After posting twice this week (on 12/2 and 12/3) about Confederates taking civilians during the Gettysburg Campaign, I recalled having heard different stories about Confederates taking free blacks (and “runaways”) and sending them into slavery in the South. So, I thought I’d Google a few things to see what information the Web might yield. For this post, I’ve plucked only two works from the Web for your consideration. I think that the first work provides more than enough information to satisfy curiousity, but I’m also interested in the second, so I’ve included it as well.
Likely my most significant find on the Web, Virginia’s Civil War (2005) is a series of essays edited by Peter Wallenstein and Bertram Wyatt-Brown. See this link for the chapter (“Race and Retaliation: The Capture of African Americans During the Gettysburg Campaign”) written by David G. Smith. It begins on p. 137 and runs to p. 151 (and includes references!). Since this is a Google Books preview, some pages of the essay are not included. Nevertheless, enough understanding can be gained by reading what is available. Be sure to read every part of the chapter that you can as there is much to be considered. This is an excellent essay and I plan on adding the book to my Christmas list.
From The Colors of Courage (2006) by Margaret S. Creighton, there is a little bit to be had on pages 129 and 212. Regretfully, in a search of the book through Google Books, I can’t find that she mentioned anything about the taking of the seven Gettysburg men. Bummer! Nonetheless, it looks like another book that I need to put on my list.
I also need to see if something is mentioned in the many resources for Franklin County, Pa. on the Valley of the Shadow site. If I find some information to add to the above works, I’ll mention it in another post.
Enjoy reading about this “forgotten” part of the history of the American Civil War.
Related information (Civil War atrocities/depredations/Civil War “war crimes”) can be found in posts from 3/11/08, 7/18/08, 10/3/08, 12/2/08, and 12/3/08.
Cenantua's Blog 
Jim Beeghley
December 5, 2008
Thanks for the links. I have been reading Coddington’s book on the Gettysburg Campaign and there is mention of the capture of free blacks and either sending them south or taking them with the Confederates along the campaign.
Thanks,
Jim
cenantua
December 5, 2008
Jim,
Glad the links are of use. It’s been a while since I read Coddington. How much does he say about the taking of free blacks and does he cite a source?
Harry Smeltzer
December 5, 2008
Robert,
Check out The Cormany Diaries for mentions of free blacks being rounded up during the campaign. Ted Alexander had a piece on the subject in N&S a few years ago, including a particularly gruesome account of a young black man tortured by the Confederates on the retreat. And Longstreet’s correspondence concerning black captives moving with Pickett’s division can be found in the ORs, but not in the volumes with the bulk of the G’Burg stuff.
In the words of Walter Sobchak, “You’re entering a world of pain” by broaching this subject. In other words, it ain’t gonna win you many friends in certain circles.
Kevin
December 5, 2008
Ted Alexander wrote a piece on this which appeared some years ago in North and South Magazine. You used to be able to download on the N&S website. I’ve used it in my Civil War class on a few occasions.
cenantua
December 5, 2008
Hi Harry and Kevin,
Thanks for the reference points. I need to get a copy of that Alexander article.
Also, Harry, I’m sure you are right about the “it ain’t gonna win you many friends” part, but my reason for posting is that, while it seems the new age Confederate remembrance is airing a lot dirty laundry on the activities of the Union army (especially on the atrocities against Southern civilians), they are forgetting their own “dirty laundry” (Confederate atrocities against Northern civilians AND Southern Unionists) and it seems darn convenient to do so. It does nothing but feed this mythological perception of the Confederate Cause. Bottom line is… to gain a complete understanding of what happened in the war, and to keep everything in context, we can’t ignore the other atrocities.
Harry Smeltzer
December 5, 2008
Robert,
Along similar lines, Glatthaar’s book on the ANV highlights the depredations (that’s the word traditionally applied similar actions of the Federal armies in Virginia) of the Confederates in Virginia, an aspect seldom discussed elsewhere. I suspect that, coupled with the author’s assessment that the character of Southern officers unfitted them for command, is at least part of the reason the book was not greeted with the universal raves such a study would normally receive.
By the way, how do you like the new WordPress upgrade? So far everything is running smoothly on my end.
cenantua
December 5, 2008
Harry,
Yet another book that I need to purchase! Also, “depredations” is probably more appropriate than “atrocities.”
I think there is something interesting in all of this (the situations with the Northern civilians and free blacks) that needs to be addressed. I am very interested now in a study of how the officers and men looked at Lee’s orders. Does Glatthaar address this?
The WordPress upgrade takes a little getting used to, but I don’t think they made the user-transition too hard on us. I still think they need to create a widget that we can put into the side (like the recent comments widget) that tracks our comments to posts on other blogs.
Kevin
December 5, 2008
I just wanted to second Harry’s referencing of Glatthaar’s book. He does an excellent job with this issue. I found quite a number of references to confiscation and “depredations” by Confederates in Virginia in the wake of the surrender at Appomattox in my recent study of Confederate demobilization.
Mark
December 5, 2008
Robert,
Have you seen the blog “Anti-Neo-Confederate” yet? It’s at http://newtknight.blogspot.com/ Interesting stuff
cenantua
December 5, 2008
Hi Mark,
Yes, I’ve seen it but I’m not in agreement with several points made by the author. Also, I think he uses the phrase “neo-Confederate” rather liberally and more as a generalization than specifically defining one element in the new era Confederate remembrance movement. I definately don’t agree with that and don’t see it as a term that one can throw across all who have varied degrees of interest in Confederate ancestry.
J. Stephen Conn
December 6, 2008
Very interesting stuff, and thanks for the links. You’ve got me wanting to learn more.
cenantua
December 6, 2008
Mr. Conn, Thanks for reading and commenting.
Noel
December 8, 2008
Robert, My particular take on this, for one of the popular-culture sections of the Valley of the Shadow Project, was historiographical (and brief), and celebrated Ted Alexander’s research/publishing coup as part of my survey of Franklin County Pa’s evolving image of its own Civil War history. (Ted is a native of the county.) http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/memory/franklinmemory_p3a.html
cenantua
December 8, 2008
Hi Noel,
Thanks for the info on that, especially considering I haven’t had a chance to look it up yet. I’m in the middle of finals week! – Uggghhhhh! Actually, if I could mimic that sound that Lurch from the Adam’s Family makes, that would about sum it up right now. 🙂 Cheers!
David G. Smith
April 10, 2009
Thank you for the citation and mention of my work. In my article, I found evidence of the seizures in Confederate records, not just Northern accounts. I also tried to understand the motivation and extent of the captures. Ted Alexander’s work in this area is also groundbreaking, as many of the above commenters have mentioned, and I used it and his earlier work as a valuable resource. Another piece that is truly revelatory about these seizures is Peter Vermilyea’s article in Gettysburg magazine, “The Effects of the Confederate Invasion on Gettysburg’s African American Community.” You can find it at http://www.gdg.org/Gettysburg%20Magazine/gburgafrican.html
cenantua
April 11, 2009
My pleasure, and thank you for commenting! You brought up some excellent information in your work; information that has been absent from our “memory” of that war for a long time. I look forward to reading all of these works as I am very interested in learning more and, just like you, trying to understand the background as to why this happened.