In 1862, Abraham Lincoln went to visit Camp Barker, a contraband camp just south of U Street NW where freed and escaped slaves found sanctuary.
Nearly 150 years later, a photograph of camp residents ? the slaves themselves were considered contraband of war ? hangs in a museum in that same neighborhood. It shows the campers lined up, holding their hymnals and waiting for the president on a summer day.
The African American Civil War Museum is back in the business of telling the stories of slaves? and freed blacks? participation in that conflict. The museum, which first opened in 1999 with about 700 square feet, has moved across Vermont Avenue to 5,000 square feet in a former school building. The $5 million move and renovation, funded by the city, will be celebrated with three days of activities, ending with a ribbon-cutting July 18.
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Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=23bc2695bf1dc5a3afeff088f4ccbbcc
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