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Building New Lives: From "Contrabands" to Freedmen:
The upheaval of the Civil War produced an opportunity for runaway slaves, often called "contrabands," to seek protection behind Union lines. The term "contraband" originated in 1861 from Major General Benjamin Butler's decision to not return three fugitive slaves who had come to Fort Monroe, Hampton Roads, Virginia. Rather than sending them back to their owner -- where they had been building a confederate artillery position -- Butler opted to hold them as contraband war loot. Ironically, this legal loophole allowed Union soldiers an opportunity to grant escaped slaves a type of freedom by continuing to treat them as property. Although Butler did not coin the term "contrabands," the term came into usage later that year.
"Contrabands" tended to settle around military installations. The forts offered security, shelter, food, and work. Others were housed by the government in "contraband" camps. By 1864, an estimated 50,000 African American refugees had moved to Washington. Whatever their situation, these men, women, and children had decided that anything was better than remaining in slavery. |