Records of the Field Offices for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872
odd: label: Freedmen's Bureau Personnel in South Carolina
content: This list provides the names and dates of service of known Freedmen's Bureau personnel at selected subordinate field offices for South Carolina. Additional information regarding persons assigned to various field offices might be found among the Bureau's Washington headquarters station books and rosters of military officers and civilians on duty in the states and other appointment–related records.

CLAIMS DIVISION

Dec. 1866 -- Office for Colored Applicants for Bounties and Bounty Pensions A. McL. Crawford 

Dec. 1866–Oct. 1867 -- Officer in Charge A. McL. Crawford 

Jan. 1868  -- Agent in Charge John B. Dennis 

Jan.–July 1868 -- Agent in Charge John B. Dennis 

Aug. 1868–Jan. 1869 -- Subassistant Commissioner (6th Subdistrict, Charleston) W. H. Danilson 

Jan.–May 1869 -- Clerk in Charge William F. De Knight 

Sept. 1869–Feb. 1870 -- Claims Officer Capt. F. C. Von Schirach 

Mar.–Oct. 1870 -- Agent Charles Garretson 

ABBEVILLE COURT HOUSE

Mar. 1866–Oct. 1867 -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner C. R. Becker 

Oct.–Dec. 1867  -- Agent Charles S. Allen 

Dec. 1867–Feb. 1868  -- Agent C. C. Perry 

Feb.–Apr. 1868  -- Agent O. H. Hart 

May–Aug. 1868 -- Agent W. F. De Knight 

Aug.–Nov. 1868 -- Clerk W. F. De Knight 

AIKEN (Bureau District of Anderson)

Aug.–Oct. 1866  -- Acting Assistant Commissioner Benjamin P. Runkle 

Oct. 1866  -- Acting Assistant Commissioner E. R. Chase 

Oct. 1866–Feb. 1867  -- Acting Assistant Commissioner S. Walker 

Feb.–Mar. 1867 -- Acting Assistant Commissioner S. Walker 

Mar. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner (Subdistrict at Aiken) S. Walker 

AIKEN (Edgefield District)

Feb.–Aug. 1866  -- Subassistant Commissioner J. Devereux (at Hamburg) 

Aug.–Sept. 1866  -- Subassistant Commissioner George P. McDougall (at Aiken) 

Sept.–Nov. 1866  -- Subassistant Commissioner William Stone 

Nov. 1866–Feb. 1867  -- Subassistant Commissioner William Stone (Edgefield and Barnwell Districts)

Feb.–Dec. 1867  -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner William Stone 

Jan.–Aug. 1868  -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner William Stone (Edgefield District) 

Aug.–Dec. 1868 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner William Stone (2nd Subdistrict at Aiken) 

ANDERSON COURT HOUSE (Anderson District)

Mar.–Sept. 1866  -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner William Stone 

Sept. 1866–Mar. 1867 -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner G. P. McDougall 

Mar.–Apr. 1867 -- Agent G. P. McDougall 

Apr.–Sept. 1867 -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner G. P. McDougall 

BARNWELL (Barnwell District)

Mar.–May 1866  -- Subassistant Commissioner E. R. Chase (at Barnwell) 

June–Nov. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner E. R. Chase (at Aiken) 

Mar. 1867–Apr. 1868 -- Agent William A. Nerland (at Barnwell) 

BEAUFORT

Sept. 1865–Jan. 1866  -- Agent H. G. Judd 

Feb.–Nov. 1867 -- Agent George W. Gile 

Mar.–Aug. 1868 -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner George W. Gile 

Oct. 1868–April 1871 -- Collecting Agent C. H. Wright 

BEAUFORT (Hospital)

Oct. 1865–Dec. 1868 -- Surgeon A. J. Wakefield 

BEAUFORT (Contraband Department)

Apr.–June 1862  -- Superintendent of Contrabands, Department of the South Sam B. Broad 

June–Oct. 1862  -- Superintendent of Contrabands, Department of the South James D. Strong 

Oct. 1862–May 1863 -- Superintendent of Contrabands, Department of the South John E. Webster 

May 1863–Jan. 1864 -- Clerk Robert M. Taitt 

CHESTER

Feb.–June 1867  -- Subassistant Commissioner D. D. Lind 

July–Dec. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner M. J. De Forest 

Jan.–July 1868 -- Agent M. J. De Forest 

COLUMBIA (District of Columbia)

Jan.–Apr. 1866  -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner William H. H. Holton (1st Subdistrict, District of West South Carolina)

Apr.–June 1866  -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner William H. H. Holton (District of West South Carolina)

June–July 1866 -- Acting Assistant Commissioner William H. H. Holton (District of Columbia) 

July 1866 -- Acting Assistant Commissioner Benjamin P. Runkle 

July 1866–Jan. 1867 -- Acting Assistant Commissioner William J. Harkisheimer 

Jan.–Feb. 1867 -- Acting Assistant Commissioner J. Durell Greene 

Feb.–May 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. Durell Greene (District of Columbia) 

June–Oct. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner William J. Harkisheimer (District of Columbia) 

Oct.–Dec. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner William J. Harkisheimer (at Columbia) 

Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent William J. Harkisheimer (at Columbia) 

DARLINGTON

Apr.–Dec 1866  -- Acting Assistant Commissioner George W. Gile 

Jan.–Feb. 1867 -- Acting Assistant Commissioner George Pingree 

Feb.–Dec. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Pingree 

Dec. 1867 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner George Pingree 

Mar.–Apr. 1867  -- Agent M. J. De Forest 

Jan.–Aug. 1868 -- Agent George Pingree 

June 1866–Apr. 1867  -- Subassistant Commissioner M. J. De Forest 

Aug–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Pingree 

GEORGETOWN

Nov.–Dec. 1865  -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner A. J. Willard 

Dec. 1865–Aug. 1866  -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner B. F. Smith 

Jan.–Oct. 1867 -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner John Chance 

Oct.–Dec. 1867 -- Aid–de–Camp E. W. Everson 

Dec. 1867–July 1868 -- Agent W. Markwood 

Aug. 1868–Jan. 1869 -- Clerk W. Markwood 

GREENVILLE

Apr.–Oct. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner A. E. Niles 

Oct. 1866–May 1867  -- Acting Assistant Commissioner J. W. De Forest 

June–Dec. 1867 -- Acting Assistant Commissioner J. W. De Forest 

Jan.–Feb. 1868  -- Agent W. R. Hoyt 

 Feb.–May 1868  -- Agent W. F. De Knight

May–July 1868 -- Agent Carroll Neide 

Aug. 1868 -- Clerk Carroll Neide 

HOPKINS TURN OUT

July–Aug. 1867  -- Acting Assistant Surgeon Samuel L. Orr 

Sept. 1867  -- Acting Assistant Surgeon Samuel L. Orr (at St. Helena Island) 

Oct. 1867 -- Acting Assistant Surgeon Samuel L. Orr (at Ladies Island) 

JOHNS ISLAND

Oct. 1865–Mar. 1866  -- Acting Assistant Surgeon B. Burgh Smith (at St. Pauls Parish) 

May–Sept. 1866  -- Acting Assistant Surgeon B. Burgh Smith (at Johns Island) 

Dec. 1866–Sept. 1867  -- Acting Assistant Surgeon I. L. Beckett 

Oct. 1867–May 1868 -- Acting Assistant Surgeon S. B. Thompson 

Jan.–Apr. 1868 -- Special Agent S. B. Thompson 

KINGSTREE

Jan.–Mar. 1867  -- Subassistant Commissioner A. E. Niles 

Apr.–June 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner M. J. De Forest 

June–Dec. 1867  -- Agent A. Swails 

Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent Garrett Nagle 

LAURENSVILLE

Dec. 1867–Mar. 1868  -- Subassistant Commissioner John R. Edie 

Apr.–Aug. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Alfred Smith 

Aug.–Dec. 1868 -- Clerk Nathaniel Freeman 

MARION

June 1866–Jan. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner George E. Pingree 

June 1867–Mar. 1868  -- Agent J. E. Lewis 

July–Aug. 1868 -- Agent William H. Lockwood 

MONCKS CORNER

Jan.–Apr. 1866  -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner F. W. Liedtke 

Apr. 1866–Jan. 1867  -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner F. W. Liedtke 

May 1867–Mar. 1868 -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner F. W. Liedtke 

MOUNT PLEASANT

Feb.–June 1866 -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner D. T. Corgbin 

July 1866–Mar. 1867  -- Subassistant Commissioner Edward F. O'Brien 

Apr.–Oct. 1867  -- Subassistant Commissioner E. W. Everson 

Oct. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner W. H. Dailson 

ORANGEBURG

Aug. 1865–Mar. 1866 -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner E. A. Koylay 

Mar.–July 1866  -- Subassistant Commissioner L. C. Skinner 

July 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner William H. H. Holton 

Jan.–June 1868  -- Agent William H. H. Holton 

June–July 1868 -- Agent Edmund S. Woog 

Aug.–Nov. 1868 -- Clerk Joseph A. Greene 

Nov.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent Robert Ahern 

ROCKVILLE

Feb. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner E. W. Everson 

Mar.–June 1866  -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner J. E. Cornelius 

June–Dec. 1866  -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner J. E. Cornelius 

Jan.–June 1867  -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner E. W. Everson 

June–Dec. 1867 -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner Henry McHenry 

SUMMERVILLE

Sept.–Oct. 1865  -- Subassistant Commissioner James C. Beecher 

Nov. 1865–Jan. 1866  -- Subassistant Commissioner Daniel F. Towles 

Apr.–May 1866  -- Subassistant Commissioner James C. Beecher 

June 1866–Feb. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner Garrett Nagle 

Feb.–Apr. 1867 -- Agent Garrett Nagle 

Apr.–Dec. 1867  -- Acting Subassistant Commissioner Garrett Nagle 

UNIONVILLE

June 1866–Mar. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner A. P. Caraher
topic: label: Topic
content: American South
label: Topic
content: Freedmen's Bureau
label: Topic
content: Reconstruction, U.S. history, 1865-1877
label: Topic
content: Slaves -- Emancipation
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Records of the Field Offices for the State of South Carolina, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872
abstract: label: Summary
content: The collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 106 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M1910. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the South Carolina field offices of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872, including previously unfilmed records of the Office of the Assistant Commissioner, and records of the offices of staff officers, subordinate officers, and subordinate field offices. These records consist of bound volumes and unbound records, including letters and endorsements sent and received, orders and circulars, monthly reports, and other records relating to freedmen's complaints and claims.
bioghist: label: Historical Note
content: [The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M1910.]

HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, also known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). The life of the Bureau was extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). The Bureau was responsible for the supervision and management of all matters relating to refugees and freedmen, and of lands abandoned or seized during the Civil War. In May 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner of the Bureau, and Howard served in that position until June 30, 1872, when activities of the Bureau were terminated in accordance with an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366). While a major part of the Bureau's early activities involved the supervision of abandoned and confiscated property, its mission was to provide relief and help freedmen become self-sufficient. Bureau officials issued rations and clothing, operated hospitals and refugee camps, and supervised labor contracts. In addition, the Bureau managed apprenticeship disputes and complaints, assisted benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, helped freedmen in legalizing marriages entered into during slavery, and provided transportation to refugees and freedmen who were attempting to reunite with their family or relocate to other parts of the country. The Bureau also helped black soldiers, sailors, and their heirs collect bounty claims, pensions, and back pay. 

The act of March 3, 1865, authorized the appointment of Assistant Commissioners to aid the Commissioner in supervising the work of the Bureau in the former Confederate states, the border states, and the District of Columbia. While the work performed by Assistant Commissioners in each state was similar, the organizational structure of staff officers varied from state to state. At various times, the staff could consist of a superintendent of education, an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector general, a disbursing officer, a chief medical officer, a chief quartermaster, and a commissary of subsistence. Subordinate to these officers were the assistant superintendents or subassistant commissioners as they later became known, who commanded the subdistricts.

The Assistant Commissioner corresponded extensively with both his superior in the Washington Bureau headquarters and his subordinate officers in the subdistricts. Based upon reports submitted to him by the subassistant commissioners and other subordinate staff officers, he prepared reports that he sent to the Commissioner concerning Bureau activities in areas under his jurisdiction. The Assistant Commissioner also received letters from freedmen, local white citizens, state officials, and other non–Bureau personnel. These letters varied in nature from complaints to applications for jobs in the Bureau. Because the assistant adjutant general handled much of the mail for the Assistant Commissioner's office, it was often addressed to him instead of to the Assistant Commissioner.

In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard in July 1865, the Assistant Commissioners were instructed to designate one officer in each state to serve as "General Superintendents of Schools." These officials were to "take cognizance of all that is being done to educate refugees and freedmen, secure proper protection to schools and teachers, promote method and efficiency, correspond with the benevolent agencies which are supplying his field, and aid the Assistant Commissioner in making his required reports." In October 1865, a degree of centralized control was established over Bureau educational activities in the states when Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector of Finances and Schools. In January 1867, Alvord was divested of his financial responsibilities, and he was appointed General Superintendent of Education.

An act of Congress approved July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), ordered that the Commissioner of the Bureau "shall, on the first day of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn from the several States within which said bureau has acted and its operation shall be discontinued." Consequently, in early 1869, with the exception of the superintendents of education and the claims agents, the Assistant
Commissioners and their subordinate officers were withdrawn from the states.

For the next year and a half the Bureau continued to pursue its education work and to process claims. In the summer of 1870, the superintendents of education were withdrawn from the states, and the headquarters staff was greatly reduced. From that time until the Bureau was abolished by an act of Congress approved June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), effective June 30, 1872, the Bureau's functions related almost exclusively to the disposition of claims. The Bureau's records and remaining functions were then transferred to the Freedmen's Branch in the office of the Adjutant General. The records of this branch are among the Bureau's files.

THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU IN SOUTH CAROLINA

ORGANIZATION

Bvt. Maj. Gen. Rufus Saxton, who directed the "Port Royal Experiment," was appointed Assistant Commissioner for South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida on June 10, 1865. Shortly after Saxton assumed his new duties, Howard appointed Assistant Commissioners for Georgia and Florida. Thus, by September 1865 Saxton was, for all practical purposes, Assistant Commissioner solely for South Carolina. Generally, the records pertaining to Georgia and Florida among those of the Assistant Commissioner of South Carolina were created during this period.

The organization of the Bureau in South Carolina was similar to that of the Bureau headquarters in Washington, DC. Saxton's original staff included an assistant adjutant general, an inspector general, a superintendent of education, an assistant quartermaster, a chief commissary of subsistence, and an aide–de–camp.

Officers subordinate to Saxton were responsible for administering the policies of the Bureau in the subdistricts of South Carolina. These subdistricts, as they finally evolved in February 1867, were Anderson, Beaufort, Columbia, Charleston, Lynn, Darlington, Edisto, Greenville, Georgetown, Hilton Head, the South Carolina side of the Savannah River, Unionville, and Williamsburg. The subdistricts were administered by subassistant commissioners. Officers or civilians serving under the subassistant commissioner were called agents.

During the period of the Bureau's existence in South Carolina, there were three Assistant Commissioners operating from three different cities. Gen. Rufus Saxton established his headquarters in Beaufort, but in September 1865 he moved his headquarters to Charleston. Bvt. Maj. Gen. Robert K. Scott succeeded Saxton in January 1866 and carried out the duties of Assistant Commissioner until July 1868 when he resigned to become Governor of South Carolina. Just before Scott resigned, the headquarters was moved to Columbia. Bvt. Col. John R. Edie assumed the position of Assistant Commissioner for South Carolina in August 1868 and served until May 1869. Bvt. Maj. Horace Neide, superintendent of education for South Carolina, acted as Assistant Commissioner until May 31, 1869, when the office was abolished in South Carolina.

Neide and his successor, Bvt. Maj. Edward L. Deane, served as superintendent of education until June 1870 when that office was discontinued. Many of the series of records begun by Assistant Commissioners that were continued by superintendents of education will be found with those of Assistant Commissioners. The Bureau functioned in South Carolina until June 1872, but its activities after June 1870 were mainly in the area of military claims.

ACTIVITIES

The major activities of the Freedmen's Bureau in South Carolina generally resembled those conducted in other states. The Bureau issued rations and provided medical relief to both freedmen and white refugees, supervised labor contracts between planters and freedmen, administered justice, and worked with benevolent societies in the establishment of schools.

When Rufus Saxton assumed office as the Assistant Commissioner for South Carolina, he found tens of thousands of freedmen and white refugees in dire need of relief. By mid–summer 1865, with help from the offices of the Commissary General of the Army, the Quartermaster General, and the Surgeon General, Saxton provided more than 300,000 rations, clothing, and medical supplies to nearly 9,000 destitute persons. In 1866, in an effort to encourage self–sufficiency and adhere to Commissioner Howard's policy of supplying relief only to the needy, Saxton's successor, Gen. Robert K. Scott, drastically reduced the number of rations issued and limited them to blacks and whites in hospitals and orphan asylums. Despite Scott's efforts, however, persistent crop storages and crop failures in 1866–67 required the agency to provide aid and other forms of relief to ward off large–scale starvation and destitution. In 1868, the Bureau adopted a crop–lien system in which planters (both black and white) were given rations to distribute to laborers, and a lien was placed against their crops as collateral for repayment for the value of the rations. While the crop lien plan was well–conceived and helpful for both the employers and their employees, many planters were unable, and in some cases unwilling, to repay their loans. By 1870, when the Bureau's relief program ended in South Carolina, most of the monies associated with the loans remained outstanding.1

To further aid and provide medical relief to the "Sick and Suffering," the Freedmen's Bureau in South Carolina established a medical department during the summer and fall of 1865. Under the guidance of the surgeon–in–chief, W. R. De Witt, the Bureau established several camps, dispensaries, and hospitals with a staff of 16 contract physicians and 29 attendants. In spite of limited funding resources, the agency treated more than 8,000 freedmen and white refugees, and by the end of 1866, it provided care for close to 5,000 whites and more than 40,000 blacks. In the latter part of 1868, Bureau hospitals were either closed or turned over to local officials, and dispensaries were discontinued. From its beginning in the summer of 1865 to 1868, the Bureau's medical department in South Carolina provided medical assistance to about 150,000 blacks and 20,000 whites.2

The regulation of written labor agreements between planters and freedmen was a major concern of the Freedmen's Bureau in South Carolina. In orders issued on August 28, 1865 (General Orders Number 11), Assistant Commissioner Saxton charged his subordinates with seeing that "Fair and Liberal" contracts were made between planters and freedmen. Officers were told that agreements that called for a share of the crop were best suited for both landlords and laborers. Many freedmen who believed that the Federal Government planned to divide their former owners' land among them, were reluctant to sign contracts. This was especially true among freedmen on the Sea Islands who had been issued possessory titles under Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's Special Field Orders Number 15, which set aside for the settlement of blacks "Islands from Charleston south, the abandoned rice–fields along the rivers for thirty miles back from the sea, and the country bordering the Saint John's River, Fla." Nonetheless, with the Bureau's insistence and the threat of being forcibly removed from land they occupied, some 8,000 contracts were signed, and nearly 130,000 freedmen worked under labor agreements between the years 1865 and 1866. On January 1, 1867, Saxton's successor, Gen. R. K. Scott, issued a circular (Circular Number 1) publishing model contracts for a share of the crop and wages. Under the terms of the contracts blacks were entitled to housing, rations, medical attention, fuel, and at least half of the crop. Freedmen who worked for wages were generally paid between $8 and $12 per month and were responsible for supplying their own rations. By the end of 1868, the Bureau closed its operations in South Carolina and thus brought an end to its free labor system.3

Safeguarding rights and securing justice for freedmen was also a priority of the Bureau. Following the Civil War, several Southern states, including South Carolina, enacted a series of laws commonly known as "Black Codes" that restricted the rights and legal status of freedmen. Freedmen were often given harsh sentences for petty crimes and in some instances were unable to get their cases heard in state courts. In a circular issued by Commissioner Oliver Otis Howard on May 30, 1865 (Circular Number 5), Assistant Commissioners were authorized, in places where civil law had been interrupted and blacks' rights to justice were being denied, to adjudicate cases between blacks themselves and between blacks and whites.4

However, before the Freedmen's Bureau's involvement in South Carolina, provost courts and special military commissions served as the primary institutions for administering justice. Established by the Department of the South in the summer of 1865, under General Orders Number 102, provost courts could impose fines up to $100 and sentences of two months (later increased to $500 and six months, respectively). These courts, although subject to change, consisted of one military officer and two civilians who handled cases generally involving larceny and assault and battery. Military commissions were responsible for overseeing more serious cases involving burglary and murder, and functioned under rules similar to those for military courts–martial. In an agreement reached in September 1865 with South Carolina's provisional governor Benjamin F. Perry, military courts were given
responsibility over all cases involving blacks, and state courts were to handle cases involving whites. The Freedmen's Bureau courts, which began to assume a greater role in these issues after the passage of the second Freedmen's Bureau law (July 1866), were thus limited in their efforts to protect the rights of freedmen. After the South Carolina Legislature adopted a measure in October 1866 recognizing freedmen's rights and making black testimony admissible in state courts, all cases
involving freedmen were turned over to state courts.5

When Reuben Tomlinson became superintendent of the education division of the Freedmen's Bureau in South Carolina in early summer 1865, he found more than nine schools with about 9,000 students already in operation along the coastal region. Tomlinson sought to expand the number of schools throughout the state and increase enrollment. In the summer of 1866, he reported that freedmen schools had increased to 54 with 130 teachers providing instruction for a daily average of more than 5,000 pupils. By June 1867, an additional 19 schools had been added to the system, along with 10 new teachers. During the 1866–67 school year, the Bureau provided nearly $25,000 (primarily for rent and school repairs) of the $107,000 spent on freedmen schools. However, by the end of the 1868 school term, the Bureau's educational efforts were on the decline. Limited funds, waning support from Northern benevolent societies, and a steady decrease in freedmen contributions reversed some of the early progress made in the establishment of the freedmen school system. The number of schools in operation during the 1868 and 1869 school terms dropped from 73 to 49. By the summer of 1870, with all funds exhausted, the Bureau's educational program in South Carolina came to a close, and its buildings were turned over to benevolent societies.6

ENDNOTES

1 Martin Abbott, The Freedmen's Bureau in South Carolina, 1865–1872 (North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1967), esp. pp. 37 – 48; see also Senate Ex. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, pp. 112 – 113.

2 Abbott, The Freedmen's Bureau in South Carolina, pp. 10 – 50.

3 Howard C. Westwood, "Sherman Marched—and Proclaimed Land for the Landless," South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 85 (1984): pp. 33 – 50; For a discussion of the "Free Labor" system in South Carolina, see Abbott, The Freedmen's Bureau in South Carolina, pp. 66 – 81; Senate Ex. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, pp. 113 – 115.

4 House Ex. Doc. 11, 39th Cong., 1st Sess. Serial Vol. 1255, p. 45.

5 Abbott, The Freedmen's Bureau in South Carolina, pp. 99 – 105; Thomas D. Morris, "Equality, 'Extraordinary Law,' and The South Carolina Experience, 1865–1866," South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. 83 (1982), pp. 15 – 33.

6 Abbott, The Freedmen's Bureau in South Carolina, pp. 85 – 98; Senate Ex. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, p. 115.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 106 Reels
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1865–1872
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAAHC.FB.M1910
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Reels
scopecontent: label: Records Description
content: These records consist of volumes and unbound records. The volumes reproduced in this microfilm publication were originally arranged by the Freedmen's Bureau by type of record and thereunder by volume number. No numbers were assigned to series consisting of single volumes. Years later, all volumes were assigned numbers by the Adjutant General's Office (AGO) of the War Department after the records came into its custody. In this microfilm publication, AGO numbers are shown in parentheses to aid in identifying the volumes. The National Archives assigned the volume numbers that are not in parentheses. In some volumes, particularly in indexes and alphabetical headings of registers, there are blank numbered pages that have not been filmed.

The volumes consist of letters and endorsements sent and received, registers of letters received, unregistered letters received, general and special orders and circulars received, registers of claimants for bounties and pay arrearages, and registers of indentures of apprenticeship. The unbound documents consist of letters and orders received, unregistered letters received and narrative reports received, special orders and circulars issued, general and special orders and circulars received, and other series.

A few series were created in 1862–64, prior to the formation of the Bureau, by Union military commanders and U. S. Treasury agents, and included in the Bureau records. Some of the volumes contain more than one type of record, reflecting a common recording practice of clerks and staff officers in that period. On Roll 32, for example, the Register of Letters Received, Vol. 1 (95), also contains a register of complaints. Researchers should read carefully the records descriptions and arrangements in the table of contents to make full use of these records.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection