Wednesday, May 12, 2021
The Ridley/Fox Shooting and Its Aftermath: An American Tragedy
Camp William Penn, the first and largest training camp for Black soldiers in the Civil War, was an important factor in the emerging quest for racial equality. The Camp was generally a peaceful and successful experiment. The fatal shooting of white local gardener William Fox at Camp William Penn by Black soldier Private Charles Ridley on August 7, 1863, has been well documented. Politically, it played into the hands of those who argued to keep arms out of the hands of Blacks as well as keep them out of service in the Army.
Join us as Society Vice-president Dr. Thomas Wieckowski reviews his current research on the circumstances of the shooting and the devastating impact on Ridley and the Fox family of La Mott.
7:30PM, A brief Society business meeting will occur prior to the start of the lecture.
A link will be sent out to those on our emailing list, as well as posted here and on our Facebook page a day prior to the presentation.
If you are not on our email reminder list and would like to be, please send your email address to OldYorkRoadHistory@gmail.com.
Lectures will be held live and will NOT be recorded for later playback due to copyright restrictions on the images used in the presentations.
The lecture series is sponsored by a grant from the Jenkintown Lyceum and all programs are offered on Zoom free of charge. For more information please call the Old York Road Historical Society at 215–886–8590.
