Building a Future
RippaVilla Plantation, Spring Hill, TN. Maury County Archives.
The Civil War brought uncertainty as social boundaries shifted. Some slaves were forced to accompany Confederate masters to the battle front, while others escaped to Federal lines. The rupture of war also opened new access to the outside world. For many slaves and freedmen, the war and its aftermath ultimately provided the opportunity to parlay skills in building, blacksmithing, spinning, weaving and sewing, boot and saddle-making, carpentry, and other needed industries into professional lives. Many Union soldiers who liked what they had seen in Tennessee returned permanently, seizing upon business opportunities glimpsed during the war.
Stories
Because Tennessee cities such as Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga were quickly occupied, some Union officers met sweethearts and married into southern society.
As American blacks made the transition from slavery to freedom, many used the trades they practiced while involuntarily shackled to construct a new life for themselves and their families.
