Emilie Davis’s Civil War Debuts at HSP

On Thursday evening, as part of the Juneteenth celebrations taking place throughout the city, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania celebrated the release of the much-anticipated Emilie Davis’s Civil War. The book is the product of the Memorable Days Project, completed by Villanova’s own Dr. Judy Giesberg and several of her students – Ruby Johnson, Rebecca Capobianco, Theresa Altieri, Tom Foley, and Jessica Maiberger.

The Memorable Days Team: (from left-right) Tom Foley, Rebecca Capobianco, Dr. Judy Giesberg, Theresa Altieri, Jessica Maiberger, and Ruby Johnson.

The event began with a discussion about the project and what scholars can learn from the diaries. The Memorable Days team took turns reading from the diaries on some of the key themes: emancipation, work, play, worry, and love. Dr. Giesberg then spoke on the importance of the project. As a young woman who worked, studied, and participated in many institutions in Civil War era Philadelphia, Emilie Davis provides a unique perspective on how an African American woman experienced the Civil War. From her concerns about her father being in the path of the Army of Northern Virginia as they moved through Pennsylvania to seemingly trivial things such as the weather or going out for ice cream, Davis’s words reveal important insight into the African American community in Philadelphia during the Civil War.

The team then spoke on the challenges of working on the diaries. Once they overcame the difficulties of transcribing Davis’s handwriting, which was small, abbreviated, and often in now-faded pencil, they had to figure out what she was actually talking about. Names, places, institutions, and events needed to be researched, often going off of merely names or references. While some of the names mentioned remain a mystery, their research unearthed a web of political, religious, and social institutions, as well as a vivid cast of characters that brought life to the African American community of Philadelphia.

After the discussion, the Historical Society held a reception and displayed related documents from their collection. In the addition to the diaries (small, pocket-sized books with even smaller handwriting), the staff exhibited documents from Camp William Penn, the Institute for Colored Youth, and various other documents commemorating emancipation and the fight for equal rights in Philadelphia.

The final product, Emilie Davis's Civil War (Penn State University Press)

The event was well-attended by interested members of the community, who asked a variety of questions, bought copies of the book, and sought to learn more at the exhibits. The contents of Emilie Davis’s diaries have shed new light on the African American community in Civil War Philadelphia and will hopefully spark new questions for historians to pursue. Congratulations to Dr. Giesberg and the Memorable Days team; the event was a just celebration of their hard work and achievements with the Emilie Davis diaries.

Check out the book at Penn State University Press.