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Mary Ann Starkey was a pivotal change agent in New Bern, North Carolina during the Civil War. She was born into slavery, yet by 1863 was in a position to bring together abolitionists and recruiters from the North and refugees and freedom fighters from her community. She was president of the 400-member Colored Women’s Union Relief Association of Newbern, North Carolina which worked to heal, feed and support the first colored regiments in North Carolina in their fight for freedom. This thesis looks closely at the Civil War through the life of this one woman, by examining the archival evidence and the ways in which the narrative of her life has been crafted thus far in an attempt to further the excavation of Starkey’s life and work. It contends that the role of African American women was pivotal to the Union victory, and that Mary Ann and her organization were key to providing the sustenance and intelligence network necessary for a Union victory in New Bern. It also looks at the ways that she used domesticity to establish social standing in the late nineteenth century and the ways that the black community organized politically during this time, as well as the changing nature of marriage for African Americans and how that impacted Mary Ann and her daughter Nancy.

This thesis examines the ways in which definitions and perceptions of refugees in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia evolved over the course of the American Civil War. It investigates perspectives from individuals in both the United States and Confederate States to illustrate how misconceptions about refugees—who they were, what they wanted, and how they could benefit each side—dominated how displaced people were discussed. I argue that despite significant attention to refugees in newspapers, military reports, and among the public, both sides failed to adequately assist refugees who were displaced as a result of the war. Utilizing a broadly chronological approach allows greater insight into how the situation in the Shenandoah Valley escalated over time with the addition of various refugee demographic groups, including white Unionists, Black self-emancipated people, deserters, and pro-Confederate civilians. This thesis discusses how each of these groups challenged Americans' culturally-constructed definition of the word "refugee." It also demonstrates how military commanders made use of refugees as sources of military intelligence who directly influenced the events of several military campaigns. This thesis argues that misconceptions about refugees hindered an effective and meaningful response to the Valley's refugee crisis among government officials, military officers, and the general populaces of the North and the South. / Master of Arts / The devastation wrought by the American Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia sparked a refugee crisis that grew in size over the course of the war. From the earliest days of the conflict in 1861, Americans correctly predicted that the war would displace many people. However, mistaken ideas about who qualified as a refugee and what to do with or for refugees prevented an effective response that could have alleviated the suffering of many of these people. This thesis examines how Americans struggled to understand refugees as matters of gender, race, and loyalty appeared to complicate the subject. It offers insight into not only how Americans perceived refugees, but also explores refugee experiences in order to illuminate voices that were overlooked both in the 1860s and in the decades since the war.

Identifying people in historical photographs is an important task in many fields, including history, journalism, genealogy, and collecting. A wide variety of different methods, such as manual analysis, facial recognition, and crowdsourcing, have been used to identify the unknown photos. However, because of the large numbers of candidates and the poor quality or lack of source evidence, accurate historical person identification still remains challenging. Researchers especially struggle with the ``last mile problem" of historical person identification, where they must make a selection among a small number of highly similar candidates. Collaboration, including both human-AI collaboration and collaboration within human teams, has shown the advantages of improving data accuracy, but there is lack of research about how we can design a collaborative workspace to support the historical person identification. In this work, we present SleuthTalk, a web-based collaboration tool integrated into the public website Civil War Photo Sleuth which addresses the last-mile problem in historical person identification by providing support for shortlisting potential candidates from face recognition results, private collaborative workspaces, and structured feedback interfaces. We evaluated this feature in a mixed-method study involving 6 participants, who spent one week each using SleuthTalk and a comparable social media platform to identify an unknown photo. The results of this study show how our design helps with identifying historical photos in a collaborative way and suggests directions for improvement in future work. / Master of Science / Identifying people in historical photographs is an important task in many fields, including history, journalism, genealogy, and collecting. A wide variety of different methods, such as manual analysis, facial recognition, and crowdsourcing, have been used to identify the unknown photos. However, because of the large numbers of candidates and the poor quality or lack of source evidence, accurate historical person identification still remains challenging. Researchers especially struggle with the ``last mile problem" of historical person identification, where they must make a selection among a small number of highly similar candidates. Collaboration, including both human-AI collaboration and collaboration within human teams, has shown the advantages of improving data accuracy, but there is lack of research about how we can design a collaborative workspace to support the historical person identification. In this work, we present SleuthTalk, a web-based collaboration tool integrated into the public website Civil War Photo Sleuth which addresses the last-mile problem in historical person identification by providing support for shortlisting potential candidates from face recognition results, private collaborative workspaces, and structured feedback interfaces. We evaluated this feature in a mixed-method study involving 6 participants, who spent one week each using SleuthTalk and a comparable social media platform to identify an unknown photo. The results of this study show how our design helps with identifying historical photos in a collaborative way and suggests directions for improvement in future work.

By examining the celebration of the Fourth of July during the Civil War, this thesis will highlight the regional distinctiveness of both sides of the war. This work is divided into two main parts, one focusing on the Fourth of July in the Union, the other on the Fourth of July in the Confederacy. Three separate areas of commemoration are analyzed: in newspaper rhetoric, on the home front, and on the battlefield. Rather than stating that the Confederacy abandoned the holiday entirely, this thesis shows that the North and the South celebrated different aspects of the holiday, which reflected unique interpretations of America. Drawing on newspaper and diary accounts, these interpretations are tracked over the course of the war. The Southern perspective could not outlast the Confederacy, the reestablishment of the Union cemented the Northern view, and with emancipation a new vision of America emerged. / Master of Arts

"A Battle of Wills" examines the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the final year of the American Civil War. By investigating the reactions to events such as battles and political happenings that occurred among the soldiers of the Confederacy's primary army we can see how the end of the Civil War unfolded for these men. The Army of Northern Virginia was the Confederacy's main hope for independence and the vehicle through which its identity flowed. Victory or defeat of that army would dictate the outcome of the Civil War. This thesis argues that by examining the fluctuations in morale, optimism, and hope among these soldiers through their letters and diaries, along with a proper historical context of when they were writing, can provide us a better understanding about the end of the Civil War. The ending was not predetermined or inevitable and this is evidenced in the writings of the soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia during the final year of the war. / Master of Arts / “A Battle of Wills” examines the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the final year of the American Civil War. By investigating the reactions to events such as battles and political happenings that occurred among the soldiers of the Confederacy’s primary army we can see how the end of the Civil War unfolded for these men.

Beverly Holcombe Robertson was a military commander around whose Civil War career controversy always seemed to swirl. Robertson was born June 5, 1827, to Dr. William H. and Martha (Holcombe) Robertson at the family plantation, "The Oaks," in Amelia County, Virginia. With the exception of the fact that he was educated locally, nothing is known of young Robertson's life during the period between his birth and his appointment as a cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Based upon his later performance at lithe Point," it can be assumed that this education was solid. / Master of Arts

The outbreak of civil war convulsed the entire nation. Nowhere were its effects felt stronger than in the border states. The states of Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri found their inhabitants loyalties closely split over the secessionist issue. Under such an explosive situation, men of great courage and foresight were needed to safeguard the liberties of these states and avert the prospect of massive bloodshed. Isaac R. Trimble represented such a man capable of accomplishing such a task. Trimble had long been exposed to rigorous challenges. His loyalty rested with Maryland and its right to decide its own destiny. "Isaac Ridgeway Trimble, The Indefatigable and Courageous," is a story about this man's quest to resist what he considered to be Federal tyranny and regain his state's sovereignty. No matter what the hardship or price, Trimble willingly sacrificed to see his dream materialize. With the Confederacy, Trimble placed his fortune and fought to insure its survival. Even in defeat, Trimble remained convinced of Confederate virtue and Union despotism. Throughout the remainder of his life, Trimble continued to be a diehard warrior espousing the justness of the Confederate cause. / Master of Arts

This dissertation examines American Civil War tourist spaces in order to describe how epideictic rhetoric has distinct spatial functions that affect the identity of tourists. Through an analysis of three Civil War spaces in Virginia--Lexington, Appomattox Court House, and the Museum of the Confederacy--I argue epideictic space is a locus of invention that has the performative power to create community, public memory, and a vision of the future through the movement of bodies in space. Through a consubstantial ethos established between space and audience, epideictic creates kairotic space and time by collapsing past, present, and future in order to create a narrative history with which the community can identify. This study traces rhetoric related to the Confederate flag, slavery, nationalism, and reconciliation through an analysis of the Civil War spaces in which these discourses are embodied. I suggest that creating a productive rhetoric of blame starts through connecting blame, such as remembering slavery, to the materiality of space and through creating narratives of responsibility that connect memory to a vision of the future. / Ph. D.