Emancipation reform of 1861 Emancipation reform of 1861 The Emancipation Reform of 1861 in Russia ( - "peasants' reform of 1861") was the first and most important of liberal reforms passed during the reign (1855-1881) of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. The reform effectively abolished serfdom throughout the Russian Empire. The 1861 Emancipation Manifesto proclaimed the emancipation of the serfs on private estates and of the domestic (household) serfs. By this edict more than 23 million people received their liberty. Serfs gained the full rights of free citizens, including rights to marry without having to gain consent, to own property and to own a
USS Southerner (1861) she was used as a transport during the reduction of Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark on the 28th and 29th. She presumably foundered sometime before 11 October 1861. USS Southerner (1861) USS "Southerner" (1861) was a schooner purchased by the Union Navy to be used as a sunken obstruction in the waterways of the Confederate States of America. She was part of what was called the "stone fleet". "Southerner" – a Chesapeake Bay schooner – was purchased by the Union Navy at Baltimore, Maryland, on 13 August 1861. The vessel was laden with stone and towed to Hampton Roads. On