Existing comment:
Exodus:
One month into the Civil War, three men escaped across the mouth of the James River and entered Fort Monroe, Virginia. With this act, Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker, and James Townshend declared themselves free and triggered a national debate over whether the United States had the right to emancipate the enslaved. General Benjamin Butler refused to return the men to slavery and classified the men as enemy property or in his words "the contraband of war." The nickname and the policy stuck. Despite the uncertain status of being classified as "contraband," thousands of African Americans escaped slavery, forcing the hand of the federal government. |