Existing comment:
Three "Contrabands" and Officers of the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers at Camp Brightwood, Washington, DC, ca 1862:
Having a "contraband" servant was an inexpensive proposition for Union officers. In a letter dated January 15, 1862, Lt. Charles Harvey Brewster of the 10th Massachusetts Volunteers wrote: "I Have got a 'Contraband.' " The young man had fled his owner in Montgomery County, Maryland, and walked 13 miles to Camp Brightwood, where Brewster's regiment was encamped. Brewster explained that as an officer he received an extra $15.50 a month if he retained a servant; it cost half of that to maintain his "contraband." |