Article: The Forgotten: The Contraband of America and the Road to Freedom

Contrabands

Article: The Forgotten: The Contraband of America and the Road to Freedom

06/17/2007

Article

This 2007 comprehensive article by the National Trust for Historic Preservation offers a perspective on the escape, and subsequent refuge, of three enslaved field hands to Fort Monroe in Virginia. According to the article, their escape inspired half a million enslaved people to seek refuge in Union Camps by the end of the war. These refugees became known as contrabands. The source claims that this mass exodus of refugees contradicts historical accounts that claim Black people waited to be freed on plantations. The article also describes the precarious conditions and experiences of contrabands after their arrival in Union camps. Other themes of note include: Confiscation Acts, contraband contributions to the military, education in the camps.

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Saving Places (National Trust for Historic Preservation)

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