“And retaliation will be our practice now . . .”
After President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the U.S. Army began recruiting black men in earnest. The Confederate government...
A Dowry of Slaves
Slaves were part of a dowry gift to Elizabeth Taylor from her mother, Ann Taylor, while living in Caroline County, Virginia. Not only did Elizabeth receive three...
Abolitionists petition Congress
Starting in the 1830s a small but growing movement advocated the abolition of slavery in the United States. After 1850 abolition’s appeal spread to those who feared...
An Abolitionist’s Refusal
Abolitionists William Still and Passmore Williamson rescued the Johnson family enslaved to the U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua. Served with a writ of habeas corpus that...
Applying for exemption
Many Southern whites believed the Confederate draft favored the rich. The “twenty Negro law,” for example, exempted planters with 20 or more slaves. In February...
Bound to the Confederate effort
This ledger sheet lists slaves employed at the Confederate States Armory in Macon, Georgia, in December 1862. You can find the names and occupations of each slave and...
Contested Ownership
When a notice was posted for a slave found on the Florida border (under Spanish rule) by a customs inspector working in the Mississippi Territory, ownership was...