Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-08-15
Gen. Butler on the Contraband Cues
fin,a
The following interesting letter from Gen.
Butler has been received at the War Depart
ment:
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF
VIRGINIA, FoRTREss MONROE,
July 20 1851

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF
VIRGINIA, FoRTREss MONROE,
July 30, 1861.
'HoR. Simon Cameron, iSecretdyy of War
Sir: BY an orderreceived on the morning
Of the 18th July from Major-General Dix.
by q telegraphc order from Lieutenant-G G en-
eral Scott, was commanded to forward, of
the troops of this department, four regiments
and half, including Col. Bakers California
Regiment, to Washington via Baltimore.
This order reached me at two o clock A. NJ.
by special boat from Baltimore. Believing
that it emanated because of some pressing
exigency for the defense of Washington /
issued my orders before day-break for the
embarkation of the troops, sending those
who were among the very best regiments /
had. In the course ofthe following day they
were all embarked for Baltimore, with the
exception of some 400 for whom / had no
transportation, although | had all the trans
port force in the hands of the Quarter mas
ter here, to aid the Bay line Of steamers.
which, by the same order from the Lieut..
General, was directed to furnish Transports
ton. Up to and at the time of the order
had been preparing for an advance move
ment by which hoped to cripple the re-
sources of the enemy at Yorktown, and es-
peeclaly by seizing a large quantity of negroes
who were being pressed into their service
IN building the intrenchments there | had
hive days previously been enabled to mount
for the first time, the first company of Light
Artillery, which had been empowered to
raise, and they had but single rifed can
non, an iron six-pounder Ofcourse every-
thing must and did yield to the supposed
exigency and the orders. This ordering
away the troops from this department, while
1t weakened the posts at Newport News, ne
ccessltated the withdrawal of the troops from
Hampton, where | was then throwing up
entrcnched works to enable me to hold the
town with small force, while advanced up
the York or James river. In the village of
Hampton there were large number of ne
groos, composed in great measure of women
and children of the men who had fed thith-
er within my lines for protection, who had
escaped from maurauding parties of rebels
who had been gathering up able bodied
blacks to aid them in constructing their bat
terles on the York and james rivers. had
employed the men in Hampton in throwing
up lntrenchments, and they were working
zealously and efficiently at that duty, saving
our soldiers from that labor under the gleam
OF the midday sun. The women were earn
ing substantially their own subsistence in
washing, marketing, and taking care of the
clothes OF the soldiers, and rations were be-
ing served out to the men who worked Tor
the support Of the children. But by the
evacuation OF Hampton, rendered necessary
by the withdrawal Of troops, leaving me
scarcely 5000 men outside the Fort, inclu-
ding the force at Newport News, all these
black people were obliged to break up their
homes at Hampton, fleeing across the creek
within my lines for protection and support.
Indeed it was most distressing sight to
see these poor creatures, who had trusted
to the protection of the arms of the United
States, and who aided the troops of the
United States in their enterprise to be thus
obliged to flee from their homes and the
homes of their masters, who had deserted
them, and become not figitives from fear
of the return ofthe rebel soldery, who had
Threatened to shoot the men who had
wrought for us, and to carry off the women,
who had served us to worse than Egyptian
bondage. / have therefore, now within the
Peninsula, this side of Hampton Greek,
900 negroes, 300 of whom are able bodied
men, 30 ofwhom are men substantially past
hard labor, l75 women, 225 children under
the age of 10 years. and ITO between | and
lSyears, and many more coming in. The
questions which this state of facts present
are very embarrassing.
''First-What shall be done with them =?
and Second-What is their state and condi-
ton?
Upon these questions desire the in
structions of the Department.
The ilrst question, however, may per-
Are these men, women and children slaves?
Are they free? Is their condition that of
men. women, and children. or of property.
or is it mixed relation? What their status
was under the Constitution and laws, we all
know. What has been the effect of rebel
lion and state of war upon that status?
When | adopted the theory of treating the
adle-bodied negro fit to work in the trenches,
as property liable to be used in aid of rebel
lion, and so contraband of war, that condition
of things was in so far met as [ then and still
believe, on legal and constitutional basis.
But now new series of questions arise
Passing by women, the children certainly
cannot be treated on that basis; if proper
ty they must be considered the incumbrance,
rather than the auxiliary of an army, and, Of
course, in no possible legal relation, could
be treated as contIaband. Are they proper
ty? If they were so, they have been left by
their masters and owners, deserted thrown
away, abandoned, like the wrecked vessel
upon the ocean, Their former possessors
and owners, have causelessly, traitorously,
rebelliously, and to carry out the figure prac-
tically abandoned them to be swallowed up
by the Winter storm of starvation. Ifpro-
porty do they not become the property of the
salvors? but we, their salvors, do not need
and will not hold such property and will as
sumo no such ownership; has not therefore
all proprietary relation ceased 4? Have they
not become thereupon men, women, and
children? No longer under ownership of any
kind, the fearful relicts of fugitive masters,
have they not by their masters acts and the
state of war, assumed the condition, which
we hold to be the normal one, of those made
in God s image. Is not every constitution
al, legal, and moral requirement, as well to
the runaway master as their relinquished
slaves, thus answered? / confess that my
own mind is compelled by this reasoning to
look upon them as men and women. If not
free born, yet free, manumitted, sent forth
from the hand that held them never to be
reclaimed.
"Of course if this reasoning thus imper-
fectly set forth is correct, my duty as hu-
name man is very plain. should take the
same care of these men, women and children,
houseless, homeless and unproyided for, as