Having grown up a slave, William Harvey Carney (1840–1908) eventually received his freedom before the onset of the Civil War. On Jan. 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was heralded, and young Carney, who had planned a career in the ministry, took an opportunity to join the fight. His love of freedom and the American flag were on display during a bloody battle in Charleston, South Carolina and resulted in his earning the nation’s highest military honor.
Carney was born in the port city of Norfolk, Virginia, where his father and mother, William Carney Sr. and Ann Dean, were slaves promised their freedom when their owners died. When Ann Dean’s owner, Maj. Carney, died, she and the rest of his slaves were freed. About 1857, Carney Sr., however, pursued his freedom via the Underground Railroad. He first arrived in Philadelphia and then New York City, but he didn’t settle down until he felt at home. That home was in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
