A.A.C.W.E.R.T
The African Americans in the Civil War Era Round Table
A 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization
The African Americans in the Civil War Era Round Table
A 501(c)3 registered non-profit organization
Bill Gwaltney introduces the AACWERT
Our Presentation. March 19th, 7:15 EDT
Steward T. Henderson
Battlefield Guide for Battlefield Tours of Virginia give a talk on
The Importance of Fredericksburg During the Civil War: The Self-Emancipation of Over 10,000 African Americans in 1862
During the Civil War Fredericksburg, Virginia was the bloodiest landscape in the United States and the site of the largest self -emancipation of enslaved people. Both the United States President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate States President Jefferson Davis visited the city in 1862. Four of the 10 bloodiest battles of the war, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House were fought here between 1862 and 1864 – creating over 100,000 casualties! The first directed combat of the United States Colored Troops against the Army of Northern Virginia was fought here during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Many of the men in the 4th Division of the IX Corps were men who were among those who self-emancipated the area in 1862!
Time: Mar 19, 2026 07:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Steward T. Henderson is a Battlefield Guide for Battlefield Tours of Virginia. The Co-Founder, Historian, and Past President of the 23rd Regiment United States Colored Troops. A Director of the African Americans in the Civil War Era Round Table and member of Company B, 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He is an alumni author of the Emerging Civil War. I am a seasonal park ranger and former volunteer for the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park for the past 21 years. Steward retired from SunTrust Bank (now Truist Bank) as Area Manager and Senior Vice President Retail in the Greater Washington Region in 2005, after a 35-year career in banking. Mr. Henderson attended Howard University, the Institute of Financial Education, the American Institute of Banking, and the Consumer Bankers Association Graduate School of Retail Bank Management (now Executive Banking School).
His memberships include American Battlefield Trust, Central Virginia Battlefield Trust, African American Civil War Museum, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Freedom Foundation, Battle of New Market Heights Memorial and Education Association, Inland Empire Civil War Round Table, Rappahannock Valley Civil War Round Table, and Spotsylvania County NAACP.
Currier & Ives The Battle of Fredericksburg shows the Union troops charging the heights of Fredericksburg
National Park Service - Fording the Rappahannock shows the enslaved crossing the Rappahannock during the first occupation of Fredericksburg
A Tribute to Glory
The USCT reenactors who were cast as members of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment gather on Zoom to recall their experiences filming the epic movie Glory.
If you missed the Tribute to Glory program on February 26th, you can view it by clicking on the two links below
Our Presentation. January 22nd – Michael Schaffner - Camp Casey: United States Colored Troops, Recruitment and Training
Click the box below to view the recorded program.
Michael Schaffner
The AACWERT is a part of the Civil War Round Table (CWRT) community. These round tables have existed for decades and have traditionally brought like minded individuals who have an interest in America's Civil War together for monthly or quarterly meetings at brick and mortar locations in cities across the nation. Experts in academia, in a multitude of focus areas, in a variety of subjects, within the time period of struggle, have presented lectures to these C WRT members.
This CWRT is unique in that the focus is placed on the African American experience during the time period (1850-1877) all presentations are provided through a web-based communications platform enabling global participation.
African Americans in the Civil War era
100% Virtual Presentations (accessible worldwide)
As a Civil War Round Table dedicated to the subject of the African American experience this forum provides a platform for often untold stories. We purposefully conscious of the roles that racism, enslavement, discrimination and racial violence played in the era. Often overlooked are the powerful uplifting stories too; those of hope, bravery, family, and community. War, emancipation, famine, and pandemics had an effect on the African American community far more powerful than any other ethnic group. The role of African Americans in the military is also one of heroism, hope, struggle for equality, acceptance, and discrimination. These stories and more that are the focus of this CWRT.
We are dedicated to documented history, rather than inventive theories and wishful thinking.
The presentations provided by this Civil War Round Table are based on first-rate research; are well-organized, and are professionally presented. Our African Americans in the Civil War Era Round Table, Inc. is a place for accomplished researchers and historians to share what they have learned, through primary and secondary sources, with interested parties from around the nation and around the world.
What else does the AACWERT provide?
Our AACWERT provides more than just Zoom presentations. We plan to add to this central hub links to high quality USCT and African Americans in the Civil War information and agencies such as those from libraries, National Archives, US Library of Congress, US Army Center for Military History, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Genealogy, etc.