This is What Daily Life for an Enslaved Person in Virginia was Like

between 1808 when the united states abolished the transatlantic slave trade in 1865 when it abolished slavery enslaved peoples toiled on the plantations of virginia those were not their only sites of labor however enslaved people worked in factories and fisheries in tobacco processing facilities and as transporters of produce the image of slaves working in the tobacco or cotton fields of virginia is somewhat misleading but thousands of others were taught skills such as barrel making tanning of hides candle and soap making carpentry hobbing shoes meat and fish preservation and packing in many others the large plantations of virginia were self-sufficient in many ways producing everything needed for sustenance many smaller farms could not sustain the slaves needed to work their fields year-round such farms often rented slaves from larger plantations for the busy times of planting and harvest their services were paid for with both money and crops depending on the arrangement between the parties daily life for virginia's slaves was thus varied depending on circumstances and seasons it was also dependent in large part on the whims of their owners until 1831 many of the enslaved peoples on virginia plantations were taught to read and write the bible serving as their source of knowledge after the state legislature outlawed the practice many planters continued to educate their slaves including thomas jackson who later entered history as stonewall jackson here's a look at the daily lives of enslaved people in virginia in the early to mid 19th century the plantation slaves became vital to virginia's economy antebellum virginia society defined itself based on wealth and family prominence such was the case as far back as the later colonial period wealth was based on property real property such as land and chattel property based on slaves for the wealthiest virginians the number of slaves they owned reflected a significant portion of their net worth the largest landowners of the tidewater and along the blue ridge were often cash poor they turned to their enslaved people to generate income though not always through sale slaves were often assigned to work in other capacities some worked in tobacco warehouses others and loading ships along the keys on the james and rappahannock rivers when railroads first began to appear slaves prepared the road beds and laid the tracks construction of the new capital city also provided income opportunities to virginia planters slaves were hired out as both skilled and unskilled laborers their wages paid to their owners in some cases the owners allowed them to retain a portion of their wages but others claimed the fruits of their enslaved people's labor in their entirety slaves worked in richmond's emerging tobacco and iron industries including the treaded iron works which became the largest in the south during the antebellum period relatively few urban merchants and businessmen owned slaves beyond those retained for house servants they simply lacked the means to house them instead they hired those from nearby plantations many of the enslaved people returned to their plantations at night becoming some of the earliest commuters in american history they had to carry passes to allay the suspicions of slave patrols watching for runaways as they traveled to and from their places of work the plantation slaves developed their own social strata on the large plantations the slaves diverse tasks led them to develop a societal structure of their own at the top were those who worked as servants in the main house there the butler or major domo held sway over the rest at least officially often the woman assigned to serve as a nanny nurse and disciplinarian of the younger children often reigned supreme such women gave rise to the stereotype of the mammy often presented in song literature and later film the house servants waiters and waitresses maids cooks and others depending on the size of the house and family were below the butler and nanny but still higher on the social ladder than some slaves who worked outside the house many of the house servants resided either in quarters within the main house usually in a cellar or nearby rather than in the main slave quarters on the virginia plantations the stables claimed a prominent position virginians prided themselves on their horses and carriages maintaining both were tasks which required skills and expertise above those of other positions the stables included blacksmiths and farriers hot walkers wranglers coachmen and footmen and other positions filled by slaves the riding stables and those for field horses were separate on the larger plantations and those slaves working in the former occupied a position high on the social ladder for one thing they often work directly under the eye of the owner they groomed his horses maintained his carriages and tack and saddled the animals when they were desired many of the slaves working in the stable slept there rather than in the slave quarters a privilege earned through the pleasure of the owner if their services merited it the artisans stood next on the social ladder in the late 18th century the structure of the larger virginia plantations began to change where most slaves had previously resided in communal multi-family buildings or dormitories for single men individual houses emerged they were generally crewed one-room cabins the artisans and house workers generally occupy the slave quarters nearest to the main house or near their work areas field hands quarters began to be located near the area of the plantations in which their occupants worked larger plantations such as jefferson's five thousand acre nearly eight square miles monticello was divided into four separate farms each with its own overseer george washington's mount vernon consisted of five farms thus slave quarters were scattered across the plantations rather than concentrated in a single area as is often depicted many were far from the main house and the eyes of their owners the artisans those who worked in naileries grist mills carpenter shops breweries distilleries hoop bridges and other such facilities resided near their place of work many of the plantation owners including washington jefferson madison and the lees offered financial incentives to their enslaved workers in order to boost production it is a commonly held myth that slaves in virginia had no money excavations of slave quarters at monticello appomattox mount vernon and other sites throughout virginia have unearthed coins in several forms including british shillings spanish dollars and later united states specie jefferson as he did nearly all things meticulously recorded the monies paid out to artisans at monticello especially those who made nails at his nailery in the mornings he had weighed the iron nail rods assigned to each worker the following day he weighed the nails produced and those who proved most productive receive what he termed a gratuity coopers were among the most important enslaved workers on the plantations following the decline of the tobacco markets most of the large virginia plantations changed to growing wheat and other grains the shift necessitated the installation of grist mills utilizing nearby streams to power them the resulting flower was then shipped to markets in order to ship them large numbers of barrels casks tons and kegs were required nearly all of the produce of the plantations required barrels for shipment whether flour corn meal beer whiskey nails or salted meat and fish barrel making is a skill which requires knowledge of wood grains joinery and quality construction the enslaved barrel makers on the virginia plantations were essential to the profitability of the operation like all the slaves they worked from daybreak to dusk except for saturdays when the dinner bell ended the day's labor dinner usually occurred in early afternoon sundays and most holidays were usually days off the barrel makers constructed the containers from what harvested from the plantations for the most part iron hoops were provided by the plantation's blacksmiths barrels were in such demand throughout virginia and the rest of america that additional staves were prepared and sold as product to cooperages which were readily found in all of the nation's seaports enslaved barrel makers were thus essential for shipping other products from the plantations in the core of another profit center the ability to manufacture one's own shipping containers rather than purchase them greatly increase the profits realized by the plantation's owners skilled coopers as barrel makers were then known were highly valuable commodity as such they often enjoyed privileges not allowed others of the enslaved community due to their owner's need for their constant production daily work was from dawn to dusk except for the house servants who were required to be available according to their owner's whim a typical workday began at first light by sunrise the slaves were at their assigned tasks the majority of the enslaved workers on the plantations were the field hands they worked in their assigned plots under the supervision of a gang leader himself a slave they reported to the overseer who was usually a white man under contract of the plantation owner multiple farm plantations such as monticello employed several overseers one for each farm under a chief overseer they received instructions from the owners regarding the treatment of the people they oversaw jefferson madison washington and many other plantation owners were frequently away from their farms on long absences though they left written instructions regarding the treatment of their slaves they often found them ignored the overseers had much to say of the living conditions of the enslaved people how long they had for meals breaks from work whether a person was too ill to work and so on overall their performance was a disgrace the latter is reflected by virginia legislature recognizing the need to enact laws which regulated the treatment of enslaved peoples during the antebellum period laws establishing the amount of rations provided to slaves the issuance of clothing shoes and other necessities were passed on virginia's plantations nearly all slaves were allowed to grow their own gardens and raise chickens which they were allowed to sell in nearby markets since the workday took up the daylight hours year-round they were forced to tend their crops on weekends and during the evening hours the overseers were responsible for preventing or reporting any thefts from these private stocks work continued throughout the winter months on december 13 1799 a friday george washington arose at dawn as was his want despite a sore throat he rode out on his farm through a storm of sleet and freezing rain it was to be his last ride he died of a throat distemper late the following night yet his ride had been one of necessity for the operation of mount vernon washington had gone out to mark trees to be felled the removal of trees during the winter months was a common event on the virginia plantations they were removed to provide additional acreage for planting in some cases in others they were failed to provide lumber for the plantation's buildings and cooperage cutting down the trees took place during the winter months occurred because it was then with the fields fallow that the field hands were available to do the work trees were trend felled and hauled away using ox and draft horses and enslaved labor to accomplish the task some trees were selected specifically for the shape of lumber pieces they would produce others were selected to be sawn into logs and then boards for use on the plantation still others could be sold floated down river in the spring to be used by shipbuilders or carpenters nearly all of the tree cutting took place in the period between the harvest and the following spring planting when the field hands would otherwise be idle trees in the scrap what they provided produced fuel for cooking in warmth charcoal for the plantation's forges and lumber for maintenance and construction of the plantation's many buildings at monticello jefferson constructed a saw pit and later a water-powered sawmill for his slaves to produce the prodigious amount of lumber his construction projects required enslaved workers produce cloth at monticello following the invention of the cotton gin in 1793 production of cotton boomed in the american south although virginia never became a major cotton state several plantations did grow it in relatively small quantities jefferson also husbanded sheep and grew industrial hemp all three allowed for him to produce cloth which he used to produce clothing for his enslaved people in the first decade of the 19th century jefferson converted a building formerly used as a residence for his house slaves into a textile shop enslaved workers spun wove carded and quilled hemp fibers cotton and wool into cloth on machines jefferson purchased and installed for the purpose the cloth was then used by seamstresses to make clothing primarily work shirts and dresses with a plantation's enslaved population jefferson's textile shop was never intended to be a cash-generating enterprise rather it was a cash saving operation clothes made from fibers produced by the plantation and manufactured by the enslaved peoples who wore them freed him from having to purchase them according to his records jefferson hired a white weaver named william mcclure in 1812 to evaluate the necessary machinery construct models for use at monticello and train the slaves in its operation mcclure remained at monticello until 1814 after which the textile shop operated under the six women all enslaved whom he had trained the textile shop was sighted near several other of jefferson's workshops in an area of monticello he called mulberry row in all of his shops enslaved workers labored alongside free whites to produce the items his plantations required slaves provided the laundering for the main house and its free occupants the laundries on the virginia plantations were usually located in one of the outbuildings near the main house their enslaved workers usually women wash the clothes of their owners families as well as the table linens and other items laundering was considerably more labor-intensive than today linens and other heavier items were treated for stains by scraping or scrubbing with powder and then boiled usually in cauldrons outdoors of the laundry finer items such as neck cloths were washed inside the laundry by hand the boiled items were then rinsed wrong by hand glued to enhance whiteness re-rinsed rung by hand starched re-rinsed rung by hand and hung to dry the soaps used were harsh the heat from the steam and the fire beneath the cauldron intense and the linen tablecloths heavy with water doing the laundry was not for the meek once dry everything needed to be ironed different sized irons were required depending on the item being pressed they were then folded and stored away an activity which usually fell to one of the house maids in the case of the master shirts and necklace his personal servant or valet also enslaved would return the item to its proper place the virginians on the large plantations were known for their entertaining and hospitality and dinners usually featured liberal amounts of wine ill and other spirits which left their inevitable evidence on the tablecloths and napkins so did the rich sauces which were a feature of the cooking of the day yet all evidence of stains from meals of the past had to be removed before the cloths could be redeployed lest the host table betray less than meticulous housekeeping house servants often worked longer days than the field hands and artisans being assigned as a house servant meant freedom from the backbreaking labor of the fields but the enslaved house staff were needed at all times their owners and guests were awake it also meant some of them were frequently away from the plantation virginians at the time usually taking personal servants with them when they traveled though not necessarily working all the time house servants could be called upon at all hours to welcome unexpected guests replace spent candles light fires or even simply prepare tea the butler's work day ended when the owner dismissed him for the evening but it began before dawn so did that of the owner's personal valet who needed to be available to assist his owners morning ablutions and dressing cooks arose before dawn to ensure the kitchen fires were lighted and breakfast prepared housemaids spent the day cleaning dusting sweeping polishing glassware silver and pewter their efforts were inspected by the butler who spent most of the day and morning coat of the colors associated with his owners the butler also bore the responsibility of keeping the owner informed of the state of his wine cellar and what other beverages were available such as ale beer brandy and rum cooks collected fresh eggs each morning throughout the day cooks churned butter harvested vegetables and fruits from the gardens and orchards and prepared the meals requested by the lady of the house should any of the owners household desire a bath it was the cooks who heated the water which was then born by housemaids or valets to the appropriate chamber it was also the responsibility of the housemaids to empty the chamber pots of their noxious contents each day slaves received two meals per day upon arising in the pre-dawn hours enslaved people in virginia ate a meager breakfast usually hoe cakes or spoon pudding a form of cornmeal mush during the summer months a fire in their one-room cabins was unwelcome and breakfast usually taken cold started their day daylight comes early during the virginia summer and their second meal did not come until early to mid-afternoon many carried with them part of their breakfast ration with them to work if a moment occurred when they were free from the scrutiny of their supervisor or overseer they ate it their dinner usually included their meat for the day salt pork or salted fish or perhaps even salt beef fresh meat was unavailable except on holidays never in the fields or shops in summer months they then continued to labor at their assigned tasks until well after 8 pm before trudging back to their cabins there they could have a supper usually a fish or game they caught themselves and the produce of the small gardens they were allowed to maintain during workdays water was the only beverage provided after work on some plantations they could partake of cider they purchased with the proceeds from the sale of their vegetables or the incentives received from their owners on most of the virginia plantations the possession of alcohol by enslaved people was a punishable offense punishments were decided by the overseer though some owners did not allow corporal punishment without their approval some slaveholders took a more liberal view tolerating alcohol among the slaves but punishing drunken behavior or for accidents contributed to by alcohol by the 1790s slaves in virginia were producing alcohol on several plantations including george washington's mount vernon enslaved brewers and distillers made virginia plantations major producers of alcohol virginia's larger plantations shifted away from tobacco and toward wheat rye barley corn and other grains in the late 18th century though better for the soil those crops do not generate the same profits per acre on a consistent basis as had tobacco some virginia planters george washington among them recognized that wheat and rye converted to whiskey were more profitable than sold as flower at mount vernon washington used slave labor to build a distillery prodded by his farm manager james anderson a scotsman with distilling experience washington built what was at the time the largest distillery in virginia his enslaved people quarried stone for the foundations he the lumber for walls and floors and directed the building which eventually housed five pot stills completed in early 1798 washington's distillery was one of the largest in the young united states washington assigned six slaves to work full-time at the distillery which operated 12 months of the year the enslaved workers performed all of the many diverse tasks required in the preparation of whiskey when distillation was complete the whiskey was poured into barrels of roughly 30 gallons capacity though not for aging it was sold for immediate consumption to merchants and tavern keepers much of the waste including the spent mash was used to feed hogs and washington relocated a hog pen to nearby the distillery slaves carried the mash to the slop troughs distillery workers were housed in nearby in 1799 the year of washington's death and after less than two full years of operation washington's enslaved distillers produced over 11 000 gallons of whiskey the average virginia distillery that same year produced less than 700 gallons daily life often included resistance to enslavement on the large virginia plantations the enslaved workers used numerous techniques to resist their situation most but by no means all of the resistance took place among the field hands and laborers the artisans craftsmen house workers and others occupied places within the plantation hierarchy which precluded them from the gatherings in which organized resistance was planned among the slaves resistance included a refusal to work or working very slowly those in positions in which their production was closely monitored and who failed to perform to their supervisor satisfaction were quickly replaced other means of resistance included the deliberate damaging or destruction of tools the enslaved laborers who resisted were dealt with first by the overseers and ultimately by the plantation managers or owners themselves punishments could be harsh and often were whippings of enslaved workers were often performed publicly with the others of the enslaved community informed of the crime witnessing the punishment crimes against other enslaved workers were also dealt with by the enslavers crimes such as theft and assault were relatively common in the enslaved communities and the punishments were determined by the owners until some were codified by virginia law murders were resolved by the transgressor being handed over to the local magistrates and usually resulted in the perpetrator being hanged slave owners dealt with resistance slaves in a variety of ways including selling them usually to slave owners in the expanding states of the deep south running a way to escape enslavement was a form of resistance which occurred throughout the antebellum period and numerous laws regarding the recovery of escaping slaves became one of the many causes of the eventual civil war many slaves in virginia were hired out by their owners during the 18th and early 19th centuries large virginia plantation owners hired out slaves to others slaves were hired under contract with the owner for a specified period of time and at a mutually agreed fee the fee was paid to the owner some owners allowed the enslaved workers to keep some or even all of the money thus earned support of the enslaved workers became the responsibility of the employer including food and clothing and in many cases shelter in virginia it became standard to hire out enslaved workers for a period of 50 weeks with new year's day being the starting point january 1st became known as hiring day in discussions of virginia commerce domestic workers cooks housemaids seamstresses and nannies were commonly held positions in which women slaves were hired out to others many slave owners demanded that the enslaved workers they hired out be treated fairly and carefully by their employers an employer who returned a worker in an unhealthy or injured condition could be sued for negligence or for in essence damaging another man's property by the beginning of the 19th century the practice of hiring out slaves had become so widespread in virginia that new business lines emerged brokerage houses and hiring agents dedicated solely to the hiring of slaves throughout the state received commissions for arranging the transactions richmond virginia became the center of tobacco production with more than four dozen factories manufacturing cigars pipe tobacco and chewing tobacco nearly two-thirds of the more than 3 500 workers in those factories were hired slaves others worked in coal mines on the canals and in the warehouses of the tidewater enslaved children were hired out in forced apprenticeships women were often hired out to families as domestic workers and in some cases they took their children with them to the new home the children if not employable in the new home or business often were apprenticed to other commercial entities this both separated them from their families and increased their potential value to their owners apprenticeship led to artisan skills which would eventually increase the value of the enslaved individual to his or her owner enslaved apprentices learned iron working leather working tanning carpentry furniture making weaving spinning and a plethora of other skills while the cost of feeding and clothing the worker fell to the person to whom he was apprenticed during the apprenticeship daily life was determined by the person to whom they were bound for the specified period of time apprentices usually lived in the home or business to which they were bound usually they occupied quarters in the cellar or in an attic garrett they spent the day learning the trade to which they were apprentice from the employed journeymen and from enslaved hired workers leaving the premises of the business required a written pass and often days would go by during which the apprentice never saw the outside of his place of work other than to use the privy at the end of the period of apprenticeship the enslaved worker could be hired out at greater value than an untrained worker or returned to his owner to play his new trade at the latter's behest the practice of hiring out slaves and apprentices greatly expanded the influence of slavery on virginia's economy in the antebellum period it also led to greater acceptance of slavery in the urban areas such as richmond and fredericksburg in the first half of the 19th century slaves in virginia could also self-hire and keep the wages earned in virginia's larger communities enslaved workers with marketable skills could self-hire negotiating a payment made to their owners and keep the rest they were responsible for their own room and board clothing and finding and keeping work in the growing cities teamsters masons blacksmiths carpenters and other tradesmen worked in self-higher positions allowing them increased access to the community both white and black in response to the growing number of enslaved persons in the urban areas virginia enacted laws to restrict their movements as well as curfews which limited their hours on the streets by 1840 it was common for an enslaved woman to be hired out as a domestic worker and her enslaved husband to be working as a self-hire nearby self-hired workers could keep enough of their wages to eventually purchase their freedom and many did one such enslaved worker was elizabeth keckley a seamstress and dressmaker originally from virginia in 1860 she was enslaved in missouri though hired out as a seamstress and purchased her freedom from her enslaver she then returned to virginia and opened a business as a dressmaker across the river in what was then known as washington city many of her clients were the wives of southern congressmen and officials soon to secede from the union in 1861 she was hired by the lincoln white house as a dressmaker to marry todd lincoln she became a close confidant of mrs lincoln and remained in the white house until lincoln's assassination there are many tales similar to that of mrs keckley though the majority of hired out enslaved workers did not gain their freedom until congress abolished slavery in 1865. some enslaved people were given access to education as children religion was a driving force among the settlers of virginia religious education was mandatory the college of william and mary and in elementary schools the bible was a source of both religious and literacy training among the virginia elite the education of slaves at least as regarded literacy was a moral obligation rooted in christian beliefs in the 17th century virginia law connected christian baptism with personal freedom that law was changed in 1667 in part to allow slave owners to teach their enslaved workers to read the bible in the catechism without fear they could use baptism into the anglican church as a claim to freedom slave owners were encouraged to teach their enslaved workers to read the many balked at the idea of teaching them to write slaves capable of writing could avail themselves of passes allowing them to travel unsupervised making escape more practicable how many slaves learned enough to be considered literate is debated newspapers advertisements from the late 18th and early 19th century identified as many as five percent of runaway slaves as literate slave children were often taught to read and write by the children of the owner's family others attended classes on the plantation in their early years adult slaves learned to read by fire or candlelight after their long days of labor artisans and mechanics learned to read as part of their training and rudimentary arithmetic was required of carpenters and other skilled trades in towns such as williamsburg and fredericksburg religious schools taught the children of slaves to read and write when their enslavers allowed them to attend attitudes towards teaching literacy to enslaved workers hardened in the 1830s following events which terrified the enslavers throughout virginia the nat turner rebellion increased hostility toward educating slaves in 1831 a literate enslaved preacher known as nat led an uprising of slaves accompanied by some free blacks following the rebellion he became known throughout virginia and neighboring north carolina as nat turner the rebellion included the murder of about 60 whites including women and children as well as some of the domestic servants who chose to remain loyal to their enslavers virginia militia and u.s navy personnel suppressed the rebellion in a few days nat turner and most of his 70 followers were taken into custody turner was tried convicted and hanged as were 56 others following the trial according to some estimates retaliations against mutinous or rebellious slaves led to up to another 100 deaths though the exact amount is disputed and unconfirmed the nat turner rebellion was the largest in terms of deaths slave uprising ever on the north american continent in its aftermath it was learned that turner who claimed he was inspired by divine messages was able to read and write so were several of his followers those opposing the education of slave seized on the news to argue against allowing slaves to be educated the virginia legislature agreed enacting laws which banned enslaved workers from gathering in churches and meeting houses without white supervision black preachers were likewise banned except when accompanied by white ministers it was not made illegal to teach enslaved workers to read and write in private lessons by their owners public sentiment however rose against the practice nonetheless many enslaved workers still received instruction in reading usually on sundays their only full day off during the work week by the time of the civil war estimated 20 percent of enslaved workers could read and write well enough to be considered literate virginia's enslaved workers sought to retain aspects of african culture and folklore through family gatherings and religious services virginia's black slaves pass on their folklore through oral traditions throughout the antebellum period as the 19th century wore on fewer and fewer slaves in virginia came directly from africa by the time of the american civil war the overwhelming majority of the enslaved workers in virginia had been born there many spent their entire lives on the plantation of their birth or in the nearby area by 1860 over 550 000 enslaved workers populated the state in the mountainous region between the shenandoah and ohio river slavery was not practiced as widely as in the eastern regions of the state as the terrain made large plantations impracticable but it was still practiced enslaved workers hired out from eastern owners helped build the railroad so harper's ferry dug coal in the mines and felled trees to create roads and rail beds the workers created songs to sing as they worked with rhythmic patterns which match the movements required of their labor on the plantations similar field songs were sung as they toiled in the fields nighttime gatherings included other songs many of them religious in nature folk tales and legends were told and retold many of them with their roots in african legends centuries old featuring mythical creatures such as wise and wily rabbits using island wit to defeat more powerful enemies despite the attempts visitors to virginia describe the plight of the enslaved as an aberration charles dickens toured virginia during his 1842 visit to america he described the conditions he found there is on of ruin and decay dickens devoted an entire chapter in his american notes denouncing slavery exposing the conditions he encountered in virginia and describing the forlorn state of the slaves he met punishments for enslaved workers were harsh even by the standards of the day enslaved workers who ran afoul of their supervisors overseers or owners faced harsh punishments reading the advertisements describing runaways alone establishes that fact beyond dispute the announcements describe runaways much marked with irons much scarred with the whip branded on the left jaw branded on the thigh and hips these scars were indicative of previous punishments inflicted for reasons unknown virginia law established regulations for the treatment of slaves though they were often simply ignored most punishments were intended to inflict pain as a warning to others of the enslaved community but maiming detracted from the value of the enslaved worker both in terms of labor and sale nonetheless it occurred with frequency while some virginia planters disdained such punishments many others did not as abolitionist movements grew in the northern states and runaway slaves fled via the underground railroad laws in virginia controlling slaves grew harsher at the time the northwestern border of virginia was the ohio river slaves from virginia as well as from states further south traveled across virginia to reach the ohio slave communities on plantations large and small participated in helping escapees flee to the north and freedom the penalties for hiding escaped slaves or aiding them in their flight could be inflicted upon entire slave communities the large number of enslaved workers hired out in the virginia economy faced interrogations from slave catchers incarceration by suspicious magistrates and in some cases outright kidnappings by 1860 the daily life of an enslaved person in virginia was fraught with considerable danger with little or no legal protections slavery continued in virginia throughout the civil war in 1862 enslaved workers in areas controlled by the union army such as fortress monroe near norfolk were held in union camps as contraband while in the camps that continued to be enslaved working at tasks assigned to them by the army not until the 1863 emancipation proclamation were they considered to be free for the first two years of the war union authorities and the congress wrestled with existing federal laws regarding slavery and the wartime imperatives then present contraband camps arose around the main federal armies and military orders were to accept all enslaved people who arrived at the camps the army was instructed to keep precise records of the slaves from whom they escaped and their families escaping slaves were given rations assigned labor in the camps and later afforded the opportunity to gain their complete freedom by enlisting in the black regiments thousands of virginia slaves as well as from neighboring states fled to the camps near the federal armies washington city became another site for which fleeing enslaved people of virginia turned to as a haven the fleeing slaves which the enslavers for over a century had claimed were happy in their lot became a major concern for the confederate and virginia governments local militias served to provide security against the enslaved escaping rather than bolstering the increasingly weakening confederate armies robert e lee's army of northern virginia carried a large slave contingent with it and was forced to dispatch troops to secure it rather than deploy them in battle even when lee escaped from richmond and struggled to appomattox to surrender his battered and starving army carried its slaves with it slavery in virginia ended with his surrender but reconstruction brought new challenges for the newly freed to face

Channel: Deep History

Views: 623,477

Keywords:

Id: CSnH8nWnBtY

Length: 36min 47sec (2207 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 10 2021