour.
I can't say to what extent this story of Confederate kidnappings is part of a typical NPS tour. I believe it is referenced in the Gettysburg museum and I suspect that tours which focus specifically on the African American experience reference it.
Keep in mind that visitors can also hire a Licensed Gettysburg Guide for a tour of specific places on the battlefield. They focus overwhelmingly on the military side of things.
I had the opportunity to study at Gettysburg for a week during a GLI seminar in 2014. I don’t recall a single mention of this in any of the primary or secondary literature that we studied. Can you make any recommendations of books or primary sources that address this topic? I would like to include the story of the 10,000 enslaved when I teach this in the fall. Thanks for all that you do!
Hi Kris,
Thanks for the comment. I highly recommend Margaret Creighton's book The Colors of Courage.
https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/margaret-s-creighton/the-colors-of-courage/9780465014576/
I also humbly recommend my own book, Searching for Black Confederates, which focuses specifically on the roles played by enslaved people in the Confederate army.
https://uncpress.org/book/9781469653266/searching-for-black-confederates/
Wikipedia (please forgive me) says the rebel forces at Gettysburg numbered between 71,000 and 75,000, while the United States Army had 104,256 “present for duty.” But as we’ve learned from your research, there were 10,000 enslaved men accompanying the rebels. So can we say the rebel strength was actually 81-85,000?
Folks rarely even understand that the Bryan Farm, featured in the Cyclorama, was owned by a Black man.
That's right, but thankfully there are wayside markers on the site as well as exhibits in the museum. In recent years, I've heard NPS guides make it a point to discuss the Bryan family during battlefield tours.
That is good---no, great---to hear.
As always, I appreciate your insights. I had never heard about the large number of enslaved men present at Gettysburg, and its striking to me the degree to which the Confederate war effort relied almost entirely on the labor of enslaved men and women.
Thanks for the comment, Sam.
I have made the point more than once that, but for Jim Crow, our monument landscape would look very different. That said, I think you are placing too much emphasis on monuments. Even without the monuments memory of the battle of Gettysburg is infused with Lost Cause nostalgia. Your concerns could just as well be used to justify shutting Gettysburg down and building a shopping mall over it.
I think these are wonderful opportunities to explore the difference between history and memory on the battlefield. I've led numerous battlefield tours and have had some of the most interesting conversations around just this topic.
I would love that opportunity, but who exactly would be making you feel sentimental on such a tour?
Unfortunately, not all tours are of the same quality or offer the same insights. As you point out, you can still find the Lost Cause in battlefield interpretations and tours--with or without monuments.
As I have pointed out many times, I interpret monuments as reflections of memory and stress the difference with the history of the battle.
At the same time I believe that we must not reduce Confederate soldiers to one-dimensional caricatures for the same reasons that we speak out against doing so re: enslaved people. All aspects of soldiering deserve to be explored.