| Location | Baltimore, Maryland, and Salisbury, Maryland |
|---|---|
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Names Mentioned | General Kenly |
| Date | December 15, 1864 |
| Document Title | Commander of the 3rd Separate Brigade, 8th Army Corps, to the Headquarters of the Middle Department and 8th Army Corps |
| Document Description | Brigadier-General Henry H. Lockwood to Lieut. Col. S. B. Lawrence, 15 Dec. 1864, L-414 1864, Letters Received, ser. 2343, Middle Dept. & 8th Army Corps, RG 393 Pt. I [C-4139]. Enclosure, endorsement. General Lockwood writes to Colonel Lawrence to describe the practice of illegal apprenticeships that spread rapidly on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the lead up and in reaction to the abolition of slavery in the state of Maryland with the ratification of the 1864 Maryland Constitution. Lockwood describes how many slaveholders began to manumit some of the children and teenagers they enslaved in order to apprentice them, noting that the arrangement benefitted the slaveholders more than the children they targeted; especially considering many of these adolescents were being hired at "good wages" or were being counted on by their parents for farm labor prior to being forced into an apprenticeship. (From The Wartime Genesis of Free Labor, 532.) |
| Transcription | Baltimore [Md.], December 15th . 1864. Colonel: I have the honor to report, that in compliance with Your instructions of December 2nd âI proceeded to the lower counties of the Eastern Shore and put forth a circular, of which I enclose copy, that I posted the same and in some cases executed it. â I found, that the binding-out had been very general and began as early as October last; masters having manumitted their slaves under 21 years of age for that purpose. I found, that the spirit of the apprentice law had been very generally disregarded, no attention being paid to whether parents could or could not support or to their wishes as to binding out. They were told, that they must select masters, willing or unwilling. In some cases the apprentices were at the time at hired service at good wages, â some 10â to 12$ per month. That many parents had rented small farms, expecting to have the labor of their children;â that many poor tenants had made their arrangements to use this labor and are disappointed by the course pursued; That the apprenticing works advantageously only for the rich slave holderâgenerally disloyalâand disadvantageously for the poor white tenant and colored man. I could burden this report with cases, but deem it unnecessary, peticularly as I have not the names at hand. The feeling among our friends in Somerset and Worcester seemed to be, that the law, executed in its proper spirit is a good one, but that, as these gross abuses have attended it, something should be done. Having on my arrival at Salisbury on Sunday last learned of Your Counter-instructions of the 8th inst. â I came to this City. â Under General Orders No. 120. I will turn over such of Your instructions, as remain unchanged to General Kenly. I have not deemed it necessary to post any counter circulars. With Respect Your Obedt. Servt Henry H Lockwood |
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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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