Boston Civil War Tours

 

Tour Highlights

Faneuil Hall

Pro and anti-abolitionist forces battle for the use of Fanuiel Hall.  Among the speakers are Frederick Douglas, William Lloyd Garrison and Jefferson Davis.

The Old State House

Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison seeks safety in the Mayor’s office while an enraged mob of Boston merchants, heavily invested in cotton,  demands his lynching.

Court Square

When fugitive slaves are held in the Court House here, riots erupt with crowds demanding they be set free.  Bostonians are outraged that the “Cradle of Liberty” is allowing slaves to be returned to the south.

The Irish Famine Memorial

Irish immigrants volunteer to fight for the Union.  Their manpower on the battlefield and in the factories is crucial to the Northern Victory.

The Old Corner Bookstore and Newspaper Row

The publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin creates national sympathy for the plight of slaves and the goal of abolition.  Boston’s Julia Ward Howe’s Battle Hymn of the Republic is published by the Atlantic.

The Parker House Hotel

John Brown meets with one of the Boston funders of his raid on Harper’s Ferry.   John Wilkes Booth stays here for two nights a week before his assassination of President Lincoln. He uses the shooting range two blocks away for practice.

Tremont Temple Baptist Church

The first integrated church in American has the first reading of The Emancipation Proclamation in Boston.  Riots with anti-abolitionist forces break out when Tremont Temple commemorates John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry.

Park Street Church

William Lloyd Garrison gives his first public speech on abolition on July 4th, 1829.  The crowd is shocked by his criticism of those who joyfully celebrate freedom in a country which allows slavery.

The Robert Gould Shaw Memorial

Colonel Robert Gould Shaw leads the first black regiment from the North into battle.   The stories of the bravery of Shaw’s men will play an essential role in the enlistment of 180,000 black soldiers.