The Contraband Question Revisited

Today's entry is from The Southern Confederacy.  It re-printed a letter to the editor of the New York Tribune supporting the idea of moving freed slaves to Haiti, along with an interesting response. See my blog posting Send Contrabands to Haiti for a letter from James Redpath in support of sending Contrabands to Haiti.

The Contraband Controversy

 July 21

To the Editor of the New York Tribune:

Sir:  The plan of disposing of the contraband negroes which Mr. Redpath proposes in your issue to day is the only feasible one I have seen.  To send them to Africa, India or Central America, would be impolitic and too expensive.  Any one acquainted with the West Indie Islands can see that they are best adapted to the development of our emancipated negroes. . .

EMANCIPATIONIST

New York, July 8, 1961

This document explains fully the prime objective for the accomplishment of which the impending struggle is forced upon the people of the Seceded States by the Yankees -- those God-fearing, law-abiding, Constitution-and-Union reverencing patriots of the North, with whom we of the South heretofore associated and fraternised, always, and even to our hurt disadvantage, and deep disgrace.

By contraband negroes, is meant the slaves belonging to the Southern people, which the Hessians of Lincoln may be lucky enough to steal from our plantations and run off, by underground thoroughfares, into the lines of our enemies.  We are assured "that the Administration (Lincoln) "will free all fugitives" (slaves) "while the war lasts."  There was no need of this "assurance," because, though denied by the Illinois blackguard, and his filthy lying, amalgamtion Secretary, Seward, yet every intelligent man and woman in the South knows that, to crush out slavery in the Confederate States, is the main object to be accomplished by waging this unholy crusade against us.  "Any other" object "would disgrace and stultify" Lincoln and the hireling serfs now surrounding him, and succoring his vain attempts at coercion and subjugation! . . .

MODUS OPERANDI . . .

(From This Week in Georgia Civil War History, (http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/CivilWar/jul261.htm).

Sheet Music cover, from Library of Congress Collection