Funeral for Former Slave Takes Center Stage at Appomattox

A Civil War cannonball that ripped through Hannah Reynolds' master's cabin made her a footnote of misfortune, the lone civilian death at the Battle of Appomattox Court House. She died a slave at 60, hours before the war to end slavery unofficially came to a close. A century and a half later, Reynolds' story is being rewritten: Newly discovered records show that she lingered for several days long enough to have died a free woman.   This new historical narrative has made...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - mercredi 8 avril 2015