Description
A Big Thing - A gentlemen residing in this city went down to Kansas City with Col, Jenison’s regiment. He returned yesterday with a couple of hacks, several horses and mules, and 8 or 10 of the colored population - all contraband. The whole will undoubtedly be turned over to the Government. - Leavenworth Times.
(Researcher’s note: In May 1861 “At Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, Union Maj. General Benjamin Butler refused to send three fugitives back into the bonds of slavery. He classified the escaping slaves as contraband of war. This term meant that once the fleeing slaves crossed Union army lines, they were classified as property. All enemy property that fell into Union hands constituted contraband and would not be returned.
Because of Butler's actions, a federal policy was instituted on August 6, 1861 - fugitive slaves were declared to be "contraband of war" if their labor had been used to aid the Confederacy in anyway. If found to be contraband, they were declared free.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/living-contraband-former-slaves-in-the-nation-s-capital-during-the-civil-war.htm)Date(s) of Creation
12/5/1861
