| Location | Easton, Maryland |
|---|---|
| Document Type | Correspondence and Circular |
| Names Mentioned | – |
| Date | November 4, 1864 |
| Document Title | Letter from Captain Andrew Stafford to General H.H. Lockwood, 4 November 1864 |
| Document Description | Formal emancipation came to Maryland on November 1, 1864, months before the end of the Civil War. But the new state constitution had no sooner taken effect than former slaveholders inaugurated a campaign to circumscribe the ex-slaves' liberty and undermine the integrity of their families. Over the protests of newly freed mothers and fathers, hundreds of former owners availed themselves of the antebellum apprenticeship laws to have black children bound to them. A federal military officer on Maryland's Eastern Shore found himself beseiged by frantic parents who feared the loss of freedom's promise: a secure family. This letter comes from ""Families and Freedom: A Documentary History of African-American Kinship in the Civil War Era," page 211-213 |
| Transcription |
General:-- There is a persistant determination of the disloyal people of this County, to totally disregard the laws of Maryland, in regard to Slavery. Immediately after the Governer issued his Proclamation, declaring the New Constitution adopted, a rush was made to the Orphan’s Court of this County, for the purpose of having all children under twenty one years of age, bound to their former owners, under the apprentice law of the State. In many instances, boys of 12 and 14 years are taken from their parents, under the pretence that they (the parents) are incapable of supporting them, while the younger children are left to be maintained by the parents. This is done without obtaining the parent’s consent, and in direct violation of the provisions of the Act of Assembly, and almost in every instance by disloyal parties. Two of the members of the Orphan’s Court being bitter enemies of the present organic law of the state, seem to be so prejudiced against these poor creatures, that they do not regard their rights. The Court , as yet, has never taken any testimony relative to the capability of the parents to support their children, and where the parents are willing to bind them, they have been denied the choice of homes. In plain terms—the Rebels here are showing an evident determination to still hold this people in bondage, and call upon the Orphan’s Court to give their proceeding the sanction of law. My office is visited every day by numbers of these poor creatures, asking for redress, which I have not the power to give. They protest before the Court against binding their children to the former masters, declares them vagrants, before they have ever been permitted to leave their masters. The law in all instances requires the child or the parents’ consent, but it is not done by Talbot County law. I am fearful there will be trouble here if measures are not taken to stop the proceeding. Loyalty is outraged, and justice has become a mockery. I can furnish you with the names of the parties,--aggrieving and affairs existing here. Had I authority in the premises, I would stop the proceeding: Or did I occupy the position of a military command, I should lay an injunction on the Court until I could hear from you. But as it is, I can only warn you of impending danger. Hoping you will receive this in kindness, and believe me actuated by patriotic motives in writing it, I remain Respectfully Your Obedient Andrew Stafford |
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[Author (if known)], Documents from the Freedmen and Southern Society Project, [Date (if known)], Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva’s Black History, Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University.
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