Melissa Daggett
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781496810083
- eISBN:
- 9781496810120
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496810083.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
The advent of Modern American Spiritualism took place in the 1850s and continued as a viable faith into the 1870s. Because of its diversity and openness to new cultures and religions, New Orleans ...
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The advent of Modern American Spiritualism took place in the 1850s and continued as a viable faith into the 1870s. Because of its diversity and openness to new cultures and religions, New Orleans provided fertile ground to nurture Spiritualism, and many séance circles flourished in the Faubourgs Tremé and Marigny as well as the American sector of the city. This book focuses on Le Cercle Harmonique, the francophone séance circle of Henry Louis Rey, a Creole of color who was a key civil rights activist, author, and Civil War and Reconstruction leader. His life has remained largely in the shadows of New Orleans historiography owning, in part, to a language barrier. The book weaves an intriguing historical tale of the supernatural, chaotic postbellum politics, and the personal triumphs and tragedies of Henry Louis Rey. Besides Rey’s séance circle, there is also a discussion about the Anglo-American séance circles in New Orleans. The book places these séance circles within the context of the national scene, and the genesis of nineteenth-century Spiritualism is examined with a special emphasis placed on events in New York and Boston. The lifetime of Henry Rey and that of his father, Barthélemy Rey, spanned the nineteenth century, and mirror the social and political dilemmas of the black Creoles. The book concludes with a comparison of Spiritualism with the Spiritualist and Spiritual churches, as well as voodoo. The book’s narrative is accompanied by wonderful illustrations, reproductions of the original spiritual communications, and photographs.Less
The advent of Modern American Spiritualism took place in the 1850s and continued as a viable faith into the 1870s. Because of its diversity and openness to new cultures and religions, New Orleans provided fertile ground to nurture Spiritualism, and many séance circles flourished in the Faubourgs Tremé and Marigny as well as the American sector of the city. This book focuses on Le Cercle Harmonique, the francophone séance circle of Henry Louis Rey, a Creole of color who was a key civil rights activist, author, and Civil War and Reconstruction leader. His life has remained largely in the shadows of New Orleans historiography owning, in part, to a language barrier. The book weaves an intriguing historical tale of the supernatural, chaotic postbellum politics, and the personal triumphs and tragedies of Henry Louis Rey. Besides Rey’s séance circle, there is also a discussion about the Anglo-American séance circles in New Orleans. The book places these séance circles within the context of the national scene, and the genesis of nineteenth-century Spiritualism is examined with a special emphasis placed on events in New York and Boston. The lifetime of Henry Rey and that of his father, Barthélemy Rey, spanned the nineteenth century, and mirror the social and political dilemmas of the black Creoles. The book concludes with a comparison of Spiritualism with the Spiritualist and Spiritual churches, as well as voodoo. The book’s narrative is accompanied by wonderful illustrations, reproductions of the original spiritual communications, and photographs.
Jason Berry
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781469647142
- eISBN:
- 9781469647166
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469647142.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
In the early 19th century, New Orleans included a thriving artisan class of colored Creoles. One such artisan was Pierre Casanave, a black furniture-maker-turned-undertaker who operated a thriving ...
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In the early 19th century, New Orleans included a thriving artisan class of colored Creoles. One such artisan was Pierre Casanave, a black furniture-maker-turned-undertaker who operated a thriving business that served whites and blacks alike. Benevolent societies of various ethnic groups guaranteed members a dignified funeral. Yellow fever broke out in the city in 1853. The embalming of corpses became popular, and funeral rites became elaborate and ceremonial, often featuring music.
Louisiana seceded from the Union in 1861 as the Civil War began. Free blacks, such as Andre Cailloux and Henry Louis Rey, formed militias to participate in the war. After the Union took control of New Orleans, the black militia joined the Union war effort. Cailloux died fighting for the Union and was memorialized as a hero. After being honourably discharged for medical reasons, Rey joined a group of black spiritualists who held séances to communicate with the dead.
The real war in New Orleans began after the Civil War ended. The conquered city became a free zone for former slaves, but the transition to a peacetime economy ran head-long into the identity crusade of the defeated South, providing the foundation for white supremacy and the “lost cause” mythology.Less
In the early 19th century, New Orleans included a thriving artisan class of colored Creoles. One such artisan was Pierre Casanave, a black furniture-maker-turned-undertaker who operated a thriving business that served whites and blacks alike. Benevolent societies of various ethnic groups guaranteed members a dignified funeral. Yellow fever broke out in the city in 1853. The embalming of corpses became popular, and funeral rites became elaborate and ceremonial, often featuring music.
Louisiana seceded from the Union in 1861 as the Civil War began. Free blacks, such as Andre Cailloux and Henry Louis Rey, formed militias to participate in the war. After the Union took control of New Orleans, the black militia joined the Union war effort. Cailloux died fighting for the Union and was memorialized as a hero. After being honourably discharged for medical reasons, Rey joined a group of black spiritualists who held séances to communicate with the dead.
The real war in New Orleans began after the Civil War ended. The conquered city became a free zone for former slaves, but the transition to a peacetime economy ran head-long into the identity crusade of the defeated South, providing the foundation for white supremacy and the “lost cause” mythology.
