Liberty Billings
Liberty Billings (1823 - 1877)[1] was an officer in the Union Army, a Unitarian minister, and a state senator. An African-American, he served as a Union Army officer during the American Civil War.[1] He was a Radical Republican during the Reconstruction Era and served as a state senator in Florida. He was involved in the constitutional convention that developed the 1868 Florida Constitution.[2] Billings has been honored posthumously as a Great Floridian.[3] He was the second in command of the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment.[1]
Billings was born in Saco, Maine in 1823.[4]
He was deemed ineligible to participate in the constitutional convention and was voted out along with others accused of being residents of other states.[5]
The Billings House in Fernandina Beach, Florida is part of the Fernandina Beach Historic District.[citation needed] His Great Floridian plaque is at his family home at 222 North 5th Street in Fernandina Beach.
References
- ^ a b c Kevin M. McCarthy (2007). African American Sites in Florida. Pineapple Press Inc. p. 186. ISBN 978-1-56164-385-1.
- ^ "Liberty Billings, Florida's forgotten radical Republican | fau.digital.flvc.org". fau.digital.flvc.org.
- ^ "Liberty Billings- Great Floridians 2000 - Blue Plaques on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com.
- ^ "Who was Liberty Billings?". fernandinaobserver.com.
- ^ Society, Florida Historical (January 10, 1972). "Florida Historical Quarterly" – via Google Books.
- 1823 births
- 1877 deaths
- 19th-century Unitarians
- American Unitarians
- People of Florida in the American Civil War
- People of Maine in the American Civil War
- African Americans in the American Civil War
- Union Army colonels
- Radical Republicans
- Members of the Florida House of Representatives
- People from Saco, Maine
- African-American Christian clergy
- African-American state legislators in Florida