Kernstown and Winchester Pictures

These are photos from Saturday's tour, "Uncertain Freedom: The African Americans' Civil War in the Lower Shenandoah Valley." I took the first two pictures at the Pritchard Farmhouse on Kernstown Battlefield. The Pritchard family had a few slaves until 1859; after which they rented slaves when labor was needed until the Civil War.

Prof. Noyalas is chief historian for the battlefield park and gave us a tour of the house. Research indicates that the household's slaves originally lived in a cabin and may have later lived in the lower level of the house.



What's a historical tour without a visit to a cemetery? We went to two of them Saturday. Above is the Orrick Cemetery, where Rev. Orrick was buried. Among others buried here is Heyward Shepherd, first casualty of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. Unfortunately, the marker to Shepherd's grave disappeared years ago. However, he is commemorated on historical markers at Harper's Ferry. (Click here for the story about the controversy surrounding a monument to Mr. Shepherd, a free Black railroad worker.)

We also visited the National Cemetery in Winchester, where are buried three members of the U.S. Colored Troops who were among 200,000 Black men who served in the Civil War.

Below: Students at Winchester National Cemetery

Our last stop was downtown Winchester, where we saw several locations where historic buildings once stood plus a few that are still there: Rev. Orrick's townhome and the Logan House, which served as Union headquarters.

Below: The Logan House in Winchester