About

At the end of the Civil War, the Federal army held a Grand Review of its troops in Washington DC to celebrate the nation’s hard fought triumph over the Confederacy. However, the U.S. War Department did not invite black regiments or soldiers to participate, a painful insult to the nearly 200,000 African American patriots whose contributions during the final two years of the conflict had been vital to the Union’s ultimate victory. Instead, it was left to a dedicated group of civilians, mostly women, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to organize an alternative Grand Review for the nation’s black troops. This Pennsylvania Grand Review took place on the streets of the Pennsylvania state capital on Tuesday, November 14, 1865. Today, a broad coalition of state agencies and non-profit organizations have decided to commemorate that powerful story with a series of activities culminating in November 2010. This website supports those efforts and hopes to supplement their outreach by offering descendants and other willing students of history a dynamic forum for sharing their stories and finding out more about the bravery and sacrifice of a generation of African Americans who were sometimes ignored or slighted by the government they helped save.

Producer

House Divided Project at Dickinson College

Matthew Pinsker, Co-Director

PO Box 1773

Carlisle, PA 17013

717-245-1521

hdivided@dickinson.edu or http://housedivided.dickinson.edu

With special thanks to Ryan Burke, Morgan Mintz, Shane Harding, John Osborne and Don Sailer

Sponsor

Pennsylvania Tourism Office

PA Department of Community and Economic Development (PA-DCED)

Lenwood Sloan, Director Cultural and Heritage Tourism

For more information:

visitPA.com or call (800) VISIT PA

facebook.com/visitPA // twitter.com/visitPA // flickr.com/visitPA // youtube.com/visitPA

Special Credits

Prof. Michael Barton and his students at Penn State Harrisburg

Library of Congress (photos)

National Archives (photos)

Grand Review 2010 Partners

Appalachian Regional Commission

PA Dutch Country Roads

Senator John Heinz History Center

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Concerned Black Men of PA

Partnership for Sacred Spaces

Institute for Cultural Partnerships

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Pennsylvania Civil War 150 Consortium

Historical Society of Dauphin County

Dauphin County Parks and Recreation

Jump Street Inc.

Harrisburg 150

Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Northern Appalachian Studies