Contrabands

Contrabands

As the North became more and more invasive with their attacks on the Confederates, many plantations in the South were raided and sometimes destroyed. The news of these overwhelming attack strategies spread quickly, and soon the slaves knew that the site of a union soldier meant an opportunity for fast and clever escape. Sometimes this meant that the slaves would meander their way to Washington, D.C. and beyond, but most of the time the blacks brave enough to rebel against their masters would follow the Union forces in their path of attacks. Whether washing Union uniforms, tending to the horses, or even farming as a "freedman" was so much more comforting to the blacks then having to work under their past masters, even if it did cost them money and starvation. These individuals, who sometimes risked everything just for the chance to grasp freedom, were called "contrabands."

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=History= While the Union troops strategized with their attacks and comprehended the idea of blacks helping the Union troops in their travels and fighting, the slaves became more and more interested in the idea of freeing themselves in order to provide for the Union. They knew that the possibilities concerning this would be limited, but they wanted to do whatever they could in order to provide for those who were still enslaved. So, as the Union flooded the South, the blacks fled with them, taking their chances. They would be as helpful as possible in order to ensure their housing, food, and acceptance among them. As the war began to affect the plantations of the South, three slaves, Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker, and James Townshend pleaded for safety and acceptance from Union General and Commander Benjamin F. Butler. Butler saw the cruelty these slaves had recently experienced, but sent them back to their master, despite the conditions they were left in. However, he second guessed himself, deciding that they could not be controlled by his veto. Finally, he forced one of his men, Major Carey, to recapture the slaves and bring them back to their ranks. Realizing their escape attempt, their master Charles K. Mallory demanded them back to his control. Butler refused, though, and explained cleverly that the Fugitive Slave Law did not apply to "foreign countries" such as the Confederate States. This new information spread quickly through both the North and South, and the press expressed it as an abolitionist movement that Butler had committed the spark an incentive for fighting into both the Northern and Southern soldiers. He had embarrassed them, he knew, by using the term "contraband" to express the past ownership of these rescued slaves; the larger fight for slavery had increased because of him.

=Laws and Prevention= After the Union had officially created a law regarding the contrabands on August 6, 1861, blacks began fleeing the South at a skyrocketing pace. The union's push for this to happen had finally succeeded, and the South was furious with its sudden lack of control. However, the North soon reconsidered their decision in "saving" these blacks as they saw that their expectations concerning the black's population's economic rise instead plummeted. By 1863, two years before the end of the war, more than 10,000 slaves had fled Virginia and Maryland in order to become "contrabands of war" in the the Northern territory. At first, they were greeted by the others that had found their same paths, but soon they found that work was scarce, even in the North, especially for blacks. So, because the Union couldn't take back their decisions on saving the slaves, they created camps for the refugees to live in until they could support them selves as thriving workers. These were called "contraband camps." At first, they seemed like a great idea to many Northerners, but the facilities were so focused on minimalism that they ended up turning more blacks away. The union found themselves at loss as more abolitionists became active and less care was allowed for the contrabands. There were two attempts to free the slaves over the course of the war, and Lincoln knew that by doing this, it would disband what was left of the Union and cause an overflow of slaves to the area. He was baffled - confused - and didn't know what to do.

Lincoln's Decision
The House of Representatives, as a last attempt to control the flow of slaves and save the Union's resources, passed a law that demanded The Fugitive Slave Act to be brought back into enactment for the South. Fortunately, Lincoln vetoed this firmly. Instead, he combined this idea and the attempts of emancipation, suggesting the Confiscation Act of 1861. This allowed Union regiments to free the slaves forced to work for the Southern fortifications, but denied immediate freedom for the slaves who were kept "safely" on the plantations to remain untouched. Congress promptly passed the bill, and the law quickly stopped the amount of homelessness and resource loss occurring in the North. If Lincoln had not have suggested this law, the eventual emancipation could have been majorly postponed.

= The Forgotten: Contrabands of America media type="youtube" key="35IdcChfoxY" height="315" width="420" align="right" =

= Benefits for the Contrabands  = The Union had to have some way to take care of the contrabands, so they set up a form of welfare to pay for their clothing, food, and the camps, where they housed themselves. Because there were so many of the runaways, it was difficult to find a way to help them succeed once they'd reached the camps. They needed money, and the government was too poor to give them a monthly salary as minimum wage. The Union was most helpful when they helped find small jobs for these runaways; because the contrabands had worked in harsh conditions for so long, they had no trouble in following the small orders to complete the small tasks at hand. Some of them would work farms, and some would enlist, when possible. However, the Union could not always immediately pay, and many contrabands died from starvation or lack of quality living proximity. In the worst conditions, slaves would be forced to return to their masters, as they had nowhere left to turn. Finally, in Dec. 1862, General Rufus Saxto ordered all blacks to be given proper tools, land, and all other needed supplied in an attempt for them to be able to supply enough for themselves while still helping the government flourish. A portion of this would go to the government. Eventually Lincoln came up with another brilliant plan to help the citizens as well as the government with the contrabands. He cleverly stated that blacks had become more and more of a general "property" of the north, but had a freer range. Altogether, he decided that he was not going to let the Southerners realize that this overflow was affecting the economy of the North; instead, he portrayed the contrabands as something that could help it flourish.

=Camps and Refuge= == The contraband camps were definitely some of the grimmest areas in the United States away from the battle field during the Civil War. As the Union troops meandered their way down towards Virginia and eventually all the way to Mississippi and Georgia, the slaves knew and had planned their escape. At the sound of the troops approaching, the slaves would escape during the commotion and either follow the regiment that had attacked or sprint past the plantations and began their journey for the north. When they reached the border, usually West Virginia, Kentucky, or Pennsylvania, they were considered free and recognized like this by the North. However, the north was obligated to keep them off the streets; once they were found, they were placed in contraband camps which gave them clothing, food, and a place to stay. It was not required that the runaways stayed in the camps constantly, in fact, most did not after they found a thriving job in the community from which they could support themselves. The camps were made up of lines and lines of rough, uneven, ti-pi-like structures where the contrabands slept often on the ground. Housing was compact and complicated, and sometimes families that had escaped together were unable to sleep together because of how compact the arrangements were. Eventually, the slaves began to feel that their "freedom" was not as guaranteed as it should have been, and they stopped coming as the news of the rough conditions reached the South.

=Works and Wages= Contrabands were often payed below minimum wage, and did not have a choice of where they could work. The camps had to work quickly in order to supply a job for everybody, and had to choose unsuitable jobs sometimes to ensure that everybody was payed //something.// Additionally, the still racist U.S. was forced to pay blacks, who, in many minds, were still under the realm of slavery and inferiority. The average wage for contrabands in 1862 was about forty cents a day, meaning it was not uncommon for a slave to go unpaid. However, as the amount of slaves entering the Union lessened, the salaries increased, especially towards the end of the war. By 1863, most runaways were paid approximately one dollar, a fair salary, and along with the increase of income came the increase of treatment. Now, contrabands entering the Union were treated with respect, and often found a job quickly and could sustain a healthy lifestyle once situated. Often the Union would offer blacks jobs that helped the Union's efficiency; even though they could not enlist, they could complete small chores that would help the Northern progress. Without these contrabands, the Northerners might not have won the war so quickly. The blacks were a force that the South decided not to use, and once these individuals were allowed to enlist, the sole population of the North eventually overwhelmed the Confederacy. = = = =

= = =Final Verdict= Eventually, the Union commanders were so remotely located and disconnected from society that they had no choice but to make the decision whether to allow the slaves to come with them or to force them to stay with their masters by themselves, despite the current legal conditions. Unfortunately, most decided against allowing them to follow when faced with the situation. By the end of the war in 1865, the Freedman's Bureau was created, officially starting the contraband laws again for the first time since 1861. At this point, the North overall had more money, and could afford another flow of runaways from the South. The Bureau only mainly focused on the Southern States, but it nationally secured the slaves as free and safe individuals as they entered the North for a second time, but because the South was weaker, it allowed the slaves to escape to the North with less difficulty. Contraband camps were still available, but not as prominently used as before. The Bureau, also known as The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, forced the entire American territory to supply proper education and rations for all minorities in the region. It also states that the North was the supreme and overruling area, and had taken all other properties under its control, including the Confederacy. The major law signified the basic end to the war, and also created a solid way for the contraband law to function.

For more information about a general history of contrabands, [|click here.] For more information about specific stories and dates about contrabands, [|click here.] For more information about official African American history concerning this topic, [|click here.] For more information about the Freedmen's Bureau, [|click here.]
 * For more information and further research concerning the Civil War's contrabands, follow the following cites: **

=Bibliography=
 * African American Oddyssey. "The Civil War." //African American Odyssey: (Part 1) //. Memory.loc.gov. Web. 26 May 2012.
 * .
 * Athenaeum, Howard. "File:1869 Dec20 HowardAthenaeum LatestNovelty Boston.png." //Http: //commons.wikimedia.org///. Http: //commons.wikimedia.org/, 28 Jan. 2010. Web. 26 May 2012. .
 * Brady, Matthew B. ""Contrabands at Headquarters of General Lafayette"" //Http: //commons.wikimedia.org///. Http: //commons.wikimedia.org/, 23 May 2012. Web. 26 May 2012. .
 * Brady, Matthew B. "File:Contraband Camp, Richmond, Va, 1865 - NARA - 524494.tif."Wikimedia Commons . Http://commons.wikimedia.org/, 7 Oct. 2012. Web. 26 May 2012. .
 * //Brady, Matthew B. "File:Contraband School - NARA - 529344.tif." //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">- Wikimedia Commons //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. Http: //commons.wikimedia.org/, 23 Oct. 2011. Web. 26 May 2012. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Contraband_school_-_NARA_-_529344.tif>.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; text-align: right;">Carlisle, Rodney P. "Battlefield Emancipation and Contrabands." Civil War and Reconstruction, Eyewitness History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. African-American History Online. Facts On File. Http:// //www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp? ItemID=WE01&iPin=EHCWR03&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 26, 2012).Web.//
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">"Contrabands of the Civil War." //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Contrabands of the Civil War //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. Civilwarhome.com, 18 July 2004. Web. 26 May 2012. <http://www.civilwarhome.com/contrabands.htm>.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; text-align: right;">The Freedmen's Bureau Online. "The Freedmen's Bureau." Http://freedmensbureau.com Ally Bank. Web. 26 May 2012. <http://freedmensbureau.com/>.
 * //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">The Library of Congress. "File:Abraham Lincoln Foto.jpg." //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Http: //commons.wikimedia.org///<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. Http: //commons.wikimedia.org/, 12 Feb. 2012. Web. 26 May 2012. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abraham_Lincoln_foto.jpg>.//
 * //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">National Park Service. "Living Contraband - Former Slaves in the Nation's Capital During the Civil War." //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Www.nps.gov //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. National Park Service, 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 26 May 2012. <http://www.nps.gov/cwdw/historyculture/living-contraband-former-slaves-in-the-capital-during-and-after-the-civil-war.htm>. //
 * //<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Road to Freedom." //YouTube//. YouTube, 09 May 2011. Web. 27 May 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35IdcChfoxY>.

All Research has been shared via Google Docs with Mr. Mejail.