Warrant ordering a slave patrol in Loudon County, Virginia
date: label: Date
content: 1826
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
notes: label: Description
content: A warrant handwritten in brown ink on a single sheet of folded off-white paper calling for the creation of a slave patrol in Loudon County, Virginia. The warrant is addressed to a group of men and the main text reads "Whereas information has been given to me as Justice of the Peace for the County assd that unlawful assembly of slaves & other parties are frequently held in this neighborhood contrary to the act of assembly in such case made & provided these are therefore to require you to Patrol the said Neighborhood & to search for & apprehend all disorderly persons & bring them before us or some other Justice of the Peace to be dealt with as the Law directs & further to report your proceedings to the next Court to be held for this County." Warrant ends "Given under my hand this 2d day of Sept 1826" but is unsigned. Individuals named in the warrant include Thomas Moss, Captain Joseph Vanpelt, Nelson Wilson, Hezekiah Ellis, William Hoskinson, Henry Witten, David Allen, Matthew Lee, and Levi Green. There are numerous smudges, particularly around the end of the sheet. There is a stain along the top right edge and a number of stains on the back of the sheet. There are small tears in the creases at the top edge and the creased corners in the center of the paper have loss.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: American South
label: Topic
content: Law
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1815-1861
label: Topic
content: Violence
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Documents and Manuscripts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2020.21.3
objectType: label: Type
content: warrants
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: iron gall ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 10 13/16 × 7 9/16 in. (27.5 × 19.2 cm)