►
Description
Paula Tarnapol Whitacre's "A Civil Life in an Uncivil Time: Julia Wilbur's Struggle for Purpose" tells the story of abolitionist Julia Wilbur and her time in Civil War-era Alexandria VA helping escaped slaves and hospitalized Union soldiers. Recorded at the Arlington Central Library.
A
Hey
you
guys,
thank
you
so
much
for
coming
out
tonight
tonight
we're
gonna,
listen
to
Paula
taarna
Paul
Whittaker
discuss
her
new
book,
a
civil
life
in
an
uncivil
time.
Paula
is
a
professional
writer
and
editor
for
organizations,
including
the
National
Institutes
of
Health
and
the
National
Academy
of
Sciences
she's,
a
graduate
of
Johns
Hopkins
University
she's,
a
former
foreign
service
officer
and
a
staff
writer
for
The
Washington
Post.
Please
join
with
me
in
welcoming
Paula
to
Arlington
Public
Library.
B
Thank
you
very
much.
People
hear
me:
okay,
okay,
good,
so
I'm
crossing
over
from
Alexandria
to
Arlington
tonight,
but
as
I'm
sure,
most
of
you
know
back
in
the
time
of
Julia
Wilbur.
This
was
Alexandria
County
and
when
I
looked
at
some
of
the
voting
data
from
1860
the
Lincoln's
election.
Thanks
to
this
County
Alexandria
Alexander
City
had
three
votes
for
Lincoln,
but
thanks
to
then
Alexandria
County.
He
got
five
times
as
many.
He
got
16
votes
so
kind
of
bolstered
the
post
of
the
total.
B
Needless
to
say,
he
lost
quite
a
bit
in
Virginia,
but
I'm
going
to
switch
now
to
the
sort
of
main
topic
of
what
we
are.
What
we're
here
for
tonight,
which
is
the
story
of
Julia
Wilber,
who
was
a
woman
who
came
from
Rochester,
New
York
and
spent
the
civil
war
here
in
Alexandria
and
had
some
sort
of
extraordinary
experiences
along
the
way.
I
first
got
involved
with
her
through
Alexandria
archaeology,
which
is
kind
of
the
local
history
program
in
city
of
Alexandria.
I
had
been
doing
some
research
on
Union
hospitals.
B
There
were
32
hospitals,
we've
been
sort
of
the
city
limits
at
the
time
and
as
I
was
doing,
research
I
came
across
some
of
the
comments
that
she
had
made
as
she
visited
some
of
the
patients
in
the
hospitals.
So
one
thing
led
to
another,
and
I
offered
to
you
know:
do
a
look
to
the
diaries
at
the
time
they
were
only
on
microfilm
at
in
Alexandria
library
and
then
I
started.
Looking
about
you
know
kind
of
well.
B
Who
was
she
kind
of
reading
the
Diaries
before
the
Civil
War,
then
I
started
reading
after
the
Civil
War
and
one
thing
sort
of
led
to
another
and
about
five
years
later,
or
maybe
six
or
seven
with
this
book,
which
came
out
in
September,
so
I'm
going
to
tell
you
two
stories.
One
is
the
story
of
Julia
and
her
experiences,
and
the
second
is
a
little
bit
more
about
the
Diaries,
and
you
know
how
I
ended
up
doing
the
research
on
her
life.
B
This
photograph
is
taken
when
she
was
about
45
years
old
in
Rochester
was
taken
in
1860,
shows
a
kind
of
uncharacteristically
sort
of
repose
repose
full
state
state.
She
wasn't
normally
this
sort
of
tranquil
looking
she
was
born
in
1815.
She
died
in
1895
and
so
she
kind
of
spanned
the
nineteenth
century.
She
moved
here
in
October
of
1862
and
ended
up
staying
in
Alexandria
in
Washington
for
the
rest
of
her
life
as
I'll
go
into,
but
she
started
in
upstate
New
York.
She
was
born
here,
Poughkeepsie,
it
was
a
Quaker
family.
B
There
were
ten
children,
she
was
the
third
oldest
seven
girls
and
three
boys
and
she's
describes
the
sort
of
very
idyllic
early
childhood
of
you
know,
living
among
family
among
extended
family,
but
then
things
start
taking
a
turn
for
the
sadder
I
guess.
The
first
thing
that
happened
when
she
was
about
14
years
old
is
her.
Father
had
an
eye
affliction
which
we
would
now
I
mean
I
had
an
ophthalmologist
cousin
who
helped
me
sort
of
know
retrospectively
diagnosed
that
it
was
probably
trachoma,
which
is
something
that
is
curable
now,
but
wasn't
back
then.
B
So
he
basically
became
blind.
I
mean
he
could
sort
of
see
shapes,
but
he
couldn't
read
and
he
felt
he
could
no
longer
stay
in
business
in
the
Poughkeepsie
area
and
move
the
family
to
rush
New
York,
which
is
about
15
miles
south
of
Rochester.
He
had
a
brother
who
was
farming
and
he
bought
the
farm
nearby.
So
the
map
shows
from
the
1850s.
B
B
Now
the
next
thing
that
happens,
that
kind
of
really
changes
her
life
course
and
when
her
youngest
sister
was
born
in
the
mid
1830s.
At
this
point,
Julia
would
have
been
19
years
old.
Her
mother
died
about
six
weeks
later,
so
it
really
fell
on
Julia.
At
this
point,
her
two
older
sisters
had
married
and
moved
on
to
their
own
families.
She
was
the
oldest
child
in
the
family
or
you
know
oldest
sibling,
and
her
father,
of
course
was
having
eye
issues.
B
So
she
really
kind
of
fell
on
her
to
help
take
care
of
the
household
which
she
did
through
her
20s,
and
it
doesn't
really
write
that
much
about
it.
Only
in
retrospect
she
did
had
not
begun
her
Diaries
at
this
point,
but
in
1844
she
ends
up
taking
a
new
direction
and
she
moves
to
Rochester
to
become
a
teacher.
Rochester
at
the
time
was
really
booming
place.
You
know,
thanks
to
the
Erie
Canal
I,
really
kind
of
connected
the
town
to
you
know
to
the
East
Coast.
There
was
lots
of
trade.
B
B
And
kind
of
where
she
is
at
this
point
life
on
her
30th
birthday
on
August
18th
1845,
for
about
a
year
teaching
Julia
felt
herself
moving
into
a
new
phase
of
life
or,
as
she
said,
a
peculiar
period.
In
my
pilgrimage,
she
saw
youth
passing
her
by,
as
was
most
likely,
marriage
and
motherhood,
while
her
family
still
made
demands
on
her
time
and
attention.
She
admitted
her
good
fortune,
especially
when
the
typical
woman
lived
in
a
household
circumscribed
sphere.
B
For
the
time
you
know,
people
moved
around
a
lot
back
in
those
days.
An
edition
stick
in
addition
to
staying
with
her
brother,
a
cousin
in
Rochester
and
a
sister
in
Somerset.
She
rented
rooms
at
eight
meals
for
people
beyond
her
circle.
The
city
offered
opportunities
to
learn
about
and
get
involved
in,
the
social
movements
of
the
day,
temperance,
abolition
and
women's
rights,
as
well
as
more
spiritual
pursuits
that
ranged
from
Protestant
revivalism
to
communication
with
the
other
world.
The
most
famous
supporters
of
these
clauses
made
Rochester
a
regular
stop
on
their
circuits.
B
Rochester
also
attracted
frederick
douglass
susan
b,
anthony
and
many
other
kind
of
well-known
reformers
of
the
day,
and
julia
really
was
able
to
kind
of
take
advantage
and
learn
from
and
interact
with.
All
of
these
people,
she
became
involved
in
a
group
called
the
Rochester.
Ladies
anti-slavery
society,
which
was
formed
in
the
early
1850s
that
was
sort
of
a
small
group
of
mostly
middle-class
white
women,
and
yet
they
really
had
an
influence.
Far
beyond
their
numbers.
B
They
were
able
to
raise
money
quite
a
bit
of
money
back
it
for
back
in
those
days,
fifteen
hundred
dollars
at
a
time
a
thousand
dollars
at
a
time
through
festivals
and
other
fundraising
efforts,
and
they
used
the
money
to
support
Frederick
Douglass's
newspaper.
They
would
make
individual
payments
to
people
escaping
slavery.
Again,
Rochester
was
one
of
the
last
stops
on
the
Underground
Railroad
before
people
could
go
over
to
Canada.
B
There
was
some
turmoil
within
the
abolition
movement
in
Rochester,
as
there
was
across
the
north
differences
about
what's
the
best
tactics,
what's
the
best
strategy
to
try
to
eliminate
slavery,
while
meanwhile
across
the
country,
obviously,
there's
even
larger
turmoil
about
slavery,
and
it
was
really
quite
ensconced.
During
this
time,
I
mean
little.
Did
they
know
that
within
ten
years
the
world
would
really
be
sort
of
changing
or
the
country
really
be
changing?
B
B
In
1858,
her
one
of
her
sister
Sarah
died
while
giving
birth,
leaving
the
infant
and
a
two
year
old
name
to
freedom,
Julia
immediately
left
Rochester,
oh
quit,
her
teaching
job
went
back
to
the
farm
and
it
was
sort
of
decided
among
the
family
that
she
would
become
a
principal
caretaker
and
this
she
just
embraced
this.
This
really
became
you
know
the
daughter,
the
child
she
never
had.
It
never
would
have,
and
she
got
very,
very
interested
Freda,
unfortunately,
I
mean,
as
we
would
see
it
today.
B
Of
course,
this
was
what
would
happen,
but
fitas
father,
whose
name
was
revile
Oh
of
all
things,
but
revile
owed
had
first
agreed
to
this
arrangement
about
a
year
later,
he
remarried
and
he
decided
that
no,
he
really
wanted
to
reclaim
his
daughter,
which
you
know
we
can
understand.
But
Julia
was
just
totally
bereft
about
this.
That
you
know,
freed
was
being
torn
from
her
and
I
mean
there's
just
he's
just
the
most
plaintive
sad
and
trees
in
her
diary,
and
she
really
kind
of
you
know
just
falls
into
a
total
funk.
B
I
mean
she
does
not
go
back
to
teaching
her
family
life
her
another
brother
moves
in.
They
don't
get
along
her
father
remarries.
She
doesn't
get
along
with
a
stepmother
I
mean
it's
very
sad
times,
and
she
even
says
that
there's
disunion
at
home
and
she-
how
could
she
be
worried
about
disunion
in
the
country
when
there's
so
much
disunion
in
her
in
her
own
household?
B
But
there
was,
of
course
disunion
in
the
country
and
the
civil
war
broke
out
in
1861
when
Virginia
seceded
in
May
of
1861.
The
Union
Army
immediately
came
over
the
river
to
occupy
Alexandria
I
mean
it's
just
too
close
to
Washington
to
do
otherwise.
So
one
of
the
sort
of
galvanizing
incidents
for
both
sides
happened
on
King
Street.
If
people
are
not
aware
that
the
what
we
call
the
Marshall
House
Hotel,
this
was
where
the
I
think
it's
called
Hotel.
Monaco
now
on
King
Street
is
now
located.
B
So
when
the
army
came
in
a
fellow
named
Elmer,
Ellsworth
kind
of
veered
off
from
the
rest
of
his
army
and
rest
of
the
rest
of
his
regiment
and
went
to
the
hotel-
and
you
know-
cut
the
flag
and
James
Jackson,
the
hotel
keeper
came
out
of
his
room
and
killed
Ellsworth
and
me,
while
one
of
Ellsworth's
men
killed
Jackson.
So
suddenly,
both
North
and
South
kind
of
have
their
first
martyrs
to
the
cause.
B
When
you
look
at
some
of
the
church
records
of
like
northern
churches,
I
found
one
in
Lancaster
Pennsylvania,
there
was
something
like
eight
babies
were
named
either
Elmer
Ellis
brother
aim.
You
know
totally
a
cause
of
the
day.
As
you
could
see,
it
was
front
page
of
the
Harper's
Weekly
back
in
Rochester
Julia
writes
in
her
diary.
Colonel
Ellsworth
killed
in
Alexandria
I
mean
no
other
context
is
needed.
That's
how
much
like
everyone
sort
of
do.
What
what
was
going
on
and
because
of
incidents
like
this,
a
brother-in-law
was
an.
A
B
In
this
tea
and
a
regiment
in
Michigan,
she
starts
to
kind
of
read
the
world
around
her
in
summer
of
1862
she
traveled
to
to
Michigan
to
visit
family.
She
had
two
sisters
and
a
brother
living
there
at
the
time
and
while
she's
there,
she
gets
a
letter
from
her
old
comrades
at
the
Rochester.
Ladies
anti-slavery
society.
They
decided
with
these
funds
that
they
had
collected
over
time
that
they
wanted
to
send
a
they
weren't,
even
sure
exactly
who
they
wanted
to
send
someone
among
their
of
among
their
ranks
to
help
somehow
people
escaping
slavery.
B
When
things
could
be
as
a
teacher
or
relief
worker
I
mean
no
one
quite
knew.
What
was
what
what
you
know
what
this
person
would
do,
but
they
asked
her
if
she
would
go
on
their
behalf
and
she
agreed
she
seized
it.
So,
between
end
of
August
1862
to
October,
she
kind
of
packs
her
bags,
her
father
is
sort
of
you
know.
What
are
you
doing?
B
This
is
not
a
good
idea,
but
she
sort
of
stands
up
to
him
and
decides
to
go,
and
she
goes
from
this
very
safe
confine
of
this
farm
where
she
had
been,
for
you
know
more
than
a
year
really
not
doing
much
of
anything
to
like
a
whole
new
world.
She
takes
a
train
to
Washington.
She
originally
thinks
that
Washington
is
where
she's
going
to
stay.
She
comes
with
some
letters
of
introduction
to
a
group
called
the
National
Freedmen's
relief
Association
and
they
all
say
to
her.
Oh
no.
B
No,
you
really
need
to
go
to
Alexandria,
like
things
are
just
a
lot
worse
over
there.
We
really
need
you
over
there,
so
she
kind
of
gamely
says
like
okay
and
kind
of
again
sort
of
it's
coming
with
these.
You
know
good
intentions,
but
really
rather
divorced
from
what
the
real
world
is
like
down
here,
and
this
is
what
the
real
role
was
like
down
here
so
again,
I'm
going
to
just
read
briefly
when
she
first
comes
to
Alexandria
for
the
first
time.
B
They
could
look
behind
them
to
see
the
capital,
its
dome
under
construction,
the
partially
completed
stump
of
the
Washington
Monument
obelisk
and
the
Navy
Yard
ahead
on
the
Virginia
side.
Forts
and
encampments
dotted
the
denuded
hills
alongside
them.
That
halves
at
night
have
sat
businessmen
trying
to
win
the
army
stream
of
contracts
for
everything
from
drum
sticks
to
cannonballs,
family
members
tending
to
loved
ones
and
alexandria's.
B
Ever
increasing
number
of
hospital
beds,
women
smuggling
alcohol
under
their
skirts
into
officially
dry
Alexandria
and
others
headed
across
the
river
for
Affairs
nefarious
and
not
things
were
not
always
tranquil
on
the
boats
on
which
they
had
each
paid
25
cents
to
ride.
Wilburn
Shannon
did
not
know
or
did
not
speak
of
the
James
Guy.
The
steamboat
had
exploded
just
a
few
days
earlier.
B
Killing
a
crew
member,
the
boat
landed
near
tons
of
supplies,
waiting
for
unloading
and
a
movement
to
and
from
the
camps
as
Alexandra
had
become
one
of
the
union's
main
logistic
centers
waterfront
warehouses
that
had
one
ship,
tobacco
and
wheat
out
of
Virginia
now
received
and
dispersed
fuel
fodder
and
much
more
miniature
mounds
of
hay
and
pyramids
of
oak
bags.
High
up
in
the
air
meet
the
gang
meet
the
gaze
as
one
approaches
a
city
from
the
river
observed
a
reporter
from
Philadelphia
in
early
1863.
B
B
It
had
no
furniture
bedding
or
anything
else
at
all
to
provide
comfort
next
door
to
the
Academy
in
a
once.
Stately
brick
house,
labeled,
a
hospital
for
contrabands,
but
without
a
medical
person
in
sight,
too
sick
and
dying,
lay
on
the
floor
and
contrabands
by
the
way
was
the
name
given
to
the
people
who
were
escaping
slavery,
known
as
quote
unquote:
contraband
of
war.
B
These
were
African
Americans,
who
were
leaving
and
going
into
Union
occupied
territory
in
one
corner,
a
mother
said
holding
her
dead
child
wrapped
in
a
piece
of
ticking
another
dead
child
lay
in
the
adjoining
room,
two
dead
children
soon
to
be
buried
and
Penny
Hill.
The
popper
cemetery,
no
ceremony,
no
gravestone
no
names
to
commemorate
them.
In
theory,
Julia
knew
she
had
come
to
help
in
such
situations.
If
not
to
prevent
death,
then
at
least
to
comfort
those
left
behind.
B
Eventually
she
could
do
so
for
now
she
could
just
stare
so
that
was
kind
of
what
was
really
gonna
come.
You
know
confront
her
when
she
got
here
and
not
sort
of
these
ill-formed
ideas
of
some
of
doing
good
and
helping
when
she
was
back
in
Rochester
about
7,000
people
entered
Alexandria.
You
know
there's
no
way
to
get
a
fixed
count,
but
that's
sort
of
the
estimate.
Most
of
them
came
in
total
poverty
and
ill
health,
but
she
soon
turns
to
real.
B
She
soon
begins
to
distinguish
not
just
sort
of
a
kind
of
a
mass
of
victims,
but
people
with
very
individual
stories
and
with
a
lot
of
determination-
and
you
know
she
hears
about
people
who
just
fled
and
second,
it
took
nothing
with
them
because
they
realized
the
opportunity.
Was
there
she's
later
defined
her
role,
as
quote
a
missionary
at
large,
a
woman
of
all
work,
and
by
that
she
meant
she
was
not
a
nurse.
She
was
not
a
teacher.
B
So
here
are
people
coming
into
the
city,
but
also,
as
you
see
almost
immediately
working,
the
many
men
were,
you
were
used
to.
You
know,
build
stockades
work
on
the
railroad.
This
picture
was
taken,
I'm,
probably
a
grande
Duke
and
Alfred
Street,
which
was
we're
kind
of
deal
it.
The
kind
of
main
center
of
the
railroad
was
I,
find
it
sort
of
interesting
that
in
the
meantime,
many
of
the
powers-that-be
were
complaining
that
you
know
blacks
all
they
want.
B
As
a
handout-
and
here
the
blacks
are
doing
all
the
work
and
these
white
men
have,
on
top
hats,
are
just
sort
of
watching
the
operation
and
that's
the
kind
of
thing
that
she
had
to
come
across.
There
was
official
official
demo,
the
Union
Army
was
officially
responsible
for
Friedman's
Affairs
and
they
came
under
the
provost
marshal.
This
is
the
Provost
Marshal's
Office
that
was
on
King
Street
kind
of
nightmare,
King
and
Pitt
Street.
Today
it's
been
torn
down.
B
They
were
at
best
indifferent
at
worst
prejudice
to
what
was
going
on
for
freedom
in
I
mean
in
their
defense.
They
were
also
responsible
for
maintaining
order
for
the
supplies
that
we
saw
for
the
wounded
people
were
coming
going,
I
mean
there
was
a
lot
going
on,
but
if
there
was
a
list
of
kind
of
their
10
priorities,
I
would
say
the
femen
would
have
to
be
number
11.
The
Alexandria
was
governed
by
a
man
named
John
Slough.
He
was
a
military
governor,
very
kind
of
mercurial
I'm
in
charge
kind
of
guy.
B
The
Provost
marshals
were
the
people
who
would
be
responsible
for
order,
and
those
were
the
folks
that
she
had
to
sort
of
go
to.
You
know
make
requests
to
complain
to
advocate
to
do
whatever
she
could
do
so.
I
could
sort
of
picture
her
having
to
walk
up
this
gauntlet
of
guys
into
the
provost
marshal's
office.
She
also
had
to
deal
with
a
civilian
who
became
kind
of
the
bane
of
her
existence.
In
fact,
they
were
very
busy
kind
of
under
each
other.
He
was
called
a
superintendent
of
contrabands.
B
He
had
come
about
a
month
or
so
before
Julia
did
his
name
was
Albert
gladwyn
and
what
she
saw
was
that
he
was
very
intent
on
trying
to
charge
people
money
when
they
were
supposed
to
be
getting
free.
You
know
housing,
finding
ways
to
kind
of
bully
people,
while
he's
kind
of
cow
howling
to
the
people
in
power,
but
she
does
gain
an
ally
in
all
of
this
and
that
was
Harriet
Jacobs.
Some
of
you
might
already
be
familiar
with
her.
She
had
herself
escaped
slavery
from
North
Carolina
in
the
1840s.
B
The
most
kind
of
a
remarkable
part
of
her
escape
was
she
actually
remained
in
her
town,
hidden
in
an
attic
that
her
family
members
had
built
for
her
for
almost
seven
years
until
finally,
a
ship
captain,
you
know
for
a
price,
could
could
sort
of
spirit
her
out
Eden
Tanner's
right
on
the
coast
right
on
the
North
Carolina
coast.
So
when
she
gets
up
north,
she
actually
comes
to
Rochester.
She
and
Julia
meet
briefly
in
the
late
1840s
little,
knowing
that
their
paths
would
cross
again,
because
Harriet's
brother
was
kind
of
do.
B
You
know,
came
to
Rochester
kind
of
drawn
into
Frederick
Douglass's
orbit,
and
they
you
know
they
had
some
interaction.
How
are
you
herself
lived
in
Rochester
for
about
a
year?
In
the
meantime,
she
wrote
a
narrative
of
her
experience.
It
was
called
incidents
of
the
life
of
a
slave
girl
and
was
published
in
1861
is
something
that
you
could
see
on.
You
know
it's
been
sensory
published
many
times.
You
could
see
it
online.
The
library
has
it
I'm
sure
that
that
the
more
page
has
it
as
well.
B
So
when
Harriet
came
in
the
early
18
in
early
1863
at
first,
the
two
women
are
kind
of
at
least
Julia's
a
little
tentative
about
what's
gonna
happen,
I
mean
she
was
sort
of
just
getting
established.
She
had
been
here
about
three
months.
She
was
just
trying
to
sort
of
find
her
way,
and
here
comes
somebody
else
and
she's
kind
of
comes
from
this
other.
You
know
New
York
friends,
which
is
a
much
more
powerful
institution.
B
They
were
both
soliciting
clothing
from
up
north
Julia
was
kind
of
giving
the
clothing
away.
Harriet
came
with
instructions
to
try
to
sell
the
clothing,
and
so
there's
a
little
bit
like
anything.
Even
today
when
two
people
are
kind
of
thrown
in
together
we're
kind
of
trying
to
figure
out
kind
of
how
we
fit
in
with
each
other,
but
eventually
they
do
become
allies
and
lifelong
friends.
They
push
for
better
housing
for
the
freedmen.
They
push
for
better
healthcare,
they're,
constantly
trying
to
sort
of
figure
out
how
they're
going
to
get
around
glad.
B
When
you
know
Albert
gladwyn,
they
are
pushing
for
dignity
and
rights
for
people
and
also
for
schools.
This
picture
was
sort
of
a
fulfillment
of
a
life
of
a
dream
of
Harriet's,
which
was
to
establish
a
school
run
by
African
Americans
Alexandria
for
children
for
African,
American
children
and
not
charge
a
fee,
and
she
was
successful
in
early
1864.
This
photograph
is
I,
think
sort
of
amazing
it
was
taken.
You
know
to
get
support
up
north
to
get
donations
and
it
has
a
little
X
under
the
X
I
sort
of
blew
that
up.
B
It
has
Harriet
Jacobs
ex-slave.
Now
there
are
really
no
portraits
of
Harriet
Jacobs
during
this
time.
If
you
kind
of
google
Harriet
Jacobs
you'll
see
lots
of
images
of
her
as
a
much
older
woman,
you
know
kind
of
very
docile
they
sitting
on
a
you
know
on
a
chair
with
her
hands
on
her
lap,
but
this
was
Harriet
really
in
her
prime.
B
You
know
really
kind
of
in
in
the
midst
of
things
really
kind
of
you
know
being
an
active
person,
and
they
also
did
a
lot
of
their
work
on
the
corner
of
Washington
and
Wolf
streets.
This
building
still
stands,
it's
a
antique
store
and
a
pet
shop.
Now
I
have
to
be
I,
think
321,
323,
South
Washington
Street,
but
this
kind
of
became
the
base
of
their
operations.
B
They
were
able
to
get
some
rooms
of
what
they
called
the
south
side,
which
is
kind
of
over
this
far
side
over
here
they
set
up
a
clothing
room
and
kind
of
the
main
the
main
floor.
They
lived
at
various
time
to
some
of
the
different
rooms
up
on
the
upper
floors
and
I
have
had
the
opportunity
to
go
in
there
and
you
really
feel
like
people
are
kind
of
around
you,
there's
kind
of
these
long,
Darrell
halls
and
kind
of
rooms
on
either
side.
So
it's
pretty
neat.
B
This
photograph
was
researched
by
two
historians
in
Alexandria,
Amy,
Burch
and
Tim
de
neige,
and
they
have
placed
it
at
a
very
specific
time
which
was
April
14
1865.
Now
by
then,
you
know,
we've
gone
through
the
ups
and
downs
of
the
war
deaths
wounded.
You
know
that
whole
thing,
and
now
victory
is
here.
B
B
You
know
people
who
need
it,
but
people
are
getting
tired
of
all
of
this.
You
know,
there's
a
criticism
that
you
know:
they're,
not
slaves,
anymore,
I
mean
what
more
do
they
want.
You
know
it's
kind
of
a
debate
that
reverberates
to
the
current
day
and
the
writing
is
on
the
wall.
The
Rochester
ladies
anti-slavery
society
ceases
operation.
They've
run
out
of
money.
B
The
Freedmen's
Bureau
soon
loses
its
funds
as
well
and
Julie,
realizes
that
if
she
wants
to
stay
in
Washington
and
buy
time
she
realizes
she
does
want
to
stay
in
Washington
that
really
she
has
a
more
independent
life
here.
She
has
to
find
another
job.
So
at
this
point,
she's
about
50
years
old,
she's,
a
woman-
and
she
is
not
really
it's
not
easy
to
find
any
a
job
for
anybody
in
post-war
Washington,
certainly
not
an
older
woman,
but
she
does
persevere
and
she
found
a
job
as
a
clerk
at
the
Patent
Office.
B
B
In
January,
1867
months
before
Congress
legislated
black
men's
voting
rights
in
the
south
and
two
years
before
it
passed
the
Fifteenth
Amendment
granting
universal
black
male
suffrage.
Congress
passed
a
law
that
allowed
black
men
to
vote
in
local
elections
in
Washington
on
June
3rd
1867,
Julia
wrote
long
before
seven
o'clock,
thousands
of
Negroes
were
at
the
polls
ready
for
the
work.
Every
colored
man
that
deposited
a
vote
looked
several
inches
taller
as
he
walked
away
despite
her
happiness
and
witnessing
the
scene.
She
also
noted
to
feeling
a
little
I
presume.
B
No
compulsion
of
nature
would
have
occurred.
Had
white
women
and
black
women
increase
that
line
of
voters
such
a
little
biting
tongue
as
well.
Sometimes
when
Joseph
Chris,
when
Josephine
Griffing
Julia's
colleague
at
the
Freedmen's
Bureau
urged
women
in
Washington
to
register
to
vote
for
the
next
round
of
municipal
elections
in
1869
Julia
willingly
volunteered.
She
recruited
several
friends,
including
Louisa
Butler
and
Eliza
Anderson,
two
of
the
black
women,
with
whom
she
often
visited
and
Sarah
Evans
white
teacher.
She
had
first
met
in
Alexandria.
B
They
gathered
after
dinner
on
April
22nd,
along
with
two
men
to
develop
a
plan.
Seven
women
signed
a
letter
that
read
in
part.
We
know
that
it
was
unusual
for
those
of
our
sexes
to
make
such
a
request.
We
do
so
because
we
believe
ourselves
entitled
to
the
franchise
Julia
Louisa
and
another
woman
presented
a
letter
to
the
election
judges
gathered
that
evening
at
a
firehouse
in
the
city's
first
Ward,
the
National
Republican
reported
the
communication,
which
was
laid
before
the
board
on
Thursday
by
mrs.
B
Julia,
Wilbur
and
other
females
asked
if
they
might
be
registered
was
considered
and
the
board
decided.
This
request
could
not
be
ceded
to
the
New
York
Herald
with
his
large
circulation
anti-gay
latarian
views.
They
were
very,
very
anti
Lincoln
at
the
time
during
the
war,
rather
fixed
on
the
interracial
nature
of
the
attempt
in
titling
its
article
women's
suffrage,
in
the
district
sable
sisters
demanding
the
elective
franchise.
The
judges
received
them
politely,
but
without
much
reaction
and
the
group
left
rather
an
anti-climax,
but
the
women
had
publicly
stated
their
case.
B
They
had
joined
the
decades-long
struggle
for
women
to
obtain
the
right
to
vote,
so
the
country
is
heading
toward
the
20th
century.
Various
suffrage
efforts
are
going
on
and
Julia
really
is
kind
of
along
for
the
ride.
She
died
in
Washington
in
1895
and
again
was
working
until
just
a
couple
months
before
her
death,
so
I'm
gonna
just
switch
gears.
B
Just
talk
briefly
about
the
Diaries
themselves,
as
I
mentioned,
I
started
working
on
them
and
the
on
microfilm
at
the
Alexandria
library-
and
you
know
when
you
work
on
microfilm,
you
really
have
no
idea
kind
of
what
you're
dealing
with
there's
like
these
huge.
You
know
this
huge
screen,
like
filled
with
handwriting,
so
I
knew
that
the
originals
were
at
Haverford
College
throughout
Haverford,
because
a
great-great
nephew
of
hers
named
Douglas
tear
was
a
longtime
professor.
There
and
died
recently
come
into
his
possession
and
he
realized
that
they
really
had
value
beyond
beyond
the
family.
B
He
donated
them
in
like
the
1980s.
So
when
I
got
there,
I
mean
the
first
thing
was
Mike.
It's
like
these
diaries
are
a
lot
littler
than
I
expected.
You
know
it
kind
of
be
able
to
just
touch
them,
and
it
was
just,
as
very
kind
of
you
know,
very
neat
experience,
but
I
also
discovered
that
there
was,
like
a
whole
other
set
of
a
diary
that
she
had
kept,
and
these
were
sort
of
packets
of
paper
that
she
had
put
together.
B
You
know
they
were,
she
would
self
date
them
and
there
might
be
like
a
paragraph
one
day
and
two
pages
the
next
day
and
just
kind
of
as
she
felt
the
need
they
go
from
1844
to
1873
when
they
pretty
abruptly
stopped,
but
I
so
I
think
that
probably
others
were
unfortunately
lost
along
the
way
I
mean
I
realized
that
this
was
like
a
gem.
You
know
that
we
really
I
didn't
discover
them.
I
mean
people
knew
about
them,
but
because
they
weren't
microfilm,
then
they
weren't
scan.
You
know,
there's
really.
B
The
only
way
to
use
them
was
to
actually
be
on
site
at
Haverford,
so
I
realized
I
could
not
do
this
myself
through
Friends
of
Alexandria
archaeology,
which
is
kind
of
nonprofit
group,
that's
connected
with
Alexandria
archaeology.
We
split
the
cost,
with
Haverford
to
scan
just
pages.
Upon
pages,
upon
pages
of
the
diary
and
I
put
out
a
call
and
I
got
about
25
volunteers
who
would
each
take
at
least
75
pages?
Most
of
them
took
many
more
to
transcribe,
and
then
we
no
cross
to
proofread.
B
So
really
within
a
year
we
were
able
to
transcribe
about
1400
pages
of
this
diary
and
they're
now
online
and
searchable
for
scholars
to
use.
We
did
from
about
1860
to
1866,
as
I
was
working
on
this
project
at
first
with
the
diary,
transcriptions
I
would
sort
of
think
like
well.
Giulio
Bober,
be
thinking
about
the
fact
that,
like
here,
I
am
at
the
Arlington
library
telling
about
her
and
I
think
I
mean
she
was
very
aware
that
she
was
creating
something
for
posterity.
B
You
know
she
often
talks
about
kind
of
going
back
and
sort
of
working
on
some
of
the
diary.
She
leaves
out.
Unfortunately,
some
of
the
personal
details,
like
you
know
we
would
love
to
know.
For
example,
I
know,
I
am
I,
am
98%,
sure
I
can't
say
100%
sure
that
one
of
her
sisters
was
divorced.
She
refers
obliquely
to
sort
of
you
know
marital
issues,
but
this
is
never
mentioned
in
the
Diaries,
because
she
was
sort
of
a
woman
of
her
timing
that
in
that
way,
I
also
think
about.
B
You
know
when
I
came
up
with
the
title
of
this
book.
It
was
a
civil
life
in
an
uncivil
time,
and
that
was
back
in
2015
and
little
did
I
expect.
What
would
it
be
like
in
2017
when
the
book
came
out
and
I
sort
of
think
about
what
Julie
would
be
doing
now
and
I
feel
like
she,
as
she
did
back
then,
would
be
finding
the
ways
that
she
could
make
a
difference.
B
You
know
trying
to
lead
a
civil
life
trying
to
find
the
ways
that
she
could
you
know
do
improve
things
for
other
people
in
the
midst
of
what
was
sometimes
not
very
uncivil
and
I
considered.
That
kind
of
my
challenge
now
and
I
guess
I
sort
of
challenge.
All
of
us
to
do
really
take
that
to
heart,
I
mean
I,
think
her
message.
The
dates
today.
B
B
I'm,
just
gonna
leave
you
with
a
couple
photos
from
Arlington
or
shall
I
say
Alexandria
County,
because
we're
all
in
this
together.
Julia
was
in
both
of
these
places,
frequently
and
writes
about
both
Arlington
House
and
got
me
across
the
aqueduct
bridge,
which
is
what
this
this
photo
is
of.
So
that
with
that
I'd
be
happy
to
take
questions
and-
and
thank
you
very
much
for
coming.
A
C
Okay
Paula.
Thank
you
in
her
Diaries
near
the
end
of
her
time
in
Washington
in
1868,
Clara
Barton,
who
was
getting
rather
ill
and
I
noticed.
You
do
have
a
few
references
to
her.
She
had.
She
says
she
has
a
plan
to
help.
She
went
over
to
Alexandria,
or
here
there
and
the
former
and
slave.
They
need
things
and
she
has
a
plan
and
she
has
an
idea.
But
then
she
never
says
anything
else
about.
She
was
ill
and
she
wound
up
eventually
going
to
Europe
half
year
later,
but
she
mentions
this.
C
B
Not
in
1868
I
mean
they
did
have
contact
over
the
years,
but
not
really
in
relation
as
far
as
I
know
in
relation
to
doing
anything
in
Alexandria
at
one
point,
Clara
Barton,
who
at
that
point
who
went
who
later
on
you
know
ahead
of
home
in
dansville,
New
York,
you
know,
helps
you
know
she
kind
of
intercedes
on
Julia's
behalf
to
do
some
other
were
things
but
they
don't.
You
know
they
don't
really
have
this
plan
to
do
anything
in
Alexandria
and.
C
Forget
all
this
I
think
he
was
a
nephew
of
Samuel
Joseph
Mae,
who
was
an
early
abolitionist
and
he
had
contacts
with
Quakers
I,
often
go
and
speak.
He
was
an
early
adherent
to
anti-slavery
and
did
you
see,
did
you
come
across
any
references
to
Samuel
Joseph
me
who
was
a
Unitarian
minister,
actually
was
Louisa
May
Alcott's
uncle
right.
B
E
B
Mean
that's
the
kind
of
most
amazing
thing
is
that
they're
not
they're,
said
of
doing
this
as
freelancers.
They
were
without
that
they
were
not
within
the
structure
and
and
so
they
really
were
figuring
it
out
as
they
went.
One
of
the
things
I
find
amazing,
too,
is
that
earlier
on,
Julia
had
tried.
She
had
sort
of
sent
out
a
few
letters.
B
I
mean
nothing
really
ever
came
a
bit
to
some
of
the
more
established
relief
efforts
to
go
to
Port
Royal,
for
example,
South
Carolina,
and
if
she
had,
she
really
would
have
fit
within
a
structure
that
was
kind
of
defined.
By
going
to
Alexandria,
she
really
was
figuring
it
out
on
the
fly
on
her
own
and
there's
many
accounts
of
either
her
alone
or
the
two
of
them
sort
of
you
know
conferring
you
know
what
should
we
do
about
this?
B
B
B
They
visited
it
a
lot
because
this
was
basically
sons,
South
Washington
Street,
there's
a
Freedmen's
and
contraband
Memorial
Cemetery,
which
I
truly
encourage
everyone
to
go
to
see
if
they
haven't
already.
This
was
used
on
confiscated
land
was
land
confiscated
from
actually
an
attorney.
Robert
e
lee's
was
used
for
this
overflow
of,
for
you
know,
just
for
cemetery,
I
mean
they
were
using
this
proper
cemetery.
They
were
just
kind
of
people
were
just
dying
in
such
great
numbers,
so
it
was,
it
was
created
in
1864
they
visit
and
they
talk
about
it
on
many
occasions.
B
One
of
the
sort
of
ironies
of
it
is
that
Reverend
gladwyn,
who
was
such
a
sort
of
you,
know
bad
guy.
In
all
other
respects,
he
was
paid
to
you
know
to
inter
people,
and
he
kept
a
very
careful
record
of
who
was
interred
their
name
age
and
cause
of
death.
Now
this
was
discovered,
I
think
about
maybe
in
the
mid
90s.
This
record
at
the
time
was
kind
of
French.
So
this
is
like
amazing
to
have
a
record
of
peoples.
B
You
know
african-american
Freeman's
names
I
mean
that
they
died
anonymously
in
just
every
other
circumstance.
So,
meanwhile,
the
cemetery
lay
forgotten
a
gas
station
was
built
over
it,
an
office
building
and
in
some
of
the
excavations
for
the
Woodrow
Wilson
Bridge.
They
started
coming
across
evidence
that
there's
had
been
a
cemetery.
It's
was
rededicated
in
2014,
I,
think
and
we're
all
the
nay
all
the
names
but
I
would
record
are
now
on
this
beautiful
sort
of
you
know
bronze
plaque
and
where
human
remains
were
found.
B
E
F
E
B
I
mean
I
do
feel
that
she
was.
She
spent
her
life,
trying
to
figure
out
what
was
its
larger
meaning,
and
you
know
even
earlier
on
realized
that
she
had
a
responsibility
and
not
quite
sure
what
to
do
so.
I
I
guess,
first
of
all,
I
guess
I
sort
of
needed.
A
subtitle
I
had
her
name,
but,
more
importantly,
I
mean
as
she.
It
was
a
personal
struggle
and
it
was
a
political
struggle
and
I
feel
that
she
was
kind
of
aware
of
both
of
these
things
going
on.
D
One
of
the
things
I
thought
was
so
amazing
in
the
book
is:
is
you're
talking
about
Frederick,
Douglass's
daughter
and
how
Julia
tried
to
get
her
into
a
school
and
how
of
a
white
parents,
took
their
children
out
and
ended
up
his
arranging
for
tutoring
for
his
children.
Just
the
struggles
that
went
on
even
though
they
were
great
friends
and-
and
he
was
very
famous
and
so
forth.
It
right.
B
D
Was
really
an
interesting
part
of
the
book?
Can
you
explain
because
you
know
there's
some
wonderful,
Friedman's
and
contrivance
Cemetery
that
you
were
talking
about
and
Julia
worked
for
the
Freedmen's
Bureau?
Can
you
just
kind
of
explain
what
was
the
difference
between
the
term
contraband
and
the
term
freedmen
sure.
B
So
in
a
way
I
mean
it
was
an
avenue
for
not
returning
to
slavery.
The
word
really
caught
on
to
the
point
where
and
one
favorite
Douglass
actually
makes
a
public
statement
that
really
contraband
is
a
better
term
for
like
bullets,
not
people,
I
mean
these
are
real
people
and
so
Friedman
became
you
know,
maybe
not
the
most
ideal
term,
but
that
became
sort
of
the
preferred
term.
You
know
both
were
used.
F
Does
your
book
address
in
in
detail
the
political
life
under
reconstruction,
both
in
Alexandria
City
and
in
the
hinterland
here
in
Arlington
I'm
of
the
impression
that
haven't
since,
since
the
arlington
portion
had
a
rather
large
fraction
of
african-americans
in
its
population
and
I
believe
some
African
Americans
held
local
office?
Is
this
something
that
you
address
in
your
book
and
if
not,
how
are
you
aware
of
scholarly
studies
that
to
discuss
this
I.
B
Don't
that
much
be
partly
because
she
was
living
in
Washington
at
a
time
and
I
talked
a
little
bit
more
about
Washington
during
Reconstruction.
I
am
thinking
that
there's
a
woman,
Kate
Messer
who's
written
a
lot
about
reconstruction,
our
area
I'm,
not
sure
if
she
did
Northern
Virginia
as
much
as
I
know,
she's
done
a
lot
with
Washington,
but
it
would
certainly
be
a
very
ripe
area.
B
If
not
you
know
one
point
the
and
I
think
was
1860s:
either
age,
65
or
1866,
the
blacks
in
Alexandra
City
actually
say:
don't
keep
federal
control,
I
mean
we
don't
want
local
control
because
they
know
what's
going
to
happen.
If
local
control
comes.
You
know
she
lived
at
one
point
with
a
man
named
George
Seaton,
who
was
a
free
black.
In
other
words,
he
had
not
been
enslaved
and
was
living
in
Alexandria
in
and
he
was
he'll
prosperous
for
the
time
George
Seaton
managed
to.
B
He
thought
he
was
actually
on
the
jury.
One
of
the
juries
for
I'm
not
I'm,
not
quite-
and
you
know
detail
about
this,
but
one
of
the
juries
that
was
involved
with
Jefferson
Davis.
He
was
elected
to
a
state
House
of
Delegates,
so
for
a
while
there
was
this
political
power,
as
I
could
see
it
with
George
Seaton
when
he
died.
He
did
not
have
this
power
anymore.
E
So
I've
done
some
reading
about
the
Civil
War,
and
one
of
the
the
thoughts
that
occurs
to
me
is
that
very
few
people
have
any
sort
of
vision
about
how
the
races
are.
Gonna
live
together
right,
except
for
my
impression,
is
a
handful
of
radical,
abolitionists
and
and
African
Americans
themselves.
They,
they
can
see
yeah
if
you
would
just
treat
us
like
everybody
else,
we'll
be
able
to
live
together
and
I'm
curious
as
to
how,
because
even
Lincoln
in
the
beginning
is
going
is
entertaining
this
idea
of
the
colonization
society.
You
know
like.
D
C
E
B
B
B
So
I
do
have
you
know
things
on
my
blog
I'm,
always
trying
to
like
write
different
things
and
doing
other
events
and
I
just
welcome
you
to
kind
of
follow
the
journey
of
Julia
Wilbur.
There's
actually
gonna
be
an
article
in
The,
Washington
Post
tomorrow
about
that
has
the
photograph
of
the
Washington
wolf
building.
So
you
have
a
little
preview.
Look
in
your
post
tomorrow
morning.