how did contrabands participate in the civil war

How did Contrabands participate in the Civil War? Contrabands were slaves who escaped to Union lines during the Civil War. According to the Confiscation Acts passed by the U.S. Congress during 1861 and 1862, all slaves used by the Confederate

military for transportation or construction work would be freed if captured by Union forces.

Full Answer

What is a contraband in the Civil War?

Contrabands. See also: Maroons. Contrabands were slaves who escaped to Union lines during the Civil War. When the conflict began, the North's aim was primarily to preserve the Union, not to end slavery. Slaves who escaped to Union lines early in the war were often returned to their masters. However, Maj. Gen.

How much did contrabands get paid during the Civil War?

On September 25, 1861, the Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles issued a directive to give "persons of color, commonly known as contrabands", in the employment of the Union Navy pay at the rate of $10 per month and a full day's ration.

How many contraband camps were there in the Civil War?

Across the South, Union forces managed more than 100 contraband camps, although not all were as large. The 1,500 contrabands behind federal lines at Harpers Ferry were returned to slavery when Confederates took the town.

What was the purpose of the contraband camps?

The contraband camps became recruitment centers for African American troops and workers willing to dig trenches, build fortifications, and aid the Union cause on numerous fronts.

How did contraband help the Union?

In August 1861, the Union Army and the US Congress determined that the US would no longer return escaped slaves who went to Union lines, but they would be classified as "contraband of war," or captured enemy property. They used many as laborers to support Union efforts and soon began to pay wages.

How does the term contraband relate to slaves during the Civil War?

He classified the escaping slaves as contraband of war. This term meant that once the fleeing slaves crossed Union army lines, they were classified as property. All enemy property that fell into Union hands constituted contraband and would not be returned.

How were contrabands different from other African Americans who joined the army?

How were contrabands different from other African Americans who joined the Union army? they were escaped slaves.

What was a contraband camp in the Civil War?

Their flight led to the phenomenon of Civil War contraband camps. Contraband camps were refugee camps to which between four hundred thousand and five hundred thousand enslaved men, women, and children in the Union-occupied portions of the Confederacy fled to escape their owners by getting themselves to the Union Army.

Why were contrabands important in the Civil War?

Courtesy of Library of Congress. Contrabands were slaves who escaped to Union lines during the Civil War. When the conflict began, the North's aim was primarily to preserve the Union, not to end slavery. Slaves who escaped to Union lines early in the war were often returned to their masters.

What was the purpose of the contraband camps quizlet?

What was the purpose of the contraband camps? They were used as housing for runaway slaves.

What role did African-American play in the Civil War?

Black soldiers served in artillery and infantry and performed all noncombat support functions that sustain an army, as well. Black carpenters, chaplains, cooks, guards, laborers, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots, surgeons, and teamsters also contributed to the war cause.

How did the Emancipation Proclamation lead to the Civil War?

From the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically.

Who were the first African Americans to fight for the Union?

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Origins Early in February 1863, the abolitionist Governor John A. Andrew of Massachusetts issued the Civil War's first call for Black soldiers.

Who created the contraband policy for the Union army?

General Benjamin ButlerIn May, 1861, Union General Benjamin Butler offered military protection to runaway slaves in Virginia, declaring them wartime “contraband,” or property forfeited by the rebellious Confederates. News of Butler's decision spread like wildfire, and within three days sixty-seven African-American men and women had arrived ...

Why is it called contraband?

Contraband first appeared in English in the early 1500s as a borrowing of Italian contrabbando. This Italian word can be traced to the Medieval Latin word contrabannum, a combination of contra- ("against") and bannum ("decree"). Bannum is Germanic in origin and is related to Old High German bannan ("to command").

When did Fort Monroe accept contraband?

HAMPTON — The proclamation originated at Fort Monroe and rippled across the war-torn landscape: Escaped slaves will no longer be returned by the Union Army to their owners and instead will be confiscated as contraband of war.

What did it mean to be a contraband in Virginia?

The word spread quickly among southeastern Virginia's slave communities. While becoming a "contraband" did not mean full freedom, many slaves considered it a step in that direction. The day after Butler's decision, many more escaped slaves found their way to Fort Monroe and appealed to become contraband.

When did the Navy give out contraband?

On September 25, 1861 , the Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles issued a directive to give "persons of color, commonly known as contrabands", in the employment of the Union Navy pay at the rate of $10 per month and a full day's ration.

What did the contrabands call their new settlement?

As the number of former slaves grew too large to be housed inside the Fort, the contrabands erected housing outside the crowded base from the burned ruins of the City of Hampton. They called their new settlement Grand Contraband Camp (which they nicknamed "Slabtown").

What was the term used to describe slaves working with the Union?

Freed slaves working with the Union. Contraband was a term commonly used in the US military during the American Civil War to describe a new status for certain escaped slaves or those who affiliated with Union forces. In August 1861, the Union Army and the US Congress determined that the US would no longer return escaped slaves who went ...

What was the term used to describe the new status of certain escaped slaves?

Contraband (American Civil War) "Fort Monroe Doctrine" redirects here. For the US policy that opposed European colonialism in the Americas, see Monroe Doctrine. Contraband was a term commonly used in the US military during the American Civil War to describe a new status for certain escaped slaves or those who affiliated with Union forces.

What was the status of slaves after the Civil War?

The status of Southern-owned slave s after Confederate states had engaged in the American Civil War became an issue early in 1861, not long after hostilities began. At Fort Monroe in Virginia 's Hampton Roads, Major General Benjamin Butler, commander, learned that three slaves had made their way across Hampton Roads harbor from Confederate-occupied Norfolk County, and presented themselves at Union-held Fort Monroe. General Butler refused to return the escaped slaves to slaveholders who supported the Confederacy. This amounted to classifying them as "contraband," although the first use of that terminology in military records appears to have been by another officer. (see below).

How many contraband camps were there in the South?

By the end of the war, more than 100 contraband camps had been developed in the South. Many were assisted by missionary teachers recruited from the North by the American Missionary Association and other groups who, together with free blacks and freedmen, agreed that education of the former slaves was of the highest priority.

Where did the contraband live on Hatteras Island?

A small number of contrabands lived on Hatteras Island, and more than 3,000 were located in and around Union-occupied Beaufort and Morehead City. Many of them made a living on the water fishing, oystering, or carrying freight and passengers around the area.

What was the purpose of the North's escaping slaves during the Civil War?

Contrabands were slaves who escaped to Union lines during the Civil War. When the conflict began, the North's aim was primarily to preserve the Union, not to end slavery. Slaves who escaped to Union lines early in the war were often returned to their masters.

Where did the Union raid in North Carolina?

In North Carolina, the Union-held enclaves around Plymouth, Washington, Beaufort, Morehead City, Roanoke Island, and especially New Bern attracted large populations of contrabands. Some made their way to the Union towns singly or in small groups; larger numbers returned with Union raiding parties.

Where was the report of the freed people?

Vincent Colyer, A Report of the Services Rendered by the Freed People to the United States Army, in North Carolina, in the Spring of 1862, after the Battle of Newbern (1864).

Who refused to return slaves to the Union?

Slaves who escaped to Union lines early in the war were often returned to their masters. However, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, commanding Union forces at Fort Monroe, Va., refused to return three runaway slaves who reached his lines on 23 May 1861.

What was Butler's opinion on slavery?

Congress during 1861 and 1862, all slaves used by the Confederate military for transportation or construction work would be freed if captured by Union forces.

History

The status of southern-owned slaves after Confederate states had engaged in the American Civil War became an issue early in 1861, not long after hostilities began.

Grand Contraband Camp

The word spread quickly among southeastern Virginia's slave communities. While becoming a "contraband" did not mean full freedom, many slaves considered it a step in that direction. The day after Butler's decision, many more escaped slaves found their way to Fort Monroe and appealed to become contraband.

Contraband term first used by William Budd

General Butler's written statements and communications with the War Department requesting guidance on the issue of fugitive slaves did not use the term "contraband." As late as August 9, 1861, he used the term "slaves" for fugitives who had come to Fort Monroe.

Development

Contraband camps developed around many Union-held forts and encampments. In 1863, after the Emancipation Proclamation and authorization of black military units, thousands of former slaves and free blacks began to enlist in the United States Colored Troops. The Army allowed their families to take refuge at contraband camps.

What did Benjamin Butler mean by the term "contraband of war"?

He classified the escaping slaves as contraband of war. This term meant that once the fleeing slaves crossed Union army lines, they were classified as property.

What was the Union policy at the start of the war?

At the start of the war, the Union had no policy to deal with the African Americans seeking protection. Individual commanders made their own decisions. Some commanders put them to work for Union troops while others returned them to plantation owners. At Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, Union Maj.

Why was Freedman's Village important?

Some historians claim that Freedman's Village was not intended to help integrate blacks into society but, instead, intended to segregate the former slaves from white society. By the end of the Civil War, as many as 40,000 fugitives from slavery had made their way to Washington.

How much did the laborers get paid in 1862?

In August of 1862, workers were paid 40 cents, plus rations, a day for work-often they were not paid at all. By November 1863, it was recommended that a sum of $1.00 per day to contraband was a fair wage. Additionally, it was recommended that records be kept in order to make sure these workers were treated fairly.

How many slaves were in Washington during the Civil War?

By 1863, approximately 10,000 former slaves had come to Washington, primarily from Maryland and Virginia.

Why were slaves declared free?

Because of Butler's actions, a federal policy was instituted on August 6, 1861 - fugitive slaves were declared to be "contraband of war" if their labor had been used to aid the Confederacy in anyway . If found to be contraband, they were declared free.

What was contraband before the Civil War?

Before this, contraband had been an obscure term relating primarily to maritime law. Butler did not intend to recast that word the way he did, let alone suggest a concept that would affect the course of the Civil War. His reference to ‘contraband of war’ was almost facetious; he did not even consider the phrase worth mentioning in his official account of the meeting. Nor did Cary, in his own report. Long after the press had adopted Butler’s casual re-coinage, the Union general himself continued to refer to ‘slaves’, not ‘contrabands’.

Who used contraband during the Civil War?

Although abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass considered this term demeaning (Douglass thought it was more suited to a pistol than a person), northerners in general used contrabands synonymously with runaways throughout the Civil War. ‘Several contrabands came into the camp of the First Connecticut Regiment today’, reported a northern newspaper soon after Butler declared his doctrine. The thousands who followed were housed in ‘contraband camps’.

What is contraband in history?

The historian Kate Masur has concluded that contraband was a ‘placeholder’, a way to characterise runaway slaves pending their actual emancipation. However, by overemphasising Butler’s role in highlighting the ambivalence northerners felt about those who escaped from enslavement, Masur argues that her fellow historians underestimated their enthusiasm for the term itself. In the stories, songs and pictures they produced about contrabands, ‘Northerners sought to fill with meaning a term that was, by definition, transitional and unstable’.

How many contrabands were there in 1862?

In April 1862, about 400 contrabands were counted in Washington; by October, that number had risen to 4,2000; by the following spring, the population of contrabands reached 6,000. All in all, by 1865, the year the war ended, some 40,000 newly freed men, women, and children had come to Washington.” 23.

What was the effect of the contraband policy?

Furthermore, the practical effect of the contraband policy was to encourage black slaves living near Union lines to flee for the protection of Union soldiers. But that placed a burden on Union generals that they were not prepared to cope with. Historian John Hope Franklin wrote: “In June, 1861, several military officers spoke out in favor of returning all fugitives. In the West, General [Henry W.] Halleck adopted this policy. But the lack of any uniform policy is clearly indicated by two developments in July, 1861. On July 9 the House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring it was no part of the duty of federal troops to capture or return fugitive slaves. One week later, General Winfield Scott wrote brigadier General [Irvin] McDowell, in the name of President Lincoln, asking him to allow owners of fugitive slaves in Virginia to cross the Potomac and recover slaves who had take refuge in Union lines. Small wonder that there was so much dissatisfaction among the abolitionists with regard to federal policy.” 5

What was the contraband problem in Maryland?

The contraband problem was exacerbated by confusion between former slaves and those who legally were still slaves. Maryland residents, for example, were in frequent conflict with military authorities over the disposition of blacks in Washington and surrounding areas. In March 1862, some Maryland legislators wrote Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton to complain about the conduct of Union soldiers in Maryland: “Gen. Halleck has enforced orders prohibiting the admission of fugitives within the lines of his Department – Gen l Foster has done the same most effectually at Annapolis – Gen l Dix has pursued the same, & General Burnside has issued a similar proclamation in North Carolina & we believe will have it executed faithfully – He has declared in the most emphatic terms, that it is not the policy of the Government in any way or manner to interfere with the laws of the State constitutionally established, or their property or institution in any respect – And as we believe Maryland by her loyalty & geographical position has contributed more to the preservation of the Capitol & therby [sic] preventing a dismemberment of the Union than other State – We therefore think we have a strong claim upon the Government for its protection of every right guarrantied [sic] to us under the Constitution – “sup>24

What was the name of the slave inside the Union lines?

This was a new idea, and from that time the African slave inside of the Union lines was known as a contraband . The word not only gave a new name to the escaping slave, but it suggested a line of policy that afterwards troubled greatly the warlike slaveholders and the Rebel leaders.

What was the status of escaped slaves in the Civil War?

The status of blacks who escaped servitude was not obvious or clear at the beginning of the Civil War. Lincoln biographer Noah Brooks wrote how escaped slaves were treated in the early weeks of the Civil War in 1861: “The slaves of the South were thought by the people of that region to be an element of strength. The slaveholders relied on the faithful attachment of these unfortunate creatures, a reliance that was seldom misplaced. The slaves had once been taught that the Abolitionists’ were a species of monsters that infested the North and devoured escaped black people. And, so long as they had food and protection from their masters, the bondmen did not leave their masters, even when the war began. They were useful in making preparations for battles, marches, and sieges. They were teamsters, workmen on forts, and diggers of intrenchments. In the eyes of all the people, North and South, the slaves were still property. And it was the custom of most officers of the United States army to give up the few fugitive negroes that came into their lines. Gen. B [enjamin]. F. Butler, however, while in command at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, perceived that the slave were used by the Rebels precisely as horses or mules would have been; they were employed in promoting the efficiency of the Rebel military works. Accordingly, when slaves came into his lines, he refused to give them up, declaring that, like war material, they were ‘contraband of war.’ This was a new idea, and from that time the African slave inside of the Union lines was known as a contraband. The word not only gave a new name to the escaping slave, but it suggested a line of policy that afterwards troubled greatly the warlike slaveholders and the Rebel leaders. They had no longer any power to enforce the law concerning fugitive slaves, about which they had once been much concerned.” 1

Where did the Lincolns stop at the contraband camp?

Keckley biographer Jennifer Fleischner wrote that the White House seamstress was probably pleased “that the Lincolns sometimes stopped at the contraband camp on Seventh Street (where Howard University now stands) on their way out to the Soldiers’ Home to hear the freed men, women, and children sign hymns.

What were the causes of the draft riots in 1863?

Racism and fears of economic competition endangered blacks throughout the North – and contributed to the July 1863 draft riots in New York City. Historian Ralph R. Fahrey wrote that “fugitive blacks had already reached the southern border of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio in considerable numbers by the fall of 1862 as a result of the Second Confiscation Act, and that indicated all too plainly what the future held in store. As a general rule, they met a cool reception. Labor was needed on the farms to replace the toll of enlistments, but many farmers preferred to let their fields lie fallow rather than depend upon the negroes. Barred from the Army, and with little or no means of subsistence, the freed slaves presented a serious problem in many western localities, and they stirred up decided antagonism toward those responsible for the Emancipation Proclamation, a measure which promised still further complications and irritations.” 25

Why were contraband camps important to the Union?

The contraband camps became recruitment centers for African American troops and workers willing to dig trenches, build fortifications, and aid the Union cause on numerous fronts. And so enslaved African Americans not only endeavored to win their freedom during the war, they also made vital contributions to the Union victory that ensured they got it.

Who were the contraband of America?

The Forgotten: The Contraband of America and the Road to Freedom. A group of African American refugees, called contraband, who worked for the Union army as teamsters. This photo, courtesy of the Library of Congress, was taken circa 1864 in Bermuda Hundred, Virginia, just south of Richmond. Their names were Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker, ...

How did the Little Old Ladies help preserve the cemetery?

In Alexandria, Virginia, two self-described “little old ladies” have helped preserve a cemetery where both contraband and freedmen were buried—a campaign that began as something of an accident. Louise Massoud and Lillie Finklea met in 1997 when they joined other residents to fight the proposed expansion of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge across the Potomac. Thanks to a local historian, they discovered that the redevelopment plan threatened a burial ground established by the federal government in 1864 for the African American refugees around the nation’s capital who had succumbed to disease. The site was used for five years, then slowly faded from collective memory. In the 1950s, a Mobil gas station and an office building were constructed on the sacred ground. After the proposed bridge project was announced a half-century later, archaeologists using ground-penetrating radar confirmed that at least 500 of the 1,800 original graves survived—a discovery that ultimately saved the site from destruction.

What would happen if the Union troops turned back at Fort Monroe?

They had a decision to make: Go with their master and aid the Confederate war effort? Or embark on a risky run for freedom by escaping to the Union stronghold at Fort Monroe? Mallory, Baker, and Townsend knew that if they were turned back at the fort, they would likely face whipping—or worse. They also knew that if they somehow persuaded the Union soldiers to offer them refuge, their families in Hampton might be harmed in retribution. They didn’t know that the consequences of their decision would mark the turning point in a war, long before the battles of Vicksburg or Gettysburg.

Why did the General strike upon a politically expedient solution?

So the general struck upon a politically expedient solution: Because Virginia had seceded from the Union, he argued, he no longer had a constitutional obligation to return the runaways. Rather, in keeping with military law governing war between nations, he would seize the three runaways as contraband—property to be used by the enemy against the Union.

Where did slavery begin?

It's a story that starts, of course, back at Fort Monroe, where we can mark the beginning of the end of slavery in America. Yet Fort Monroe is also where we can mark slavery’s inception. For in 1619, a Dutch corsair arrived at Point Comfort, which overlooks the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and the James River, carrying 20 Angolans captured from a Portuguese slave ship—the first recorded instance of enslaved people alighting in the New World. Two hundred years later, enslaved people helped construct Fort Monroe a few hundred feet from Point Comfort, not knowing that within a matter of decades, Mallory, Baker, and Townsend would pass through the main gate of Freedom’s Fortress.

Where is the freedmen's memorial?

Today, a monument on Roanoke Island, established a decade ago by the National Park Service with the help of descendants of the freedmen, pays tribute to the African Americans who cast off the shackles of slavery. It’s one of the few memorials that celebrate contraband heritage, though in recent years long-forgotten vestiges of these sites—camps, cemeteries, freedmen’s villages—have been preserved. In Corinth, Mississippi, the Park Service and a local organization established a memorial park on the site of a former camp, with bronze statues that portray the contraband experience: African Americans learning to read, taking up arms, tending to crops. A ceremonial Freedom Park was established in Helena, Arkansas, near the site of a camp whose occupants helped build nearby Fort Curtis in 2013.

Overview

Contraband was a term commonly used in the US military during the American Civil War to describe a new status for certain escaped slaves or those who affiliated with Union forces. In August 1861, the Union Army and the US Congress determined that the US would no longer return escaped slaves who went to Union lines, but they would be classified as "contraband of war," or captured enemy property. They used many as laborers to support Union efforts and soon began to pay wages. T…

History

Grand Contraband Camp

"Contraband" term first used by William Budd

Development

See also

Further reading

External links