Spotlight On: Robert Gould Shaw Post 206: African Americans in the Civil War

Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum

Spotlight On: Robert Gould Shaw Post 206: African Americans in the Civil War

February 10, 2022 7PM

Virtual Event – Join us on Facebook or YouTube

Approximately 180,000 African Americans served during the Civil War as a part of the USCT (United States Colored Troops). After the war many of those former soldiers joined a popular national veteran’s organization known as the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Pittsburgh was home to the Colonel Robert Gould Shaw Post, one of 15 “colored” posts in Pennsylvania. Each GAR post kept a book in which individual histories of their members were recorded. The Shaw Post’s book is a part of the collection at Soldiers & Sailors and contains valuable information regarding the service of Pittsburgh’s African Americans. Join Curator Michael Kraus and Educator Tim Neff to learn these stories and more.

Presenter Bios

Michael Kraus

A well-known Civil War historian, Kraus currently works as Curator/Historian for Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum. His accomplishments include several historical consultant credits for major films, writing and narrating the documentary series Civil War Minutes and Civil War Life as well as authoring articles and books regarding the conflict. Michael also is an accomplished sculptor with an impressive resume of historically themed works in bronze.

Tim Neff

Tim Neff began working at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum Trust, Inc. in 2002 as the Director of Education. In 2017, Tim took on the role of Vice President and Director of Museum & Education at Soldiers & Sailors. He is a certified Social Studies teacher and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. During his time at Soldiers & Sailors, Tim has developed a variety of museum programs including: interactive and engaging tours and field trips, a footlocker outreach program, Boy Scout merit badge programs, teacher conferences, summer camps, community history events and much more. Tim is a past recipient of the Pennsylvania Council for the Social Studies “Friend of Social Studies” award and he has presented at a number of history related and educational conferences throughout Western Pennsylvania.