This photograph of Silas Chandler (right) and Andrew Chandler (left) has been used by Neo-Confederate groups to perpetuate the Black Confederate myth for decades. The following is a 🧵 about who Silas Chandler was and the truth behind this image.
Silas Chandler was born on January 1, 1837, in Virginia and was enslaved by Roy Chandler. When Roy Chandler received a land grant in Mississippi in 1839 he moved Silas and 38 other enslaved people to a new plantation in Palo Alto, near the town of West Point.
Silas was trained as a carpenter and married an enslaved woman named Lucy Gardner in 1860. He was then forced leave Lucy to join Roy Chandler's son, Andrew, after he enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861. The photograph is believed to have been taken around that time.
Neo-Confederates contend that Silas joined Andrew because of his belief in the Confederate cause, disregarding the fact that he was enslaved by Andrew and therefore had no choice.
Silas regularly traveled back to Palo Alto during the early years of the war under Andrew's orders. Andrew Chandler was wounded and captured by Union forces at the Battle of Shiloh in April of 1862 but was released in a prisoner exchange in September.
Silas was forced back into service as a "body servant" when Andrew returned to the 44th Mississippi Infantry. Andrew was wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga #OTD in 1863. Silas and Andrew returned to Palo Alto.
Neo-Confederates argue that Silas remained with Andrew out of loyalty and a belief in the Confederate cause, a cause that advocated his own enslavement. This is far from the truth. Silas stayed with Andrew for another reason.
By September 1863, Silas' wife Lucy had given birth to their first child. Silas most certainly followed Andrew to maintain contact with his family, not to aid the Confederate war effort. Unfortunately, Silas was separated from his family again in early 1864.
Andrew's younger brother Benjamin joined 9th Mississippi Calvary in January of 1864 and Silas was forced to join him. Silas remained with Benjamin until the end of the war.
Silas returned to Mississippi after the war. He and Lucy settled in the town of West Point and had 12 children together. Silas became a successful businessman. He and Lucy also helped found Mount Hermon Baptist Church in West Point on land they had purchased.
Silas was able to secure a pension later in life that listed him as an "Indegent Servant" of the Confederacy, not a soldier. Silas Chandler passed away in September of 1919 at 82 years old.
In 1994 the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed a metal cross on Silas Chandler's tomb. The cross was eventually removed following protests from Silas' descendants.
Silas Chandler's story continues to be distorted to support Lost Cause ideology today. Neo-Confederates perpetuate the myth of the Black Confederate soldier to minimize the role slavery played in causing the Civil War.
For more on the myth of Black Confederate soldiers and the Lost Cause check out @KevinLevin's book, "Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War's Most Persistent Myth."
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#OTD in 1868, approx. 300 (mostly) Black Republicans embarked on a 25 mile march from Albany, Georgia, to the town of Camilla. They were protesting the expulsion of 33 Black state congressmen (known as the Original 33). Armed white Democrats were waiting for them in Camilla.
The white mob was incensed by Georgia's new state constitution that was ratified in April of 1868. The new constitution granted Black men the right to vote and hold political office.
Many of the marchers were armed as well. When they reached Camilla the local sheriff, Mumford S. Poore, ordered them to put down their guns or face the wrath of the white mob. The marchers refused to back down and continued to the courthouse lawn to hold a political rally.
#OTD in 1861, Hawaiian King Kamehameha IV declared neutrality after the outbreak of the Civil War. Allying with the United States would have provoked Confederate raids while recognizing the Confederacy would have seriously damaged international relations with the U.S.
King Kamehameha IV died on November 30, 1863, and was succeeded by Kamehameha V Lot Kapuāiwa. He wanted to keep favorable trade deals with the United States and worked diplomatically with the Lincoln administration to negotiate a new treaty of neutrality.
The Hawaiian public skewed toward the United States. Hawaii already abolished slavery in the Constitution of 1852. Many Hawaiian-born Americans (most of whom were the sons of American missionaries) supported the United States over the Confederacy.
Allan Pinkerton was born #OTD in 1819 in Glasgow, Scotland. He headed the Union Intelligence Service during the Civil War and helped lay the foundation for the U.S. Secret Service, FBI, and CIA. He also founded the famed Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which still exists.
Pinkerton emigrated to United States 1842 and founded a cooperage in Dundee, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. He became an abolitionist and operated a safe house for fugitive enslaved people on the Underground Railroad.
Pinkerton was appointed as the first Chicago police detective in 1849 after uncovering a counterfeit scheme. He founded what would become the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in 1850. The Pinkerton Agency specialized in investigating train robberies.
#OTD in 1862 a #UnitedStates#soldier named John P. Jones wrote his wife while he was deployed in Medon, #Tennessee. Jone's identity has yet to be verified, but he possibly served in the 45th #Illinois. Jones' letter reveals his changing attitudes towards #slavery.
"I am getting to be more and more of an abolitionist. I believe that this accursed institution must go down," he wrote. Jones also realized that he was fighting to destroy slavery. He continued, "We can never have a permanent peace as long..."
"...as this curse stains our otherwise fair insignia. The ruler of nations can never prosper these United States until it blots slavery from existence. He can no longer wink at such atrocities. This must be the grand the final issue."
#OTD in 1863 Andrew Johnson freed the enslaved people at his home in Greenville, Tennessee. Johnson was the state's Military Governor at the time. All enslaved people were emancipated in Tennessee on October 24, 1864. A 🧵 about Jonson's complicated legacy regarding slavery.
Johnson was born into a poor family in Raleigh, North Carolina and grew up resenting the enslaving elite. His resentment did not keep him from enslaving others as an adult when he gained the financial ability to do so. In fact, Johnson very much supported slavery.
According to @flingsarahe, Johnson enslaved at least 5 individuals according to the 1860 slave schedule. Evidence suggests that Johnson was the father of two enslaved people named Liz and Florence. Their mother, Dolly, was listed as "black" while her children were "mulatto."
Edmond Pettus was born #OTD in 1821 in Limestone County, Alabama. He served as an officer in the Confederate Army and as a US senator after the War. He was also active in the Ku Klux Klan, serving as its Grand Dragon in Alabama. He is the namesake of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Born into an enslaving family, Pettus built a successful law career before enlisting in the Confederate Army when war broke out. While most of his home region of northern Alabama did not support secession, Pettus did. He was a pro-slavery ideologue steered by white supremacy.
During the War he rose to the rank of Brig. General and was captured as a POW three times. He was pardoned by Andrew Johnson on October 30, 1865. Pettus returned to Selma after the War and resumed his law practice.