The site we were the most eager to see during our recent trip to New York was the Harriet Tubman Home, just a couple miles from the Seward House Museum. Fun fact: Harriet purchased the land around 1859 from Frances Seward, who was then the wife of a U.S. Senator from New York, William Seward. Frances had inherited the land & home the Seward family lived in from her father, Judge Elijah Miller, as her husband William helped pass a New York law in 1848 that allowed women to inherit property under certain conditions. While Frances would have given Harriet the land free of charge as they had both worked closely together as part of the Underground Railroad,, Harriet insisted on paying $1200 for a 7-acre parcel that included a small wooden farmhouse. Frances was actually breaking the law: The transfer of a land to a self-emancipated woman was illegal under the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act. Frances didn't care & took the risk anyway. She figured that due to her husband's status as a Senator, that no one would dare take action. And no one did.

For over 100 years, the AME Zion Church has been the guardian of this important historical site, and the work they've done & continue to do is incredibly impressive. There is a lot of confusion regarding their status with the National Parks Service (NPS); while they have a partnership of sorts, the AME Zion Church is the one doing all of the heavy lifting & they are the ones putting the time & money into the repair, upkeep, and most importantly, the almost daily tours they provide. While their partnership with the NPS is somewhat "frozen" while the new administration figures out funding, I can't state enough how much this site needs support from anyone willing & able to give it.

As a humble wedding videographer I certainly have no secret fortune to leave them, but all of us can help by signing up for one of their tours, which they perform twice daily, Tuesday through Saturday, at 10am and 2pm, for a very reasonable fee (under $20 per person). These tours are almost two hours long, but the time flies by and you'll be sad it's over so quickly. I guarantee you will learn things you never knew, and you'll be captivated by the storytelling. The first hour focuses on Harriet's story, and you do get to sit during this time. The house you're able to tour is the one Harriet's parents & siblings lived in, and eventually it became a home for the aged. Also on the property is the home Harriet lived in near the end of her life with her second husband, Nelson Davis, though it is currently in the middle of a long restoration. Not far from these two homes is the AME Zion Church, but because of the NPS issue, the church is unfortunately not open for tours at this time (May 2025). Harriet Tubman Davis is buried nearby at Fort Hill Cemetery.

Though the home you're able to tour does not have much that belonged to the family, the in-depth stories you will learn more than make up for the lack of family relics. It truly is a master class on Harriet & her life, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Stay tuned, for I'll be doing an in-depth video on Harriet, her life, and this site in the near future. If you don't want to miss it, please subscribe to my YouTube Channel (thecivilwarproject_tcwp) & hit the bell for notifications.

Though it's most notable resident was President Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State William Seward, the entire Seward family left their mark on history, so it's fitting that the historical site I recently visited is called the Seward House Museum.

While William was off working in Albany as Governor, or in Washington D.C. as a NY Senator & later as Secretary of State, his wife Frances was using their Auburn home as part of the Underground Railroad. Daughter Fanny is responsible for the most complete diary of a young lady in Washington during the Civil War. Sons Augustus & Frederick were attacked at their father's D.C. home on April 14, 1865 by Lewis Powell, though his sole target was William Seward (Sr), who was given to him by John Wilkes Booth, who shot President Lincoln that same evening while at Ford's Theatre. Son William Jr. had a knack for money & banking, and would inherit the estate after both of his parents had died.

If you are looking to visit a home where more than 95% of the items belonged to the family, this is the house for you! Almost everything is original to the home & family, and with it's connection to the Underground Railroad, it makes it a must-see. This is my second visit, and in both tours (which often last around an hour or even more) I learned a great deal of information & walked away feeling like I knew the family personally. It's one of those historical sites where you learn something new every time.

I love the library, the shelves with Fanny Seward's book collection, the gallery of notables, and the green couch that William Seward passed away on. There are also a few relics from the assassination attempt. I would have loved to have spent some time in the garden, but there was a great deal of work going on so...next time!

The Civil War Project analyzes seven men who served as a politician or military leader during the Civil War & charts their road to the Presidency. Let's see how they measure up this Presidents Day. Also, what President's son was connected to three Presidential assassinations?

This spotlight video shines a light on General & politician John A. Logan & his true story of redemption. Learn about the man who made Memorial Day a national holiday & the whole history behind the day we set aside each year to honor those brave men & women who died serving their country.

The Recap & Deep Dive for Manhunt Episode 5, "A Man of Destiny," Part One is completed. There was so much in this episode that I decided to split it in two. Part One covers Booth & Herold getting to Virginia & the whole background of 40 acres & a mule. Part Two coming soon!

A happy 202nd birthday to the General who helped save the Union, Ulysses S. Grant. To honor President & General Grant's birthday, this video spotlights the places I've visited in an effort to retrace Grant's life. I still have many more to go, but each year I visit a few more. What is your favorite Grant historical site?

Took a break from video-making yesterday, and because of my love for taking random back roads we came across the Simpsonville Massacre memorial site west of Simpsonville, KY. I had known of this event, but random fate finally put me where it occurred. It was great to see new wreaths, flags, a cross, and even a little "I served" veteran rubber duck left at the memorial. These men proudly served their country & deserved so much more.

159 years ago today, an actor named John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln. It was the second attempted assassination on a President (the first was Andrew Jackson), but the first one to unfortunately succeed. This is a short video on the 1860 election, the threats to Lincoln once he won in 1860, the threats he had during his Presidency, his assassination, and his death. This is an extended clip from a future video, an historical spotlight video on the Lincoln Tomb in Springfield, Illinois, coming May 2024.

The Recap & Deep Dive for Manhunt Episode 4, "The Secret Line," is finally completed! This was the most fictitious episode & it quickly noted so many different historical events that it made this video the hardest of all of them to complete. This is not just a recap, but a complete deep dive into the various themes the episode briefly covered: The Manhattan Fire Plot, the Dahlgren Scandal, the Confederate yellow fever plot, the relationships of Edwin Booth/John Wilkes Booth, Mary Lincoln/Robert Lincoln, and more. I'm off to work on episode 5, which should be a lot easier as it largely focuses on the hunt.

This episode took me forever to recap! There are so many little things, and I know it's just getting more confusing by the episode based on some of the feedback I've received. This recap will hopefully help you connect the pieces, but I also have included some information on what really happened when it comes to some of the people & events shown in this episode. I'm still working on Fact vs Fiction videos for Episodes 1 & 2, but because the timeline is so all over the place, from now on I'll be doing recaps & providing facts in the same video. Off to work on Episode 4!