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CC0
Lantern slide of the slave dealers, Birch & Co., in Alexandria, Virginia
- Photograph by
- Brady, Mathew, American, 1822 - 1896
- Manufactured by
- McAllister, Thomas H., American, 1824 - 1898
- Subject of
- Price, Birch & Co., American, 1858 - 1861
- United States Army, American, founded 1775
- Date
- 1862
- Medium
- albumen, sodium chloride, silver nitrate, glass, metal, ink on paper, adhesive
- Dimensions
- H x W (image): 2 11/16 × 2 7/8 in. (6.8 × 7.3 cm)
- H x W x D (slide and mount): 3 1/4 × 4 1/8 × 1/4 in. (8.2 × 10.5 × 0.6 cm)
- Description
- Lantern slide of the slave trading firm of Price, Birch, & Co. of Alexandria, Virginia. The slide depicts a three story building is set to the right of the slide. A sign on the building reads “PRICE BIRCH & CO. / DEALERS IN SLAVES.” A tree is at the center of the image. Arrayed in the foreground are a horse, covered wagon and 10 soldiers. All the men are in full uniform, including hats, rifles, and swords. Printed vertically on the left of the image is “T.H. McALLISTER, Manufacturing Optician,.” Printed vertically on the right side of the image is “49 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK.” A paper label is adhered to the back of the slide. Handwritten vertically in ink is “0290 Price, Birch & Co.’s Slave Pen / Alex. Va” The slide is in a metal frame.
- Place captured
- Alexandria, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- Liljenquist Family Collection
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Media Arts-Photography
- Type
- lantern slides
- Topic
- American South
- Business
- Commerce
- Domestic slave trade
- Military
- Photography
- Slavery
- U.S. History, Civil War, 1861-1865
- United States Colored Troops
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Liljenquist Family
- Object number
- 2018.43.6
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
CC0
Manifest for the ship Fashion listing an enslaved girl, Sally, age 14
- Signed by
- Torrey, John P.
- Fullerton, S. W.
- Date
- January 27, 1844
- On ViewConcourse 3, C3 053
- Exhibition
- Slavery and Freedom
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 8 1/4 × 13 5/8 in. (21 × 34.6 cm)
- Description
- This pre-printed and handwritten form is a slave manifest for the ship Fashion with a home port of New York traveling from Port Pontchartrain in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Mobile, Alabama, dated January 27, 1844. The document is signed by the ship's owner, John P. Torrey and the ship's master, S. W. Fullerton. One enslaved girl named Sally, aged 14, is listed on the manifest. The reverse of the form has pre-printed and handwritten text granting permission for the ship's travel to Mobile.
- Transcription Center Status
- Transcribed by digital volunteers
- Place used
- Port Pontchartrain, New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Documents and Published Materials-Business and Legal Documents
- Type
- ships' manifests
- Topic
- Business
- Children
- Commerce
- Domestic slave trade
- Fancy Girl trade
- Slavery
- Transportation
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2014.174.4
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
-
CC0
Trade card for the "Great Negro Mart" in Memphis, Tennessee
- Issued by
- Hill, Ware, & Chrisp, American, 1859 - 1860
- Subject of
- Hill, Byrd, American, 1800 - 1872
- Chrisp, John W., American
- Ware, John D., American, born ca. 1800
- Printed by
- Unidentified
- Date
- 1859-1860
- On ViewConcourse 3, C3 053
- Exhibition
- Slavery and Freedom
- Medium
- ink on cardboard
- Dimensions
- H x W: 2 7/8 × 4 in. (7.3 × 10.2 cm)
- Description
- A trade card with printed black type for the slave traders Hill, Ware and Chrisp. Text on the obverse reads, "GREAT / NEGRO MART, / No. 87, ADAMS STREET, / MEMPHIS, --- TENN. / The undersigned would announce to the community at large, that they will keep/constantly on hand a / GENERAL ASSORTMENT OF NEGROES / AT PRIVATE SALE AND AT AUCTION. / They will also receive on commission (to Board or for Sale) any Negroes consigned / to their care. / All sales warranted as represented. / HILL, WARE & CHRISP." On the back, a handwritten inscription in black ink reads "S Ward + Jones / Send me a vile of / fine Branday / Hill Ware + Chrisp." Below in the bottom left corner is the name "R. Griffith" handwritten in graphite.
- Transcription Center Status
- Transcribed by digital volunteers
- Place printed
- Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
- Type
- trade cards
- Topic
- American South
- Business
- Commerce
- Domestic slave trade
- Slavery
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2014.63.17
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
CC0
Ship manifest detailing the transport of 92 enslaved persons
- Signed by
- Armfield, John
- Moore, Joseph C.
- Date
- October 30, 1833
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (Folded): 9 13/16 x 7 5/8 in. (24.9 x 19.4 cm)
- H x W (Open): 9 13/16 x 15 5/16 in. (24.9 x 38.9 cm)
- Description
- A handwritten ship's manifest, detailing the transport of ninety-two (92) enslaved persons. The document consists of a single sheet of off-white paper folded in half, with text handwritten in black ink on all pages. On the first page is a sworn, signed statement that the enslaved persons named within the document were not imported after January 1, 1808. Inside and on the back page, the names of ninety-two (92) enslaved persons are listed along with information on "Age," "Feet," "Inch," and "Colour." In the Remarks field, written vertically next to the names of enslaved persons 1-33 is: [Manifest of Negroes, Mulattoes, and persons of Colour, taken on board the Brig Uneas, whereof Joseph C. Moore is Master, further 155 1/25 Tons, to be transported from the Port of Alexandria, in the District of Columbia for the purpose of being sold or disposed of as slaves, or to be held to service or labour. Shipped by Franklin and Armfield over to Isaac Franklin New Orleans.].
- The paper is creased twice horizontally as if to fold it into thirds. There is a hole at the center that extends through all pages.
- Transcription Center Status
- Transcribed by digital volunteers
- Place depicted
- Alexandria, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
- New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Documents and Published Materials-Business and Legal Documents
- Type
- manifests
- Topic
- Commerce
- Domestic slave trade
- Law
- Slavery
- Transportation
- U.S. History, 1815-1861
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2013.46.6
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
CC0
Broadside for a New Orleans auction of 18 enslaved persons from Alabama
- Printed by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- Vignie, Norbert
- Date
- 1858
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- 18 11/16 × 8 11/16 in. (47.5 × 22 cm)
- Description
- A single-sheet broadside with bold serif font typeface advertising an auction for the sale of eighteen slaves. It consists of black printed text on off-white paper. The top of the broadside reads "SLAVES! / Long Credit Sale / of / Plantation Hands / from Alabama, without reserve.” The broadside lists the sale location as the St. Louis Hotel and the date the sale is to take place as March 25, 1858. It then lists the names, ages and skills of the individuals being sold. A disclaimer in the middle of the broadside reads “All of the above Slaves are from the State of Alabama, and sold under / a full guarantee, except the defects above stated. The bottom portion of the broadside lists additional enslaved people being sold at this auction. At the bottom of the broadside an additional disclaimer and terms of sale are listed.
- The enslaved persons to be auctioned are listed as follows:
- Absalom, 28, plantation hand
- Ned, 43, plantation hand
- Tom, about 46, plantation hand
- Bill, 23, plantation hand
- Frank, 25, plantation hand
- Alfred, 35, plantation hand
- Polly, 23, cook, washer and ironer
- George, 23, plantation hand and carriage driver; to be sold with his wife Martha, 30 and their four children, Ned, 7, Nancy 6, Horace, 4, and Mary, 1
- Dan, 23, cooper
- Lewis, 35, general labor
- Firman, 40, laborer
- Mary, 27, house servant
- Jim, 26, general labor
- Place used
- New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States, North and Central America
- Place depicted
- Alabama, United States, North and Central America
- Type
- broadsides
- Topic
- Agriculture
- Children
- Commerce
- Domestic life
- Domestic slave trade
- Families
- Finance
- Labor
- Men
- Slavery
- Women
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2011.155.305
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public Domain
-
CC0
Daguerreotype of Rhoda Phillips
- Photograph by
- Unidentified
- Subject of
- Phillips, Rhoda, American, 1831 - 1906
- Date
- ca. 1850
- Medium
- silver amalgam, silver on copper photographic plates
- Dimensions
- H x W (Sheet): 2 x 2 1/2 in. (5.1 x 6.4 cm)
- Description
- A 1/9th plate daguerreotype portrait of Rhoda Phillips (1831-1906), a woman who was born enslaved and owned by the Clark-Gleaves family of Nashville, Tennessee. Phillips is seated in the image and wears a dress with a flower pattern, lace cuffs, and a lace collar. The case is contemporary and has velvet lining.
- Place captured
- Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Media Arts-Photography
- Type
- daguerreotypes
- portraits
- Topic
- American South
- Photography
- Slavery
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2011.34
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
Proof copy of the first printing of The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
- Created by
- United States Congress, American, founded 1789
- Printed by
- Ritchie, Thomas, American, 1778 - 1854
- Date
- 1850
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 9 3/4 x 7 11/16 in. (24.8 x 19.5 cm)
- Description
- Proof copy of the first printing of The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 consisting of a single sheet of U.S. Government-issued blue stock paper folded quarto to form four pages and printed in black ink. At top a handwritten inscription reads [U.S. Congress. / Fugitive Slaves Act.] The printed text begins [AN ACT / TO AMEND, AND SUPPLEMENTARY TO, THE ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT RESPECTING FUGITIVES FROM JUSTICE / AND PERSONS ESCAPING FROM THE SERVICE OF THEIR MASTERS," APPROVED FEBRUARY TWELFTH, ONE / THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND NINETY-THREE.].
- In the body, there are two annotations handwritten in black ink -correcting "B it enacted" to "Be it enacted," and "courts of United States" to "courts of the United States."
- Type
- laws
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2009.14.4
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
-
CC0
Identification button used by Thomas Porter II
- Manufactured by
- I. Nutting & Son, British, ca.1805 - 1840
- Used by
- Porter, Thomas II, British, 1790 - 1857
- Date
- ca. 1820
- On ViewConcourse 3, C3 053
- Exhibition
- Slavery and Freedom
- Medium
- pewter
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 13/16 in. (2.1 cm), 3.9Grams
- Description
- A round pewter button with "TPORTER" stamped across the middle. This button would have been sewn onto an enslaved person's shirt to identify him or her as belonging to Thomas Porter II. On the reverse side of the button there are fine concentric circle impressions within a pronounced rim as well as a stamp which is now illegible. There is also evidence of a parting line for a two-part mold on the reverse of the button. The button has considerable wear with pitting on both sides.
- Place collected
- Georgia, United States, North and Central America
- Place used
- Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana, Caribbean, South America
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Awards and Medals
- Topic
- Commerce
- Middle Passage
- Slavery
- Trans Atlantic slave trade
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2009.32.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
-
CC0
Identification button used by Thomas Porter II
- Manufactured by
- I. Nutting & Son, British, ca.1805 - 1840
- Used by
- Porter, Thomas II, British, 1790 - 1857
- Date
- ca. 1820
- On ViewConcourse 3, C3 053
- Exhibition
- Slavery and Freedom
- Medium
- pewter
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 13/16 in. (2.1 cm), 3.2Grams
- Description
- A round pewter button with "TPORTER" stamped across the middle. This button would have been sewn onto an enslaved person's shirt to identify him or her as belonging to Thomas Porter II. On the reverse side of the button there is a pronounced concavity which may have occurred after fabrication. The button has considerable wear with pitting on both sides.
- Place collected
- Georgia, United States, North and Central America
- Place used
- Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana, Caribbean, South America
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Awards and Medals
- Topic
- Commerce
- Middle Passage
- Slavery
- Trans Atlantic slave trade
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2009.32.2
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
-
CC0
Identification button used by Thomas Porter II
- Created by
- Unidentified
- Used by
- Porter, Thomas II, British, 1790 - 1857
- Date
- ca. 1820
- On ViewConcourse 3, C3 053
- Exhibition
- Slavery and Freedom
- Medium
- copper alloy
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 3/4 in. (1.9 cm), 2.7Grams
- Description
- A round copper-alloy button with the initials "T*P" on the front. This button would have been sewn onto an enslaved person's shirt to identify him or her as belonging to Thomas Porter II. There is an inscription on the reverse of the button in two concentric circles that reads, "FINE ORANGE STANDARD GILT." There is a considerable amount of verdigris on both sides of the button.
- Place collected
- Georgia, United States, North and Central America
- Place used
- Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana, Caribbean, South America
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Awards and Medals
- Topic
- Commerce
- Middle Passage
- Slavery
- Trans Atlantic slave trade
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2009.32.3
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
-
CC0
Identification button used by Thomas Porter II
- Created by
- Unidentified
- Used by
- Porter, Thomas II, British, 1790 - 1857
- Date
- ca. 1820
- On ViewConcourse 3, C3 053
- Exhibition
- Slavery and Freedom
- Medium
- copper alloy
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 3/4 in. (1.9 cm), 2.8Grams
- Description
- A round copper-alloy button with the initials "T*P" on the front. This button would have been sewn onto an enslaved person's shirt to identify him or her as belonging to Thomas Porter. There is an inscription on the reverse of the button in two concentric circles that reads, "FINE ORANGE STANDARD GILT."
- Place collected
- Georgia, United States, North and Central America
- Place used
- Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana, Caribbean, South America
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Awards and Medals
- Topic
- Commerce
- Middle Passage
- Slavery
- Trans Atlantic slave trade
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2009.32.4
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
-
CC0
Identification button worn by enslaved persons on Golden Grove Plantation
- Created by
- Unidentified
- Used by
- Baillie, David, British, 1786 - 1861
- Date
- 1828-1834
- Medium
- pewter
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 13/16 in. (2.1 cm), 4.4Grams
- Description
- A round pewter button with "D BAILLIE / G•GROVE" stamped on the front. This button would have been sewn onto an enslaved person's shirt to identify him or her as belonging to David Baillie of Golden Grove Plantation, British Guyana. The button has considerable wear with pitting on both sides.
- Place collected
- Georgia, United States, North and Central America
- Place used
- Demerara-Mahaica, Guyana, Caribbean, South America
- Classification
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Awards and Medals
- Topic
- Commerce
- Middle Passage
- Slavery
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2009.32.5
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
-
CC0
Broadside for an auction of enslaved persons at the Charleston courthouse
- Created by
- Unidentified
- Date
- 1859
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 13 5/16 x 8 7/16 in. (33.8 x 21.5 cm)
- Description
- A broadside advertising a court-ordered slave of enslaved persons at the courthouse in Charleston, South Carolina, on January 10, 1859. The paper is printed in black ink with hand-written annotations along columns printed with the first names and ages of ninety-nine [99] enslaved men, women, and children. The names are numbered and grouped together into subsets. Large printed text at top reads, [UNDER DECREE IN EQUITY. / SANDERS vs. SANDERS, et al]. The handwritten notations make remarks like "healthy," "very fine," "sold privately," "dead," "shot in leg," "breeding," "leg broke," "lost a toe," "white," and "mostly white." The names listed are as follows:
- First column:
- London, 55; Nelly, 50; Dick, 15; Rosy, 4
- Cuffy, 35; Becker, 19
- Caroline, 29; Martha, 4; Bull or Frederick, 12; Infant, 9 months
- Charity, 30; Susan, 17; Floride, 2; Infant, 6 months
- Ned, 60; Silvy, 35; Frank, 11;
- Easton, 3; Infant, 3 months; Billy, 68; Lucy, 50; Binah, 14; Phillis, 12; Jack, 11;
- Thomas, 26; Toney, 30;
- Becky, 30; Sammy 5; Fed, 3; Infant, 7 months;
- Isaac, 30;
- Moses, 25;
- Morris, 21;
- Billy, 45; Hagar, 50; Joe, 35; William, 20; Rose, 15;
- Martha, 70; Nancy, 45; Rachel, 22; Ben, 16; Lot, 10;
- Betty, 25; Plymouth, 2;
- London, 26; Grace, 22; Harriet, 2;
- Hester, 25; Amos, 21; Elsey, 5;
- Second column:
- Jacob, 55; Mary, 45; Emma, 21; Rose, 15; Aelie, 18; Simon, 13; Francis, 6; Mary, 3;
- Hardtimes, 70; Sary, 30; Anne, 18;
- Old Peter, 70; Old Nancy, 60;
- Old Hester, 68; Maggy, 40; Edward, 19; Susan, 17; Robert, 13; Martha, 7; Sarah, 2;
- Peter, 28; Venus, 25; Henry, 8; Hamilton, 4; Cornelia, 1;
- Lydy, 25; Hannah, 6 months;
- Hannah, 30; Nero, 10; Rachel, 7; August, 4; Henry, 2; Infant, 1 month;
- Old Frank, 60;
- Toney, 30;
- Jake, 35; Eliza, 30; Pleasant, 12; Sukey, 10; Amanda, 8; Catharine, 3;
- David, 36;
- Jim 39;
- Binah, 60;
- March, 40;
- Bob, 35;
- Sarah, 12;
- Harriet, 14
- Transcription Center Status
- Transcribed by digital volunteers
- Classification
- Documents and Published Materials
- Slavery and Freedom Objects
- Type
- broadsides
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2010.21.3
- Restrictions & Rights
- No Known Copyright Restrictions
-
CC0
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African
- Written by
- Equiano, Olaudah, 1745 - 1797
- Published by
- Knapp, Isaac, American, 1808 - 1858
- Owned by
- West, Mary J., American
- Date
- 1789; republished 1837
- On ViewConcourse 3, C3 053
- Exhibition
- Slavery and Freedom
- Medium
- ink on paper, leather
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 7 × 4 1/2 × 1 1/8 in. (17.8 × 11.5 × 2.8 cm)
- H x W x D (open at 90 degrees): 7 × 4 1/2 × 5 in. (17.8 × 11.4 × 12.7 cm)
- Description
- A hardcover book titled The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African written by Eqiano Olaudah. The book has a brown leather cover with gold colored lettering. A paper dust jacket with "Gustavus Vassa" on the front surrounds the leather cover. There are inscriptions on the front pastedown endpaper and the front endpaper. The book has 294 pages.
- Place printed
- Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
- Place depicted
- West Africa, Africa
- England, Europe
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
- West Indies, Caribbean, North and Central America
- Type
- books
- narratives
- Topic
- Africa
- Emancipation
- Literature
- Men
- Middle Passage
- Religious groups
- Slavery
- Spirituality
- Trans Atlantic slave trade
- U.S. History, 1815-1861
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of William E. West, Sr. and Family
- Object number
- 2014.44
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public Domain
-
Records of the Field Offices for the State of Louisiana, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1863–1872
- inclusive dates
- 1863–1872
- Physical description
- 111 Reels
- Abstract
- The collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 111 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M1905. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the staff officers of the Assistant Commissioner and the subordinate field offices of the Louisiana headquarters of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1863–1872. These records consist of bound volumes and unbound records containing materials that include letters sent and received, monthly reports, registers of complaints, labor contracts, and other records relating to freedmen's claims and bounty payments.
- Conditions Governing Access
- Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
- Preferred Citation
- Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
- Records Description
- These records consist of volumes and unbound records. The volumes reproduced in this microfilm publication were originally arranged by type of record and thereunder by volume number. All volumes were assigned numbers by the Adjutant General's Office (AGO) of the War Department after the records came into its custody. In this microfilm publication, AGO numbers are shown in parentheses to aid in identifying the volumes. The National Archives assigned the volume numbers that are not in parentheses. No numbers were assigned to series consisting of single volumes. In some volumes, particularly in indexes and alphabetical headings of registers, there are blank numbered pages that have not been filmed.
- The volumes consist of letters and endorsements sent and received, press copies of letters sent, registers of letters received, letters and orders received, registers of freedmen court cases, special orders and circulars issued, registers of claimants, registers of complaints, marriage certificates, and monthly reports forwarded to the Assistant Commissioner. The unbound documents consist of letters and orders received, unregistered letters and narrative reports received, special orders and circulars issued, and general orders and circulars received. The unbound records also contain monthly reports, labor contracts, marriage certificates, and records relating to claims.
- Some of the volumes contain more than one type of record, reflecting a common recording practice of clerks and staff officers of that period. On Roll 67, for example, the volume of applications for laborers for Bragg Home Colony also contains a register of complaints. Some other examples of additional series within volumes can be found in records on Rolls 72, 78, and others. Researchers should read carefully the records descriptions and arrangements in the table of contents to make full use of these documents.
- Historical Note
- [The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M1905.]
- HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION
- The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, also known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). The life of the Bureau was extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). The Bureau was responsible for the supervision and management of all matters relating to refugees and freedmen, and of lands abandoned or seized during the Civil War. In May 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner of the Bureau, and Howard served in that position until June 30, 1872, when activities of the Bureau were terminated in accordance with an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366). While a major part of the Bureau's early activities involved the supervision of abandoned and confiscated property, its mission was to provide relief and help freedmen become self–sufficient. Bureau officials issued rations and clothing, operated hospitals and refugee camps, and supervised labor contracts. In addition, the Bureau managed apprenticeship disputes and complaints, assisted benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, helped freedmen in legalizing marriages entered into during slavery, and provided transportation to refugees and freedmen who were attempting to reunite with their family or relocate to other parts of the country. The Bureau also helped black soldiers, sailors, and their heirs collect bounty claims, pensions, and back pay.
- The act of March 3, 1865, authorized the appointment of Assistant Commissioners to aid the Commissioner in supervising the work of the Bureau in the former Confederate states, the border states, and the District of Columbia. While the work performed by Assistant Commissioners in each state was similar, the organizational structure of staff officers varied from state to state. At various times, the staff could consist of a superintendent of education, an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector general, a disbursing officer, a chief medical officer, a chief quartermaster, and a commissary of subsistence. Subordinate to these officers were the assistant superintendents, or subassistant commissioners as they later became known, who commanded the subdistricts.
- The Assistant Commissioner corresponded extensively with both his superior in the Washington Bureau headquarters and his subordinate officers in the subdistricts. Based upon reports submitted to him by the subassistant commissioners and other subordinate staff officers, he prepared reports that he sent to the Commissioner concerning Bureau activities in areas under his jurisdiction. The Assistant Commissioner also received letters from freedmen, local white citizens, state officials, and other non-Bureau personnel. These letters varied in nature from complaints to applications for jobs in the Bureau. Because the assistant adjutant general handled much of the mail for the Assistant Commissioner's office, it was often addressed to him instead of to the Assistant Commissioner.
- In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard in July 1865, the Assistant Commissioners were instructed to designate one officer in each state to serve as "General Superintendents of Schools." These officials were to "take cognizance of all that is being done to educate refugees and freedmen, secure proper protection to schools and teachers, promote method and efficiency, correspond with the benevolent agencies which are supplying his field, and aid the Assistant Commissioner in making his required reports." In October 1865, a degree of centralized control was established over Bureau educational activities in the states when Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector of Finances and Schools. In January 1867, Alvord was divested of his financial responsibilities, and he was appointed General Superintendent of Education.
- An act of Congress, approved July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), ordered that the Commissioner of the Bureau "shall, on the first day of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn from the several States within which said bureau has acted and its operation shall be discontinued." Consequently, in early 1869, with the exception of the superintendents of education and the claims agents, the Assistant Commissioners and their subordinate officers were withdrawn from the states.
- For the next year and a half the Bureau continued to pursue its education work and to process claims. In the summer of 1870, the superintendents of education were withdrawn from the states, and the headquarters staff was greatly reduced. From that time until the Bureau was abolished by an act of Congress approved June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), effective June 30, 1872, the Bureau's functions related almost exclusively to the disposition of claims. The Bureau's records and remaining functions were then transferred to the Freedmen's Branch in the office of the Adjutant General. The records of this branch are among the Bureau's files.
- THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU IN LOUISIANA
- ORGANIZATION
- On June 13, 1865, Commissioner Oliver Otis Howard appointed Chaplain Thomas W. Conway as the Assistant Commissioner for Louisiana. At the time of his appointment, Conway headed the military's Louisiana Bureau of Free Labor, which managed the affairs of freedmen employed on "Abandoned" plantations. Conway transferred the Bureau of Free Labor to the newly established Freedmen's Bureau Louisiana headquarters at New Orleans. The parishes of Madison, Carroll, Concordia, and Tenasas in northeastern Louisiana were reassigned in January 1866 from the jurisdiction of the Assistant Commissioner for Mississippi to that of the Assistant Commissioner for Louisiana. The other Assistant Commissioners or Acting Assistant Commissioners in Louisiana and their terms of office were Gen. James S. Fullerton, October 4 – 18, 1865; Gen. Absalom Baird, October 19, 1865–September 1866; Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, October 5–November 27, 1866; Gen. Joseph A. Mower, November 28, 1866–December 4, 1867; Lt. Col. William H. Wood, December 5, 1867–January 2, 1868; Gen. R. C. Buchanan, January 3–August 24, 1868; and Gen. Edward Hatch, August 25, 1868–January 1, 1869.
- When Conway took over as Assistant Commissioner, the state was divided into districts that were composed of one to three parishes and commanded by either an agent or superintendent. In April 1867, the state was reorganized into seven subdistricts headed by subassistant commissioners. Subassistant commissioners were required to file monthly inspection reports of their respective jurisdictions with the Assistant Commissioner. Agents or assistant subassistant commissioners, who were responsible for one to two parishes, received their instructions from and reported to subassistant commissioners. The major subordinate field offices for the Bureau in Louisiana included those with headquarters at Baton Rouge, Franklin, Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, Shreveport, and Vidalia. For a list of known Louisiana subordinate field office personnel and their dates of service, see the appendix.
- ACTIVITIES
- The major activities of the Freedmen's Bureau field office in Louisiana generally resembled those conducted in other states. The Bureau provided various forms of relief to both freedmen and white refugees, supervised labor contracts, assisted freedmen in the establishment of schools, administered justice, helped freedmen locate land, and assisted blacks with military claims for back pay, bounty payments, and pensions.
- Between June and September 1865, the Bureau in Louisiana issued some 455,290 rations to destitute freedmen and 157,691 to white refugees. With no appropriated funds from Congress, the Bureau relied on several sources to carry out these activities: income from confiscated property, requisitioned supplies from the army, aid from benevolent societies, and a three–dollar tax on black adult laborers. Despite the Bureau's efforts, however, tens of thousands of freedmen and refugees remained in dire straits throughout the state. The lack of available funds, continuous flooding, crop failures, and disease severely hampered the Bureau's relief programs. On March 30, 1867, Congress appropriated monies for a "Special Relief Fund" (15 Stat. 28). The fund authorized the Secretary of War, through the Freedmen's Bureau, to issue provisions and rations to destitute persons in Southern states, including Louisiana.
- In response to the act, Commissioner Howard issued a circular on April 3, 1867 (Circular Number 11), that set aside $500,000 for the purpose.1 The agency maintained homes for refugees and orphans. Hundreds of refugees were housed in two hotels in New Orleans (the Commercial and the Western Verandah) and later the Marine Hospital. While most of the residents were from Louisiana, some were from Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Beginning in 1865, the Bureau provided assistance to several privately run orphan asylums in New Orleans and other areas of the state until its work for orphans was discontinued in September 1865. The Bureau also provided medical aid to freedmen and white refugees. In 1866, to help combat such diseases as cholera, yellow fever, and smallpox, seven doctors, on average, served under the Bureau in Louisiana: five at the New Orleans hospital and one at both the Shreveport hospital and the Rost Home Colony. The Bureau also maintained numerous dispensaries throughout the state. In spite of the closure of the Rost Home Colony hospital and most of the Bureau's dispensaries by the end of 1867, the agency in 1868 treated more than 8,500 freedmen for various infectious diseases. At the Rost Home Colony—one of the most successful of the four "Home Colonies" established in Louisiana—Bureau officials also issued rations and clothing, established a school, provided employment, and compiled a variety of personal data about individuals who arrived and departed from the Colony. Both the New Orleans and the Shreveport hospitals maintained registers of patients and the sick and wounded.2
- The regulation of written labor agreements between planters and freedmen was a major concern of the Freedmen's Bureau. In a circular issued on December 4, 1865 (Circular Number 29), Bureau officials in Louisiana outlined the rules governing the free labor system in the state. Freedmen could choose their employers, and all contracts were to be approved by a Bureau agent. Wages were not set, but the circular declared that it was the freedmen's "Duty" to "obtain the best terms they can for their labor." Freedmen were required to work 26 days per month, consisting of 10–hour days in the summer and 9–hour days in the winter. Any work time exceeding 6 hours beyond the normal workday would constitute an additional day's work. In addition to wages, freedmen were also entitled to receive rations, clothing, "Comfortable" living quarters, and medical attention, and each family was to receive a half–acre plot to maintain a garden. Five percent of the freedman's monthly wages was to be retained by the employer for the purpose of sustaining schools for the freedman's children. In cases where freedmen desired to work for a share of the crop, employers were required to have sufficient amounts of provisions available for freedmen and their families each month. Also, employers who entered into share agreements were obligated to pay Bureau agents 1/20 of the amount of the freedmen's share of the crop each month for the benefit of freedmen schools.3
- In the two years following the April 1862 occupation of New Orleans by Union troops, various civilian and military organizations established schools to educate freedmen in Louisiana. Gen. Nathaniel Banks's order of March 22, 1864 (Department of the Gulf General Order 38), established a board of education to govern the organization of freedmen's schools. B. Rush Plumly was appointed head of the board, and Lt. Edwin M. Wheelock became supervisor. Schools under the board's jurisdiction were supported mainly by a tax on citizens recently disloyal to the Union. On June 29, 1865, Assistant Commissioner Conway took charge of the schools, and on July 5, 1865, replaced Plumly and Wheelock with Capt. H. R. Pease as superintendent of education. Pease's successors included Bvt. Maj. A. G. Studer, Lt. F. R. Chase, J. M. Lee, L. O. Parker, H. H. Pierce, and E. W. Mason.
- Pease divided the state into seven school districts, placing military and civilian personnel in charge. Under these officers were school directors responsible for each parish and "Canvassers" who collected the school tax for each district. At the time of his arrival, there were some 126 freedmen schools, with 230 teachers and approximately 19,000 students. However, with limited funds and intense opposition to the school tax, Circular Number 34, dated December 27, 1865, directed that all schools be "suspended until such time as it may be found practicable to re-establish them on a permanent and self–supporting basis."4
- In February 1866, then–Assistant Commissioner Baird sought to make schools self–supporting through a tuition plan. Despite Baird's new plan and congressional appropriations of 1866 and 1867 for freedmen education in the South, the Freedmen's Bureau's educational programs in Louisiana continued to face financial difficulties. In June 1868, Congress authorized the Bureau to sell school buildings to private groups that were willing to maintain freedmen schools, and the Bureau entered into cooperative agreements with such groups as the American Missionary Society, the Methodist Freedmen's Aid Society, and the Free Mission Baptists. Under the agreements, the Bureau provided monies for construction of the school buildings, and the religious organizations maintained the schools. In 1870, the cooperation between the Bureau and religious groups led to significant progress in the establishment of numerous freedmen schools in Louisiana. Despite their efforts however, freedmen schools continued to suffer from the effects of limited resources, lack of competent teachers, and a segregated school system.5
- Safeguarding rights and securing justice for freedmen was of paramount concern to the Freedmen's Bureau. Following the Civil War, several Southern states enacted a series of laws, commonly known as "Black Codes," that restricted the rights and legal status of freedmen. Freedmen were often given harsh sentences for petty crimes, and in some instances were unable to get their cases heard in state courts. Assistant Commissioners were directed to "adjudicate, either themselves or through officers of their appointment, all difficulties arising between Negroes themselves, or between Negroes and whites or Indians."6 Assistant Commissioner Conway issued Circular Number 15 (September 15, 1865), authorizing his subordinates to establish freedmen courts in cases where freedmen were not receiving just treatment. Conway's successors—Fullerton, Baird, and Sheridan—believed that civil officers in most parishes administered justice impartially in freedmen cases, and so abolished the special tribunals as unnecessary. Nevertheless, Bureau officers were still required to represent freedmen in court cases and refer the most extreme cases of injustice to United States courts. In the latter part of 1866, fearing that freedmen's rights were not being adequately protected, Assistant Commissioner Joseph Mower re–instituted some Bureau judicial functions that had been previously suspended by his predecessors. William H. Wood, who succeeded Mower, told Bureau agents during his tenure that only in cases where the evidence clearly showed the civil court's failure to administer justice, were they to become involved. Wood's replacement, Gen. Robert C. Buchanan, like Fullerton, Baird, and Sheridan, continued the policy of leaving matters of justice to civil authorities. By the time Gen. Edward Hatch assumed office as Assistant Commissioner in 1868, Louisiana had restored its constitutional relations with the Federal Government, and matters concerning justice were returned to the state.7
- The Southern Homestead Act (14 Stat. 66), approved by Congress on June 21, 1866, made available for public settlement 46 million acres of public lands in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Six million acres of this Federal land was located in Louisiana. The act specifically prohibited discrimination against applicants due to race, and thus offered Louisiana freedmen and others an opportunity to become landowners. Only persons who headed households or were former United States soldiers were eligible to apply. A five–dollar application fee was required of all applicants, which allowed them to settle on an 80–acre tract and gain permanent possession after five years of cultivation. Generally, the Freedmen's Bureau, through "Locating Agents," assisted interested freedmen in finding plots, and provided them with one-month subsistence, free transportation to their prospective tracts of land, and seeds for initial planting. By January 1867, J. J. Saville, as locating agent, found homesteads for 87 freedmen, 73 whites, and 14 soldiers. However, because the New Orleans land office was closed, only 7 were able to file applications. While limited resources and the lack of suitable lands for settlement hindered freedmen in their effort to acquire land, freedmen also faced intense opposition from whites who opposed black land ownership. Freedmen were thus encouraged by Bureau officials in Louisiana to settle on land in large numbers in order to protect themselves from intense opposition by whites.8
- An act of Congress on June 14, 1864, authorized the payment of bounties, not to exceed $100, to black soldiers who had entered the military after June 15, 1864, and who were free on April 19, 1861 (14 Stat. 126). Amendments in 1866 dropped the requirement of freedom at enlistment and offered additional bounties of $100 for those blacks who had signed on for three years, and $50 for individuals who enlisted for two years. To assist black soldiers and their heirs in filing bounty and other military claims against the Federal Government, a claims agency was initially established in the United States Sanitary Commission. On July 14, 1865, Commissioner Howard authorized Freedmen's Bureau officials to act as agents of the Commission and to assist it in filing for black military claims. However, freedmen often rejected the free services of the agency and paid fees to private claims agents, believing that they would receive their money quicker. In 1867, concerned about abuse and fraud in the settlement of black military claims, Congress passed a law making the Freedmen's Bureau the sole agent for payment of claims of black veterans (15 Stat. 26). From October 31, 1866, through September 30, 1867, the Bureau in Louisiana settled claims amounting to just $1,489.73. However, one year later, 240 veterans' claims amounting to $52,058 were settled, with 484 remaining to be resolved.9
- ENDNOTES
- 1 Howard A. White, The Freedmen's Bureau in Louisiana (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1970), 64 – 76.
- 2 Ibid., 76 – 85; For a discussion of the establishment and activities at Rost Home Colony, see Michael F. Knight, "The Rost Home Colony: St. Charles Parish, Louisiana," Prologue 33, No. 1 (Fall 2001): 214 – 220; Records relating to the Freedmen's hospital at New Orleans have been reproduced on Records of the New Orleans Field Offices, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1869 (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1483, Rolls 1 – 7); For Shreveport hospital records, see Roll 101 in this publication.
- 3 House Ex. Doc. 70, 39th Cong., 1st Sess. Serial Vol. 1256, pp. 30 – 33.
- 4 White, The Freedmen's Bureau in Louisiana, pp. 166 – 175; See also House Ex. Doc. 70, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., Serial Vol. 1256, pp. 35 – 36.
- 5 White, The Freedmen's Bureau in Louisiana, 176 – 200.
- 6 House Ex. Doc. 11, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., Serial Vol. 1255, pp. 45 – 46.
- 7 White, The Freedmen's Bureau in Louisiana, 134 – 165.
- 8 Ibid., 59 – 63.
- 9 Howard A. White, The Freedmen's Bureau in Louisiana, pp. 160 – 162; See also, Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, Louisiana, October 5, 1868 [pp. 19 – 20], Records of the Office of the Commissioner, Record Group 105, National Archives Building, Washington, DC.
- object type
- Archival materials
- topic
- American South
- Freedmen's Bureau
- Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877
- Slaves -- Emancipation
-
Records of the Field Offices of the Freedmen's Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, 1872–1878
- smithsonian online virtual archive
- Record
- inclusive dates
- 1872–1878
- Physical description
- 58 Reels
- Abstract
- This collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 58 rolls of microfilm described in NARA publication M2029. These digital surrogates reproduced the field office records of the Freedmen's Branch in the Office of the Adjutant General, 1872–1878. These records consist of bound volumes and unbound records, including letters sent, letters received, registers of letters received, and registers of claims.
- Conditions Governing Access
- Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
- Preferred Citation
- Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
- Historical Note
- [The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M2029.]
- HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION
- The Freedmen's Branch was established in the office of the Adjutant General in June 1872. It assumed and continued the unfinished business of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (the Freedmen's Bureau), which was ended by an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), effective June 30, 1872.
- The Freedmen's Bureau was established in the War Department by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). The life of the Bureau was extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). Under the direction of Commissioner Oliver Otis Howard, it was responsible for the supervision and management of all matters relating to refugees and freedmen, and of lands abandoned or seized during the Civil War. While a major part of the Bureau's early activities involved the supervision of abandoned and confiscated property, its mission was to provide relief and help freedmen become self–sufficient. Bureau officials issued rations and clothing, operated hospitals and refugee camps, and supervised labor contracts. In addition, the Bureau managed apprenticeship disputes and complaints, assisted benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, helped freedmen in legalizing marriages entered into during slavery, and provided transportation to refugees and freedmen who were attempting to reunite with their families or relocate to other parts of the country. The Bureau also helped black soldiers, sailors, and their heirs collect bounty claims, pensions, and back pay.
- An act of Congress approved July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), ordered the Bureau to withdraw from the states in which it operated and to discontinue its work. Consequently, in early 1869, with the exception of the superintendents of education and the claims agents, the Assistant Commissioners and their subordinate officers ended their field office activities. For the next year and a half, the Bureau continued to pursue its education work and to process claims. In the summer of 1870, the state superintendents of education ceased to operate in the states, and the headquarters staff was greatly reduced. With the closing of the Bureau on June 30, 1872, its records and remaining functions, which consisted almost exclusively of the disposition of military–related claims, were then transferred to the Freedmen's Branch in the War Department's Office of the Adjutant General.
- When Assistant Adjutant General Thomas Vincent assumed office as head of the Freedmen's Branch on June 27, 1872, his charge was to supervise the transfer of the records of the unfinished business of the Freedmen's Bureau and to "look to the arrangement of the records and distribution of the duties, so that there will be the least delay in the future transaction of the business, with the view of completing and closing it." When the records of the Freedmen's Bureau began to arrive at his office, however, Vincent found them "in a state of much confusion." The records for several states and divisions were intermixed with others; some records were missing and presumed kept by Assistant Commissioner and local agents; many transactions relating to claims were never recorded, making it difficult to determine who had been paid; and there were a deficit in the amount of moneys due the some 4,858 unpaid claims and the amount transferred by the Freedmen's Bureau. These and other factors contributed to numerous complaints, accusations of fraud and embezzlement, and delays in the Freedmen's Branch's attempt to prepare and pay claims.1
- Vincent established his headquarters and a chief disbursement office in Washington, DC. Capt. James McMillian served as the chief disbursing officer of the Freedmen's Branch from July 1872 to July 1877, until he was succeeded by Capt. G. G. Hunt, who served from July 1877 to February 1879. Field disbursing offices were established at Louisville, Kentucky; St. Louis; Missouri; Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee; Vicksburg and Natchez, Mississippi; and New Orleans, Louisiana. Payments to claimants in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia were made through the Washington office; in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and states where slavery had not existed, disbursing officers were temporarily assigned.
- The effort to organize, arrange, and make sense of the Freedmen's Bureau's records took the Freedmen's Branch almost a year and a half. Nevertheless, in accordance with Joint Resolution Number 25, approved Mach 29, 1867, which had governed the payment of black veterans' claims by the Freedmen's Bureau, the Freedmen's Branch received, acted upon, and paid claims of black soldiers, sailors, and marines and their heirs for bounty, pension, arrears of pay, commutation of rations, and prize money. Under the provisions of the resolution, the chief disbursement officer received all checks and certificates relating to the settlement of blacks soldiers' claims, and was responsible for paying claimants in the Washington, DC, area and for the accounting and disbursements of funds to the field disbursing officers located in the Border and former Confederate States. The Washington office also paid attorneys' fees and expenses, and after satisfactory identification, the balance of the claim was paid to individual claimants, heirs or representatives. To protect black claimants from fraud and "imposition," claimants were to receive payment in currency rather than checks or drafts. The transfer or assignment of power off attorney for the balance of a claim ("or any part thereof") was not allowed. The resolution made clear that it was the duty of the Freedmen's Branch and its officers "to facilitate as far as possible the discovery, identification, and payment of claimants."2
- In December 1874, the Secretary of War reported that as of July 1872, the Freedmen's Branch had paid military claims amounting to more than $1 million. He also reported that, to meet the needs of claimants in Kansas and the northwestern areas of Missouri, a field office was opened at Fort Leavenworth. The disbursing office that had been established at Nashville in 1873 was consolidated with the Memphis, TN office and the office at Fort Macon, NC and Columbia, SC, were discontinued. One of the offices at New Orleans, LA, was consolidated with that at Vicksburg, MS. While the Secretary of War reported that payments of claims by means of postal orders were alleviating delays in remote areas, Freedmen's Branch officials still found it difficult to process unpaid bounty and pension claims transferred by the Freedmen's Bureau. In many of these claims, individuals had moved from their former residences and could not be located. Some had died, leaving no representative; others for one reason or another failed to apply for payments.3
- By mid–fall 1875, the disbursing office established at Fort Leavenworth, KS was consolidated with that in St. Louis, MO. Because of increasing demand for services, the office at Nashville was reopened. The offices at Fort Monroe, VA and Charleston, SC were permanent closed. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1875, the Freedmen's Branch received more than 13,000 correspondences relating to the military claims of black veterans. Disbursing officers settled more than 3,700 of these claims, at a cost of nearly $390,000. Also, through the "diligent effort" of disbursing officers, the settlement of unpaid claims had increased, although allocating some claimants still remains a problem. To protect the interests of both the Federal Government and claimants, disbursing officers worked "vigorously" to investigate contested and fraudulent claims, which had increasingly become an important part of their duties. The Freedmen's Branch also continued to pursue matters relating to embezzlement.4
- By October 1876, payment of military claims had fallen off dramatically. The number of claims paid during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, and July and August 1876, totaled less than 2,500. Most claimants who remained unpaid lived in remote locations thus making payment extremely difficult. Also, some claimants had changed their place of residence after filing claims. The periodic reduction of disbursing offices and clerical staff also greatly impacted the settlement process. The offices at St. Louis, MO and Nashville, TN were permanently closed. The disbursing responsibilities formerly assigned at Natchez and Vicksburg, MS were moved to the New Orleans, LA; Memphis, TN; Louisville, KY and the chief disbursing office at Washington, DC. Nonetheless, the Freedmen's Branch continued to settle unpaid claims, address complaints, institute measures to combat fraud, and when necessary, worked to rearrange records that had been transferred by the Freedmen's Bureau.5
- In accordance with an act of December 15, 1877 (20 Stat. 11), the work of the Freedmen's Branch had to be completed by January 1, 1879. If not, the Freedmen's Branch would be closed and all of its papers would be turned over the Paymaster General. However, when the Freedmen's Branch was finally closed on June 30, 1879, its work relating to the claims of black veterans was assigned to the Colored Troops Division in the Office of the Adjutant General.
- ENDNOTES
- 1 House Ex. Doc. 109, 42nd Cong., 3rd Sess., Serial Vol. 1566, pp. 1 – 4; see also George R. Bentley, A History of the Freedmen's Bureau (New York: Octagon Books, 1974), pp. 212 – 213.
- 2 House Ex. Doc. 109, Serial Vol. 1566, pp. 6 – 7.
- 3 House Ex. Doc. No. 59, 43rd Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1645, pp. 1 – 2.
- 4. See Annual Report of the Adjutant General on the Operations of the Freedmen's Branch, October 9, 1875, pp. 1 – 14, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Record Group (RG) 105, National Archives Building (NAB), Washington, DC.
- 5 See Annual Report of the Adjutant–General on the Operations of the Freedmen's Branch, October 10, 1876, pp. 1 – 7, RG 105, NAB.
- Records Description
- These records consist of volumes and unbound records. All of the volumes of the Freedmen's Branch were at one time arbitrarily assigned numbers by the Adjutant General's Office (AGO) after the records came into its custody. In the table of contents that follows, AGO numbers are shown in parentheses to aid in identifying the volumes. In some volumes, particularly in indexes and alphabetical headings of registers, there may be blank numbered pages that have not been filmed. It appears that about 40 volumes of Freedmen's Branch records listed by a clerk in the Adjutant General's Office in 1906 were not transferred to the National Archives; however the other Freedmen's Branch records are intact.
- The records of field disbursing offices operating under thee Freedmen's Branch consist of the following series: letters sent, letters received, registers of letters received, and registers of claims. These records span various periods within the years 1872–78. The records are ordered by field office just as they were arranged when transferred by the Office of the Adjutant General to the National Archives as follows: Charleston, SC; Columbia, SC (see Charleston); Fort Johnston, NC; Louisville, KY; Fort Macon, NC; Fort Leavenworth, KS; Fort Monroe, VA; Memphis, TN; Nashville, TN; Natchez, MS; New Orleans, LA; St. Louis, MO; Savannah, GA; and Vicksburg, MS.
- object type
- Archival materials
- topic
- American South
- Freedmen's Bureau
- Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877
- Slaves -- Emancipation
-
The Crisis, Vol. 5, No. 1
- Edited by
- W.E.B. Du Bois, American, 1868 - 1963
- Subject of
- The Crisis, American, founded 1910
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909
- Coleridge-Taylor, Samuel, British, 1875 - 1912
- Illustrated by
- Adams, John Henry Jr., American, 1880 - 1944
- Written by
- Stowe, Charles Edward, American, 1850 - 1934
- Fauset, Jessie Redmon, American, 1882 - 1961
- Addams, Jane, American, 1860 - 1935
- Hershaw, Lafayette M., American, 1863 - 1945
- Date
- November 1912
- Medium
- ink on paper with metal
- Dimensions
- H x W: 9 3/4 × 6 3/4 in. (24.8 × 17.1 cm)
- H x W (Open): 9 3/4 × 13 1/2 in. (24.8 × 34.3 cm)
- Description
- November 1912 issue of The Crisis Magazine.
- The center of the cover features a portrait illustration of a woman by John Henry Adams. The title across the top reads [THE CRISIS] followed by an illustration of a winged Egyptian prince and [A RECORD OF THE DARKER RACES]. Beneath this is printed [Vol. 5, No. 1 - NOVEMBER, 1912 - Whole No. 25]. Along the bottom is [ONE DOLLAR A YEAR] and [TEN CENTS A COPY]. There are two (2) staples on the spine. The back cover features an advertisement for [BEST BOOKS] by The Dunbar Company.
- The interior contents consist of [ARTICLES] listed as [THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY AND THE NEGRO By Jane Addams / THE COLORED MAGAZINE IN AMERICA / THE RELIGION OF SLAVERY By Charles Edward Stowe / SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR By Alfred Noyes (Reprinted) / HISTORIC DAYS IN NOVEMBER By L.M. Hershaw] and [DEPARTMENTS] listed as [ALONG THE COLOR LINE / MEN OF THE MONTH / OPINION / EDITORIAL / WHAT TO READ By Jessie Fauset / NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE]. In addition are advertisements, announcements, photographs and illustrations. The "Along the Color Line" section includes sub-sections for Political, Economics, Social Uplift, Education, The Church, Meetings, Personal, Foreign, The Ghetto, Crime, Music and Art.
- There are approximately 42 pages.
- Transcription Center Status
- Transcribed by digital volunteers
- Place printed
- New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Documents and Published Materials-Published Works
- Topic
- Advertising
- Associations and institutions
- Business
- Civil rights
- Composers (Musicians)
- Education
- Journalism
- Literature
- Mass media
- Music
- Poetry
- Politics
- Race relations
- Slavery
- Social life and customs
- Social reform
- U.S. History, 1865-1921
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2015.97.14.5
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
Registers and Letters Received by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872
- smithsonian online virtual archive
- Record
- inclusive dates
- 1865–1872
- Physical description
- 74 Reels
- Abstract
- This collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 74 rolls of microfilm described in NARA publication M752. These digital surrogates reproduced 33 volumes of registers and indexes and the related unbound letters received by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872.
- Conditions Governing Access
- Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
- Preferred Citation
- Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
- Historical Note
- [The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M752.]
- HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION
- The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, often referred to as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of Congress approved March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). Congress assigned to the Bureau responsibilities previously shared by the military commanders and the agents of the Treasury Department, which included the supervision of all matters relating to the refugees and freedmen and the custody of all abandoned or confiscated lands and property. The act also provided that the Bureau was to be headed by a Commissioner, appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
- In May 1865 the President appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard to be Commissioner of the Bureau. Howard, who served until the Bureau was discontinued in 1872, established his headquarters in Washington, D. C. Although the size and organization of the central office varied from time to time, Howard's staff consisted primarily of an Assistant Adjutant General, an Assistant Inspector General, a Chief Medical Officer, a Chief Quartermaster, a Chief Disbursing Officer, and officers in charge of the Claim Division, the Education Division, and the Land Division.
- Assistant Commissioners supervised the work of the Bureau in the States. The Bureau's operations were mainly confined to the former Confederate States, the border states, and the District of Columbia. Assistant Commissioners had staff offices comparable to those of the Commissioner and performed all functions of the Bureau under the direction of the central office in Washington. Officers subordinate to the Assistant Commissioner carried out the Bureau's policies and programs within the districts.
- During the years of its greatest activity, the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau resembled the work of later Federal welfare agencies. In addition to supervising the disposition of abandoned and confiscated lands, Bureau officers issued rations, clothing, and medicine to destitute refugees and freedmen. They established hospitals and dispensaries and supervised tenements and camps for the homeless. Bureau officers and members of philanthropic organizations cooperated in establishing schools, operating employment offices, and dispensing relief.
- The main concern of the Bureau was the freedman. Bureau officers supervised the writing of labor contracts and terms of indenture, registered marriages, listened to complaints, and generally were concerned with improving the life of the freedman. In March 1866 the Bureau assumed the function of helping colored soldiers and sailors to file and collect claims for bounties, pensions, and pay in arrears.
- On July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), Congress ordered the Commissioner to withdraw Bureau officers from the States by January 1, 1869, and to discontinue Bureau activities except those relating to education and to the collection and payment of claims. The Bureau was abolished by an Act of Congress approved June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), and effective June 30, 1872. All unfinished work, which by this time related chiefly to the collection and payment of claims, was transferred to the Freedmen's Branch that was established in the Office of the Adjutant General.
- The records reproduced in this microcopy include the registers of letters received, the indexes to the registers, and the letters themselves. According to recordkeeping practices of the time, incoming letters were entered in registers of letters received. The registers include such information as the name or office of the correspondent, the date of the letter, the place from which the letter was sent, the date of receipt, and an abstract of its contents.
- Before 1871, letters were entered in registers alphabetically by the initial letter of the surname or office of the writer and thereunder by date of receipt. Each entry was numbered according to a separate numerical sequence used for each letter of the alphabet, and the clerks usually began new sequences each January. Registers 2 and 3, which cover the period from October 1865 to February 1866, are an exception because separate numerical sequences were begun in October 1865 and in January 1866. Consequently, two numerical sequences exist under each alphabetical division in these two registers. In January 1871, the Freedmen's Bureau began to enter letters chronologically by date of receipt and to number them consecutively within each year. For this reason, register 18 (1871–1872) has two separate numerical sequences.
- There are some variations in the order in which letters were entered in the registers. In registers with alphabetical divisions, letters of recommendation were entered under the name of either the person recommended, the person making the recommendation, or the person transmitting the recommendation to the Commissioner. Particularly in register 1, letters were not always entered upon receipt, and letters of application were entered at the end of each alphabetical division without regard to the date of receipt. In register 1 a few letters referred from other Government agencies antedate the establishment of the Bureau.
- There are numerous breaks in the alphabetical sequences within the registers. These breaks occur because the number of pages allotted to each letter of the alphabet often proved to be insufficient, making it necessary to continue the entries elsewhere in the register. In each case, the National Archives has filmed the register in correct order so that these breaks do not appear on the microfilm. There are also breaks in the pagination of some registers because blank numbered pages were not filmed.
- From time to time the clerks in the Commissioner's Office made errors in entering letters received in the registers. Some numbers in the sequences of assigned numbers were inadvertently omitted; consequently, there are no letters bearing such numbers. Occasionally registry numbers were repeated, giving two different letters the same file designation. The clerks usually added "1/2" to the second designation; but in cases where this correction was not made, the National Archives has added in brackets, "No. 1" and "No. 2," respectively.
- Many symbols, cross–references, and abbreviations were entered in the registers by the Commissioner's Office and by the National Archives. The latter has stamped an asterisk (-"-) near the entry number for letters that are still in the series of letters received. The notation "F/W" before a cross–reference indicates that the letter received is filed with a related letter. There are some references to other series of records in the Commissioner's Office. The notations "LB" and "PLB" refer to the letter book and press letter book series of outgoing letters, and "EB" and "SO" refer to endorsement books and special orders, respectively.
- Although a separate series of Endorsement Books was kept by Commissioner Howard's office, the endorsements from October 1865 to August 1866 were copied into the registers of letters received and are reproduced in this microcopy.
- Two consolidated indexes, a general name index and a general subject index, are filmed on roll 1 of this microcopy. The general name index covers registers 1 – 12 and "A – H" of register 13; the general subject index covers registers 1 – 13. In the latter index the subject is entered alphabetically by initial letter. The entry identifies the letter received pertaining to a specific subject by giving either the number of the register and the file citation of the letter, or the register number and page number in the register on which the letter is entered.
- Also reproduced are separate name and subject indexes to many of the registers. Neither kind of index exists for entries A – M in registers 4 and 5. Some of the indexes are bound in the registers; others are bound as separate volumes. On each roll the index has been filmed before the register to which it relates.
- The registers reproduced in this microcopy were arranged in rough chronological order and numbered in sequence, but no volume numbers were assigned to the index books. Later all volumes were arbitrarily assigned numbers, which appear in parentheses in this microfilm publication and which are useful in identifying the volume.
- The letters reproduced are arranged by order of their entry in the registers. According to the custom of other War Department offices, the Freedmen's Bureau generally filed correspondence under the name of the office of origin rather than the name of the writer. Letters from local agents and superintendents of Baton Rouge, for example, were forwarded through the Office of the Assistant Commissioner of Louisiana, and upon receipt in the central office at Washington they were entered in the register under "L" for Louisiana.
- The file citation that appears on the back of registered letters is taken from the entry number in the register. In a citation such as "S 204 BRF&AL Vol. 9 1867," "S" is the initial letter of the correspondent's name or office; the number "204" indicates that it is the 204th letter recorded under "S"; "BRF&AL," that it was received by the Commissioner's Office; "Vol. 9," the register in which the letter was entered; and "1867," the year in which the letter was written.
- Enclosures such as reports, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, and printed publications were often registered and filed with their letters of transmittal. When the Commissioner's Office received a letter accompanied by enclosures, the clerks usually mentioned them in the register and on the back of the letter and indicated the number of enclosures.
- Some letters, reports, and enclosures originally filed with the letters received are no longer in this series. Each of the Commissioner's staff offices maintained its own series of registers and letters received. Correspondence and reports received by Commissioner Howard were occasionally referred to staff offices and became part of their permanent records. Not all enclosures are filed with their letters of transmittal. Enclosures containing information that the central office wanted to keep together, such as reports on schools, lands, rations, and operations, were sometimes separated from their letters of transmittal and filed elsewhere in separate series. For this reason some of the reports that are registered as letters received and bear the file citation of the Office of the Commissioner are not among the series filmed in this microcopy.
- Because the registers frequently were used to record the disposition of documents, they are useful in tracing documents that have been removed from the file. By 1871 the Commissioner's Office had added an "action" column to the register for this purpose, but even the earlier registers include such information as the name of the official or office to which a letter was referred, a cross–reference to indicate consolidation with other letters, and the disposition of enclosures.
- A few letters received that were not registered and a few unidentified enclosures that were separated from their letters of transmittal have been arranged by year and are filmed on the last roll of this microcopy.
- In the same record group as the documents described above are related records. Letters sent, endorsements sent, circulars issued, and special orders issued by the Commissioner are in Selected Series of Records Issued by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872 (Microcopy 742). There also are several series of reports and returns received by the Commissioner and records of staff and field offices.
- object type
- Archival materials
- topic
- American South
- Freedmen's Bureau
- Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877
- Slaves -- Emancipation
-
Program for "Slave Songs of the South" by the Hampton Colored Students
- Created by
- Hampton Singers, American, founded 1870
- Subject of
- Hampton University, American, founded 1868
- Beecher, Henry Ward, American, 1813 - 1887
- Date
- 1873
- Medium
- ink on paper (fiber product)
- Dimensions
- H x W (folded): 9 3/4 × 6 7/16 in. (24.8 × 16.4 cm)
- H x W (open): 9 3/4 × 12 9/16 in. (24.8 × 31.9 cm)
- Description
- This song program is a bifolio sheet with text and images on all four pages. The front page has text at the top that reads "Slave Songs of the South by the Hampton Colored Students." The page is divided into three sections of text. The middle section is titled "PROGRAMME -Part First” and the last section "PART SECOND." Under first and second parts are numbered lists of songs, some with notations. The entire text is surrounded by a thin line border with decorative corners. The two inside pages are covered with printed text in the form of handwritten script. The back page has text at the top that reads "HAMPTON / Normal and Agricultural Institute." Underneath is a lithographed image of a large building with the caption "VIRGINIA HALL- Now being erected."
- Place depicted
- Hampton, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Documents and Published Materials
- Type
- programs
- Topic
- Education
- HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
- Reconstruction, U.S. History, 1865-1877
- Singers (Musicians)
- Slavery
- Spirituals (Music)
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2018.48
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
-
White Supremacy and Negro Subordination; Or, Negroes A Subordinate Race, And (So-Called) Slavery its Normal Condition.
- Written by
- Dr. Van Evrie, John H., American, 1814 - 1896
- Published by
- Van Evrie, Horton & Co., American, 1860 - 1870
- Printed by
- Smith & McDougal, American, 1860 - 1884
- Date
- 1867; Printed 1868
- Medium
- ink on paper, with leather
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 7 1/2 × 5 1/4 × 1 5/16 in. (19.1 × 13.3 × 3.3 cm)
- H x W x D (Open): 7 1/2 × 7 3/8 × 3 3/4 in. (19.1 × 18.7 × 9.5 cm)
- Description
- A second edition of White Supremacy and Negro Subordination, by J. H. Van Evrie, a hardbound book covered in blue leather. The cover itself is blank, the spine of the book has the title [WHITE / SUPREMACY / and / NEGRO / SUBORDINATION / VAN EVRIE] in gold lettering with a makers stamp on the bottom that state [VE&Co]. There are approximately 410 pages. The stated intention of the book is to demonstrate “that the so-called slavery of the South was the Negro’s normal or natural condition.” Evrie cites phrenology, physical anthropology, comparative anatomy, and biological determinism in support of the argument that the enslaved were absolutely dependent on their masters. The work begins with a page of four illustrated figures and page numbers. Throughout the book, there are six colored lithographs depicting stereotypical figures of different races. The first illustration on page 16 is a man standing on a colorful tiled floor with Washington, D.C. in the background and is titled [CAUCASIAN]. The other lithographs are not titled. On page 67, an African figure is pictured wearing a loose white garment with swords tucked into a red sash. Behind the individual is a desert background. The third illustration, on page 89, is a color plate depicting an Asian indvidual holding a smoking pipe with a long shaft, standing next to a bamboo table, with mountains and a pagoda in the background. On page 221, an American Indian figure is depicted wearing a beaded and feathered headdress and animal skin leggings with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He carries a spear and stands on a rock. An Eskimo figure is shown on page 269. He is depicted wearing fur garments and holding an ice fishing spear, with snow covered mountains in the background. The last illustration plate on page 308 depicts a black man seated and smoking a pipe. He wears red striped pants that are soiled and torn at the knee, a white shirt and tan vest. He is barefoot. The tall masts of ships are visible in the background. The back of the book includes pages of advertisements for other works including those published by Van Evrie, Horton & Co.
- Statement
- Objects depicting racist and/or stereotypical imagery or language may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate racism.
- Objects depicting symbols of hate or related to organized hate groups may be offensive and disturbing, but the NMAAHC aims to include them in the Collection to present and preserve the historical context in which they were created and used. Objects of this type provide an important historical record from which to study and evaluate history and culture.
- Place printed
- New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Type
- books
- Topic
- Literature
- Race discrimination
- Race relations
- Reconstruction, U.S. History, 1865-1877
- Slavery
- Stereotypes
- White supremacy movements
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Thomas P. Steward
- Object number
- 2017.37
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain