VirtualMuseum

Slavery was vitally important to the economy and society of the trans-Mississippi region in the decades preceding the Civil War. Slaves worked the great sugar and rice plantations of southern Louisiana and the cotton plantations of northern Louisiana, Texas, and eastern Arkansas, while farmers in Missouri and northwest Arkansas used their few slaves to practice diversified agriculture. Slavery was even a factor in pre-statehood Kansas and in Indian Territory (Oklahoma), where recently removed southeastern tribes owned nearly 18,000 black slaves.

Slavery in the region rapidly disintegrated during the years of the Civil War, however. Missouri slaves had their first glimpse of freedom as early as August 1861 when General John C. Frémont, the commander of the Western Department, issued an emancipation proclamation. Even though Abraham Lincoln quickly rescinded the order in an effort to appease border state Unionists, slaves made their own decisions to flee as federal troops swept through central and western Missouri during the summer and fall of 1861. Similarly, thousands of Louisiana and Arkansas slaves ran away in the wake of Union invasion early in 1862, fleeing into the region’s swamps or seeking the protection of Union troops, such as those led by abolitionist General John Phelps of Vermont.

By midway through the war, Union forces had conquered and occupied both the lower Mississippi River valley and large parts of Missouri, where they struggled to contain a virulent guerilla insurgency. Bondpeople capitalized on the presence of Union forces and the political divisions among the white population and left their owners by the thousands during the first years of the war. Initially, many slaveholders could not accept that their slaves left of their own accord and instead accused federal soldiers of encouraging their “loyal” servants’ defection. While soldiers, such as Kansas Jayhawkers, did “steal” some slaves, most often slaves recognized the presence of soldiers as an opportunity to seek their freedom.

There was tremendous confusion within Union ranks regarding fugitive slaves, who were oftentimes referred to as “contrabands” because it was assumed that they had been owned by the enemy and, therefore, were considered spoils of war. At first, concerns about maintaining the loyalty of Unionists resulted in the return of fugitive slaves to their owners, but enforcement was sporadic and often indiscriminate. Some officers returned runaways to their owners, but others granted protection to those who had been used in the Confederate war effort as was stipulated by Congress’ Confiscation Act of August 1861. Many put fugitives to work within their camps rather than return them to “traitors.” The Second Confiscation Act of July 1862 specified that the military could seize the property—including the slaves—of those disloyal to the Union.

As time progressed, slaveholders—no matter their loyalty—were less likely to reclaim their slaves. Few soldiers questioned fugitives’ veracity when they declared that their owners were disloyal, and, indeed, many were inclined to believe that all slaveholders were on the wrong side of the war. In fact, some officers issued freedom papers to the slaves of secessionist slaveholders who came within military lines. During the final years of the conflict, the military no longer debated whether slaves should be liberated but rather what to do with the many who already were free.

Continue reading »