Tag Archives: slavery

9 December 1862: “They will allow no negroes to pass out of town with or without passes.”

Item description:  Special order 30, dated 9 December 1862, relating to impressment of slave labor. Item citation:  From the T. L. Clingman Papers, #157, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Item transcription: Head Quarters Wilmington, … Continue reading

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14 October 1862: “I was also informed that his negroes were very much averse to leaving, and that 30 of them had run away, in consequence of their having been informed by the disloyal men around them”

Item description: Two letters, dated 14 October 1862, from William Pettigrew. One letter is to his brother Charles Pettigrew and the other letter is to an unknown recipient, possibly a Mr. Bryan. After the fall of Roanoke Island in 1862, William and … Continue reading

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11 October 1862: “Capt. Craddock will please carry my negroes as far up as Rocky Mount”

Item description: Letter, 11 October 1862, from William S. Pettigrew to Captain James Craddock, making plans to meet in Rocky Mount, N.C., so that Pettigrew could take possession of his slaves. [Please see the post for 1 October 1862 for more information … Continue reading

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8 October 1862: “you are therefore commanded to take the boddy of the said negro slave Lee and cause him to appear before me or some other Justice of the Peace…”

Item description: Two warrants, executed by Felix Johnson, a justice of the peace for Surry County, N.C., for the arrest of slaves accused of stealing leather from a tannery. The warrants are annotated to indicate the judgment and punishment that … Continue reading

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4 October 1862: “I much regretted to learn that Mr. Foushee was so much dissatisfied with the bargain he had made with me for my negroes & mules.”

Item description: Letter, 4 October 1862, from William S. Pettigrew, Haywood, Chatham County, N.C., to William Campbell, Watson’s Bridge, N.C. During this period in the war, William S. Pettigrew was consolidating many of his slaves from his plantations in Union-occupied … Continue reading

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3 October 1862: “My Dear mis I rite you a few Lines for to Let you Know how we ar i hav Bin Sick all this week But am gitting Better…”

Item description: These two letters, both dated 3 October 1862, were written by two enslaved individuals owned by the DeRosset Family of Wilmington, N.C., William Thurber (who later became a minister) and Bella DeRosset. Both write about sickness among other … Continue reading

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2 October 1862: “Their is act past in this state for one fourth of the negros to go to charleston by the 10th of this month to bild fortifications and stay 30 days.”

Item description: Letter dated 2 October 1862 from A. M. Wallace, the overseer at a plantation near Gaston and Lincoln counties, N.C., to William A. Graham. Wallace sought Graham’s advice on several matters. He wanted guidance on how to manage … Continue reading

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1 October 1862: “When there we will seize the negroes at night & leave immediately with them for the mouth of the River & there set sail for the Bertie shore, & thence direct to the up-country.”

Item description: Letter, 1 October 1862, from William S. Pettigrew (1818-1900), Haywood Plantation, Chatham County, N.C., to his sister, Anne B. S. Pettigrew (1830-1864), Raleigh, N.C. In the letter, William Pettigrew explains his reasons for not enlisting in the Confederate service … Continue reading

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15 September 1862: “the ronaways is plenty in this naber hood…”

Item description: Letter, 15 September 1862, from Milton McGahey to William A. Graham. It is believed that McGahey was acting as overseer for one of Graham’s plantations at the time of the letter. He reports on the condition of crops … Continue reading

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13 August 1862: “all the counties in the eastern part of the state bordering on the lines of the enemy are required to furnish at once one fourth of the able bodied slave laborers within their limits…”

Item description: Notice, dated 13 August 1862, ordering North Carolina slaveholders to furnish slave labor for the construction of Confederate fortifications around Richmond and Petersburg, Va. Item citation: From folder 2 of the T. L. Clingman Papers, #157, Southern Historical … Continue reading

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