Contrabands of War
Photographs and Prints Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library
After the Civil War broke out in April 1861, many blacks escaped across Union lines and declared their freedom. In May 1861, U.S. Maj. Gen. Benjamin T. Butler termed the runaway slaves as “contrabands of war” after he refused a Confederate colonel’s request for the return of escaped slaves. Contrabands lived in camps, usually in locations where the Union army was stationed. The camps ranged from make-shift tents and shacks to small “neighborhoods.” These camps eventually became recruitment centers for the Union and some of the first places of employment for the formerly enslaved. Hundreds of thousands of these self-liberated men, women and children volunteered for military service or worked and assisted Union efforts to secure their freedom. By the end of the war, over 100 contraband camps had been established and nearly 200,000 blacks had served in the military.
Images like this one are currently on view at the Schomburg Center in the exhibition Visualizing Emancipation, which commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. The exhibition features the Schomburg’s many prints, photographs, books, newspapers and letters and materials related to the black experience in the antebellum, Civil War and post-Civil War eras.
Click here to learn more about the Schomburg Center’s Black History Month programs and events.