Great Day! Emancipation and Mr. Lincoln



Posted: Friday, July 18, 2008

by
Charleston Perlo

Great Day/ the Day of Jubilee

St. Helena's Island has two major America firsts: the island was the site of the first freedom or jubilee schools, organized by two women from a Quaker mission in Philadelphia. The Penn Normal School's 1862 legacy lives in the Penn Center, a multi-program conference and early childhood education site.

St. Helena's also held the nation's first emancipation proclamation celebration. At mid-night January 1, 1863, troops and residents celebrated freedom with oratory, spirituals, (they captured and released the celebration's deepest emotions), and an all-night oxen roast. Many new freedmen enlisted in the United States Colored Troops. On February 21, 1865, the South Carolina Volunteer 33 rd Regiment, USCT, marched down Charleston's Meeting Street, in view of auction sites where many of their members had once been sold, to free the the city's enslaved!

After the 1861 war, outside of Charleston, a huge story persisted: that Abraham Lincoln rambled around the countryside. According to oral sources, escorts of cavalry or infantry troops led Abraham Lincoln on horseback or by carriage up the oak alls and stopped in the yards to greetings of mighty applause by the faithful. Smiling, he asked after families, inquired about food supplies, shook hands and accepted well wishes and prayers. Then standing in his buggy or sitting straight on his horse, he spoke briefly to the crowds about the jubilee and the days ahead before he moved on. This widespread myth, the single most repeated legend after the jubilee, makes concrete by its open regard the communities' dream of freedom and by its repeated external sign, the inner fulfillment and expression of a common hope.

Walter Rhett Walter Rhett attended Ohio State and writes from Charleston, SC. He writes about national and global affairs with an eye on Southern history and culture and enjoys listening to his readers.

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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Walter Rhett
 3 years 188 days ago.
40 fans.
I did not know about the Lincoln myth! Thanks for posting!
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