Reconstruction Period Research Forum
1865: Sherman, Stanton and the 20 ministers
The Georgia Historical Society recently placed a marker to commemorate General Sherman's and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton's meeting with twenty black leaders on January 12, 1865, in Savannah, Georgia.
Here is the web address to a video clip about the new marker:
Curiously, the video is careful to call these men "leaders" and, while pointing out that "one of the leaders . . . was a minister," -- ignores the fact that 15 of the 20 men were ordained ministers, licensed preachers, or local preachers, and the other five were lay leaders in local churches. Not sure why the clip downplays the church connections, especially given the importance of church to nineteenth century Black life and leadership.
Anyway, the full transcript of the 1865 interview is available at the address below, beginning with very brief biographical sketches of each of the 20 leaders: