Black Dispatches was a common term used among Union military men in the American Civil War for intelligence on Confederate forces provided by African Americans, who often were slaves aiding the Union forces. They knew the terrain and could move within many areas without being noticed; their information represented a prolific and productive category of intelligence obtained and acted on by Union forces throughout the Civil War.
201-478: Black Dispatches resulted from frontline tactical debriefings of slaves —either runaways or those having just come under Union control. Black Americans also contributed to tactical and strategic Union intelligence through behind-the-lines missions and agent-in-place operations. Two such Union agents functioned as part of as Confederate President Jefferson Davis 's "White House" staff in Richmond, Virginia . Even such
402-580: A felon deserving capital punishment , who, if captured, should be "reserved for execution". Although Butler's governance of New Orleans was popular in the North, where it was seen as a successful stand against recalcitrant secessionists, some of his actions, notably those against the foreign consuls, concerned Lincoln, who authorized his recall in December 1862. Butler was replaced by Nathaniel P. Banks . The necessity of taking sometimes radical actions and
603-573: A 38-piece set of silverware from a New Orleans woman who attempted to cross Union lines while using a pass that permitted her to carry nothing more than the clothing on her person. Shortly after the Confiscation Act of 1862 became effective in September, Butler increasingly relied upon it as a means of grabbing cotton. Since the Act permitted confiscation of property owned by anyone "aiding
804-444: A Chicago detective agency. Pinkerton, often using the alias Major Allen or E. J. Allen, had responsibilities for collecting intelligence on the enemy and for counterintelligence activities against enemy agents. He gained most of his intelligence by conducting an extensive and well-organized debriefing program of people crossing over from Confederate lines. These informants included merchants with business ties on both sides, deserters from
1005-622: A June 1863 Union raid up the Combahee River in South Carolina is well documented. Tubman had conducted spy missions into the area, identified enemy supply areas, and reported weaknesses in Confederate troop deployments. In late May, Gen. David Hunter , commander of all Union forces in the area, asked Tubman to personally guide a raiding party up the river. On the evening of 2 June, Tubman led Montgomery and 150 of his men up
1206-500: A Union officer who claimed to have been a witness to the events. No official records have documented this story, and the claims about the value of the intelligence produced are questionable. But there is probably some factual basis for the tale. The story involved a runaway slave named Dabney, who crossed into Union lines with his wife and found employment in General Hooker's headquarters camp. It became apparent that Dabney knew
1407-665: A colonel in the Union Army during the Civil War and joined him in New Orleans. Butler's mother was a devout Baptist who encouraged him to read the Bible and prepare for the ministry. In 1827, at the age of nine, Butler was awarded a scholarship to Phillips Exeter Academy , where he spent one term. He was described by a schoolmate as "a reckless, impetuous, headstrong boy", and regularly got into fights. Butler's mother moved
1608-483: A considerable part of it was in the hands of his relatives and supporters." Shortly after arriving in Norfolk, Butler became surrounded by such men. Foremost among them was Brigadier General George Shepley , who had been military governor of Louisiana. Butler invited Shepley to join him and "take care of Norfolk." After his arrival, Shepley was empowered to issue military permits allowing goods to be transported through
1809-485: A few days before his assassination, to talk about reviving colonization in Panama. Since the mid-twentieth century, historians have debated the validity of Butler's account, as Butler wrote it years after the fact and was prone to exaggerating his prowess as a general. Recently discovered documents prove that Butler and Lincoln did indeed meet on April 11, 1865, though whether and to what extent they talked about colonization
2010-546: A field hand or poor farm wife, she led several spy missions herself, while directing others from Union lines. She reported her intelligence to Col. James Montgomery , a Union officer commanding the Second South Carolina Volunteers , a black unit involved in guerrilla warfare activities. The tactical intelligence Tubman provided to Union forces during the war was frequent, abundant, and used effectively in military operations. For example, her part in
2211-407: A fixed period of time after which they would be granted freedom . Although slavery is usually involuntary and involves coercion, there are also cases where people voluntarily enter into slavery to pay a debt or earn money due to poverty . In the course of human history , slavery was a typical feature of civilization , and was legal in most societies, but it is now outlawed in most countries of
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#17327796517622412-456: A follow-up expedition led by Maj. Gen. Alfred H. Terry and Brig. Gen. Adelbert Ames (Butler's future son-in-law) captured the fort on January 15, and news of this victory arrived during the committee hearing; Butler's military career was over. He was formally retained until November 1865 with the idea that he might act as military prosecutor of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. General Butler claimed that Lincoln approached him in 1865,
2613-595: A hearing before the Joint Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War in mid-January. At his hearing Butler focused his defense on his actions at Fort Fisher. He produced charts and duplicates of reports by subordinates to prove he had been right to call off his attack of Fort Fisher, despite orders from General Grant to the contrary. Butler claimed the fort was impregnable. To his embarrassment,
2814-504: A kinship group and those related to the master. Slavery was practiced in many different forms: debt slavery, enslavement of war captives, military slavery, and criminal slavery were all practiced in various parts of Africa. Slavery for domestic and court purposes was widespread throughout Africa. When the Atlantic slave trade began, many of the local slave systems began supplying captives for chattel slave markets outside Africa. Although
3015-509: A lawyer enabled him to purchase shares in Lowell's Middlesex Mill Company when they were cheap. Although he generally represented workers in legal actions, he also sometimes represented mill owners. This adoption of both sides of an issue manifested itself when he became more politically active. He first attracted general attention by advocating the passage of a law establishing a ten-hour day for laborers, but he also opposed labor strikes over
3216-517: A legal right to counsel, freedom from double jeopardy , a right to trial by jury in graver cases, and the right to grand jury indictment, but they lacked many other rights such as white adults' ability to control their own lives. Slavery predates written records and has existed in many cultures. Slavery is rare among hunter-gatherer populations because it requires economic surpluses and a substantial population density. Thus, although it has existed among unusually resource-rich hunter gatherers, such as
3417-580: A limited set of legal rights. For example, in the Province of New York , people who deliberately killed slaves were punishable under a 1686 statute. And, as already mentioned, certain legal rights attached to the nobi in Korea, to slaves in various African societies, and to black female slaves in the French colony of Louisiana . Giving slaves legal rights has sometimes been a matter of morality, but also sometimes
3618-538: A local lawyer. He was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1840 and opened a practice in Lowell. After an extended courtship, Butler married Sarah Hildreth , a stage actress and daughter of Dr. Israel Hildreth of Lowell, on May 16, 1844. They had four children: Paul (1845–1850), Blanche (1847–1939), Paul (1852–1918) and Ben-Israel (1855–1881). Butler's business partners included Sarah's brother Fisher, and her brother-in-law, W. P. Webster. In 1844, Butler
3819-475: A lure to draw his opponent into a premature action. Butler took the bait, and suffered an embarrassing defeat at the Battle of Big Bethel on June 10. Butler devised a plan for a night march and operation against the positions but chose not to lead the force in person, for which he was criticized. The plan proved too complex for his inadequately trained subordinates and troops to carry out, especially at night, and
4020-478: A mark of respect for her activities during the war. No discussion of intelligence activities by black Americans during the Civil War would be complete without mention of a popular story about a black couple who provided intelligence on Confederate troop movements to the Union during the fighting around Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1863. The original account evidently appeared in a newspaper or magazine article written by
4221-548: A marriage where a girl, usually, is married off to a man to settle debts owed by her parents. The Chukri system is a debt bondage system found in parts of Bengal where a female can be coerced into prostitution in order to pay off debts. The word slavery has also been used to refer to a legal state of dependency to somebody else. For example, in Persia , the situations and lives of such slaves could be better than those of common citizens. Forced labour, or unfree labour,
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#17327796517624422-420: A matter of self-interest. For example, in ancient Athens , protecting slaves from mistreatment simultaneously protected people who might be mistaken for slaves, and giving slaves limited property rights incentivized slaves to work harder to get more property. In the southern United States prior to the extirpation of slavery in 1865 , a proslavery legal treatise reported that slaves accused of crimes typically had
4623-761: A meeting with officials at the Department of the Navy. The stolen plans and Louvestre's verbal report of the status of the ship's construction convinced the officials of the need to speed up construction of the Union's own ironclad, the USS Monitor . The Virginia destroyed two Union frigates , the USS Congress and the USS Cumberland , and ran another, the USS Minnesota , to ground before
4824-427: A pair of pants hung upside down represented the direction west, and so forth. This system produced useful intelligence on Confederate movements until Hooker moved his headquarters. While such a signaling system could produce simple messages such as "Hill-north-three regiments," the value of the information would not be great. Union cavalry pickets and Signal Corps observers would have provided similar intelligence. But
5025-413: A permanent part of a master's lineage and the children of slaves could become closely connected with the larger family ties. Children of slaves born into families could be integrated into the master's kinship group and rise to prominent positions within society, even to the level of chief in some instances. However, stigma often remained attached and there could be strict separations between slave members of
5226-612: A photographic memory and could report every word of the documents she saw at the "White House." In recognition of her intelligence contributions, Bowser was inducted into the US Army Intelligence Hall of Fame at Fort Huachuca, Arizona , on 30 June 1995. Harriet Tubman , another black woman involved in intelligence collection for the Union, is well known for her activities with the underground railroad. Her intelligence activities, however, are well documented. Tubman, often referred to by her contemporaries as " Moses ,"
5427-611: A position in the Mississippi River area in early 1863, and categorically refused to send him back to New Orleans. In November 1863, he finally gave Butler command of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina based in Norfolk, Virginia . In January 1864, Butler played a pivotal role in the creation of six regiments of U.S. Volunteers recruited from among Confederate prisoners of war (" Galvanized Yankees ") for duty on
5628-518: A preemptive attack on the Confederate position, but the military operation was poorly conducted and ended in a Union defeat. As the number of Union forces increased, requiring better organization, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan was appointed as commander of the Army of the Potomac defending Washington. He brought with him as his chief of intelligence Allan Pinkerton , who had gained some renown running
5829-593: A prominent Radical Republican, Butler was a potential replacement of Lincoln as presidential nominee. Lincoln had even asked Butler to be the 1864 nominee for vice president, as did Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase , who sought to replace Lincoln as president. In reply to Lincoln's offer, Butler said, "Tell him ... I would not quit the field [resign as major general] to be Vice-President, even with himself as President, unless he will give me bond with sureties ... that he will die or resign within three months after his inauguration. Ask him what he thinks I have done to deserve
6030-532: A prominent woman as Harriet Tubman , best known for her activities involving the Underground Railroad , played an important role in Union intelligence activities. All the following groups, which aided the Union effort, were minor compared to the quality of intelligence provided by black slaves. There were Union sympathizers who were members of the following groups: Orders of the Heroes of America ,
6231-527: A regiment of Negroes that much of the art of war sooner than he could have taught the same number of students from Harvard or Yale." The regiment would serve Butler effectively during the Siege of Port Hudson . Butler organized three regiments totaling 3,122 soldiers and officers. Butler's popularity with the Radicals meant that Lincoln could not readily deny him a new posting. Lincoln considered sending him to
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6432-517: A social institution, chattel slavery classes slaves as chattels ( personal property ) owned by the enslaver; like livestock, they can be bought and sold at will. Chattel slavery was historically the normal form of slavery and was practiced in places such as the Roman Empire and classical Greece , where it was considered a keystone of society. Other places where it was extensively practiced include Medieval Egypt , Subsaharan Africa, Brazil,
6633-638: A substantial force under General P. G. T. Beauregard . On 13 May, Butler's advance toward Richmond was repulsed. On May 16, the Confederates drove Butler's force back to Bermuda Hundred, bottling up the Union troops in a loop of the James River. Both sides entrenched; the Union troops were safe but impotent, and Beauregard sent most of his troops as reinforcements to Lee's Army of Northern Virginia . Had Butler been more aggressive in early May, he might have taken Petersburg or even Richmond itself and ended
6834-562: A successful trial lawyer, served in the Massachusetts legislature as an antiwar Democrat and as an officer in the state militia . Early in the Civil War he joined the Union Army, where he was noted for his lack of military skill and his controversial command of New Orleans , which made him widely disliked in the South and earned him the "Beast" epithet. Although freeing an enemy's slaves had occurred in previous wars, Butler came up with
7035-497: Is a form of unfree labour in which a person works to pay off a debt by pledging himself or herself as collateral. The services required to repay the debt, and their duration, may be undefined. Debt bondage can be passed on from generation to generation, with children required to pay off their progenitors' debt. It is the most widespread form of slavery today. Debt bondage is most prevalent in South Asia. Money marriage refers to
7236-540: Is best known for the numerous trips she made into the south to free relatives and friends and bring them to safety. Her last trip took place in 1860. With the advent of the fighting, she spent the early years of the war assisting with the care and feeding of the many slaves who had fled to Union-controlled areas. By the spring of 1863, Union officials had found a more dramatic and active role for Tubman. The Union forces in South Carolina badly needed information about
7437-597: Is estimated that by the 1890s the largest slave population of the world, about 2 million people, was concentrated in the territories of the Sokoto Caliphate . The use of slave labour was extensive, especially in agriculture." The Anti-Slavery Society estimated there were 2 million slaves in Ethiopia in the early 1930s out of an estimated population of 8 to 16 million. Slave labour in East Africa
7638-506: Is not recorded except in Butler's account. Negative perceptions of Butler were compounded by his questionable financial dealings in several of his commands, as well as the activities of his brother Andrew, who acted as Butler's financial proxy and was given "almost free rein" to engage in exploitative business deals and other "questionable activities" in New Orleans. Upon arriving in the city, Butler immediately began attempts to participate in
7839-487: Is often used as a pejorative to describe any activity in which one is coerced into performing. Some argue that military drafts and other forms of coerced government labour constitute "state-operated slavery." Some libertarians and anarcho-capitalists view government taxation as a form of slavery. "Slavery" has been used by some anti-psychiatry proponents to define involuntary psychiatric patients, claiming there are no unbiased physical tests for mental illness and yet
8040-517: Is sometimes used to describe an individual who is forced to work against their own will, under threat of violence or other punishment. This may also include institutions not commonly classified as slavery, such as serfdom , conscription and penal labour . As slavery has been legally outlawed in all countries, forced labour in the present day (frequently referred to as " modern slavery ") revolves around illegal control. Human trafficking primarily involves women and children forced into prostitution and
8241-463: Is the fastest growing form of forced labour, with Thailand, Cambodia, India, Brazil and Mexico having been identified as leading hotspots of commercial sexual exploitation of children . In 2007, Human Rights Watch estimated that 200,000 to 300,000 children served as soldiers in then-current conflicts. More girls under 16 work as domestic workers than any other category of child labour, often sent to cities by parents living in rural poverty as with
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8442-475: The 1860 Democratic National Convention at Charleston, South Carolina , Butler initially supported John C. Breckinridge for president but then shifted his support to Jefferson Davis , believing that only a moderate Southerner could keep the Democratic party from dividing. A conversation he had with Davis prior to the convention convinced him that Davis might be such a man, and he gave him his support before
8643-489: The 7th New York Militia , Butler directed his men to restore rail service between Annapolis and Washington via Annapolis Junction , which was accomplished by April 27. He also threatened Maryland legislators with arrest if they voted in favor of secession, and he seized the Great Seal of Maryland , "without which no legislation could become law." Butler's prompt actions in securing Annapolis were received with approval by
8844-607: The American Indian peoples of the salmon -rich rivers of the Pacific Northwest coast, slavery became widespread only with the invention of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution about 11,000 years ago. Slavery was practiced in almost every ancient civilization. Such institutions included debt bondage, punishment for crime, the enslavement of prisoners of war , child abandonment , and
9045-565: The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia , was equally aware, and in May 1863 he said, "The chief source of information to the enemy is through our Negroes." Because of the culture of slavery in the South, Negroes involved in menial activities could move about without suspicion. Also, officials and officers tended to ignore their presence as personal servants when discussing war-related matters. Confederate General Patrick Cleburne explained
9246-547: The Congo Free State and French ruled Ubangi-Shari , labour was demanded as taxation; private companies were conceded areas within which they were allowed to use any measures to increase rubber production. Convict leasing was common in the Southern United States where the state would lease prisoners for their free labour to companies. Depending upon the era and the country, slaves sometimes had
9447-553: The First Battle of Fort Fisher , but he soon won election to the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a Radical Republican he considered President Johnson's Reconstruction agenda to be too weak, advocating harsher punishments of former Confederate leadership and stronger stances on civil rights reform. He was also an early proponent of the prospect of impeaching Johnson . After Johnson
9648-481: The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 because of Virginia's secession. "I am under no constitutional obligations to a foreign country," he said, "which Virginia now claims to be." Furthermore, slaves used as laborers for building fortifications and other military activities could be considered contraband of war. "Lincoln and his Cabinet discussed the issue on May 30 and decided to support Butler's stance". It
9849-518: The Indian subcontinent , and later to the Americas. These traders captured Bantu peoples ( Zanj ) from the interior in present-day Kenya , Mozambique and Tanzania and brought them to the coast. There, the slaves gradually assimilated in rural areas, particularly on Unguja and Pemba islands. Some historians assert that as many as 17 million people were sold into slavery on the coast of
10050-526: The James River on the tip of the Virginia Peninsula . Shortly after the start of the war, Butler had issued orders that all " contraband " arriving in Union lines be brought to his headquarters for debriefing. Scott had escaped from a plantation near Yorktown . While making his way toward Fort Monroe, he observed that Confederate forces had thrown up two fortifications between Yorktown and
10251-1197: The League of Nations and the United Nations, such as the Temporary Slavery Commission in 1924–1926, the Committee of Experts on Slavery in 1932, and the Advisory Committee of Experts on Slavery in 1934–1939. By the time of the UN Ad Hoc Committee on Slavery in 1950–1951, legal chattel slavery still existed only in the Arabian Peninsula: in Oman , in Qatar , in Saudi Arabia , in the Trucial States and in Yemen . Legal chattel slavery
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#173277965176210452-594: The Medal of Honor to several men of the 38th USCT. He also ordered a special medal designed and struck, which was awarded to 200 African-American soldiers who had served with distinction in the engagement. This was later called the Butler Medal . In the spring of 1864, the Army of the James was directed to land at Bermuda Hundred on the James River, south of Richmond, and from there attack Petersburg . This would sever
10653-563: The Muslim empire and claimed over "tens of thousands of lives in lower Iraq". The Zanj who were taken as slaves to the Middle East were often used in strenuous agricultural work. As the plantation economy boomed and the Arabs became richer, agriculture and other manual labour work was thought to be demeaning. The resulting labour shortage led to an increased slave market. In Algiers ,
10854-730: The Sahara desert to North Africa to be sold to Mediterranean and Middle eastern civilizations. During the Red Sea slave trade , slaves were transported from Africa across the Red Sea to the Arabian Peninsula. The Indian Ocean slave trade , sometimes known as the east African slave trade, was multi-directional. Africans were sent as slaves to the Arabian Peninsula , to Indian Ocean islands (including Madagascar ), to
11055-638: The USS Merrimack into the Virginia , the first Confederate ironclad warship. Overhearing the engineer talking about the importance of his project, she recognized the danger this new type of ship represented to the Union navy blockading Norfolk . She stole a set of plans for the ship which the engineer had brought home and fled North. After a dangerous trip, she arrived in Washington, DC and arranged
11256-531: The United States , she may be treated similarly to a "woman of the town plying her avocation," i.e., a prostitute . This was in response to various acts of verbal and physical abuse inappropriate of "respectable" women, including mocking the funeral cortège of a fallen soldier, spitting in the faces of U.S. officers, pouring chamber pots full of human excrement on patrolling U.S. soldiers, and, in one notorious case, pouring urine on Admiral David Farragut ,
11457-405: The bombardment of Algiers by an Anglo-Dutch fleet in 1816. Under Omani Arabs, Zanzibar became East Africa's main slave port , with as many as 50,000 African slaves passing through every year during the 19th century. Some historians estimate that between 11 and 18 million African slaves crossed the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Sahara Desert from 650 to 1900 AD. Eduard Rüppell described
11658-409: The separation of powers , or what Comte called the "separation of the spiritual and the temporal" during the Middle Ages and the end of slavery, and Smith's criticism of masters, past and present. As Smith stated in the Lectures on Jurisprudence , "The great power of the clergy thus concurring with that of the king set the slaves at liberty. But it was absolutely necessary both that the authority of
11859-490: The state legislature in 1852. His support for Franklin Pierce as president, however, cost him the seat the next year. He was elected a delegate to the 1853 state constitutional convention with strong Catholic support, and was elected to the state senate in 1858, a year dominated by Republican victories in the state. Butler was nominated for governor in 1859 and ran on a pro-slavery, pro-tariff platform. He lost to incumbent Republican Nathaniel Prentice Banks . In
12060-407: The 1863 draft riots ," and because of fear of Confederates coming from Canada to burn the city on Election Day. Grant selected Butler for the assignment. "Even though he knew nothing about the plot [to burn the city] and did nothing to prevent it, Butler's mere presence with his 3,500 troops" demoralized the leaders of the conspiracy, who postponed it until November 25, when it failed. The Army of
12261-609: The 8th, which left Philadelphia the next day amid news that railroad connections around Baltimore were being severed. Butler and the 8th traveled by rail and ferry to Maryland's capital, Annapolis , where Governor Thomas H. Hicks attempted to dissuade them from landing. Butler landed his troops (who needed food and water), occupying the Naval Academy . When Hicks informed Butler that no one would sell provisions to his force, Butler pointed out that armed men did not necessarily have to pay for needed provisions, and he would use all measures necessary to ensure order. After being joined by
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#173277965176212462-534: The Army of the James. "Embarrassed and outraged, Butler broke off all relations with Grant and set out to destroy him." In 1867, when it seemed that Grant might run for president, Butler "employed detectives in an effort to prove that Grant was 'a drunkard, after fast horses, women and whores.' Grant, he announced, was 'a man without a head or a heart, indifferent to human suffering and impotent to govern.'" Rather than report to Lowell, Butler went to Washington, where he used his considerable political connections to get
12663-424: The Atlantic slave trade was not the only slave trade from Africa, it was the largest in volume and intensity. As Elikia M'bokolo wrote in Le Monde diplomatique : The African continent was bled of its human resources via all possible routes. Across the Sahara, through the Red Sea, from the Indian Ocean ports and across the Atlantic. At least ten centuries of slavery for the benefit of the Muslim countries (from
12864-466: The BMI who had deployed with Union cavalry forces just after the battle of Brandy Station, telegraphed Sharpe the following: "A contraband captured last Tuesday states that he had been living at Culpeper C. H. for some time past. Saw Ewells Corps passing through that place destined for the Valley and Maryland. That Ewells Corps has passed the day previous to the fight and that Longstreet was them coming up." Shortly thereafter, McEntee also reported that Wright
13065-461: The Board of Visitors of West Point . These positions did not give him any significant military experience. After Abraham Lincoln was elected president in November 1860, Butler traveled to Washington, D.C. When a secessionist South Carolina delegation arrived there he recommended to lameduck President James Buchanan that they be arrested and charged with treason. Buchanan rejected the idea. Butler also met with Jefferson Davis and learned that he
13266-403: The Confederacy," Butler reversed his earlier policy of encouraging trade by refusing to confiscate cotton brought into New Orleans for sale. First, he conducted a census in which 4,000 respondents failing to pledge loyalty to the Union were banished. Their property was seized and sold at low auction prices in which his brother Andrew was often the prime buyer. Next, the general sent expeditions into
13467-476: The Confederate Army, prisoners of war, civilians traveling to escape the fighting or for other personal business, and former slaves. While each group provided valuable information, Pinkerton soon discovered that the former slaves were the most willing to cooperate and often had the best knowledge of Confederate fortifications, camps, and supply points. Pinkerton instructed his operatives to focus their efforts on debriefing former slaves. He also directed them to be on
13668-562: The Confederate Secretary of War ordered the destruction of virtually all intelligence files, including counter-intelligence records regarding Union spies. In Washington, the War Department turned over portions of its intelligence files to many of the participants involved. Most of these records were subsequently destroyed or lost. Thus, accounts by individuals of their parts in the war, or official papers focusing on larger subjects, such as military official correspondence, have become important sources of information on intelligence activities. Due to
13869-402: The Confederate army in Virginia, Butler confiscated the newspaper and imprisoned Seymour for three months. On June 7, 1862, Butler ordered the execution of William B. Mumford for tearing down a United States flag placed by Admiral Farragut on the United States Mint in New Orleans . In his memoirs, Butler maintained that "[a] party headed by Mumford had torn down the flag, dragged it through
14070-437: The Confederate forces opposing them. Intelligence on the strength of enemy units, location of encampments, and designs of fortifications was almost nil. All these requirements could be met by short-term spying trips behind enemy lines, and it fell to Tubman to organize and lead these expeditions. Tubman selected a few former slaves knowledgeable about the areas to be visited and established her spy organization. Often disguised as
14271-408: The Confederate surrender, was not re-institutionalized until 1947, when the CIA was created. Sharpe's BMI was well established when Charlie Wright, a young black man, arrived at Union lines from Culpeper, Virginia, in June 1863. While being debriefed, his extensive knowledge of units in Lee's army became apparent. He had an excellent memory for details. On 12 June, Capt. John McEntee, an officer from
14472-549: The Haitian restaveks . Forced marriages or early marriages are often considered types of slavery. Forced marriage continues to be practiced in parts of the world including some parts of Asia and Africa and in immigrant communities in the West. Marriage by abduction occurs in many places in the world today, with a 2003 study finding a national average of 69% of marriages in Ethiopia being through abduction. The word slavery
14673-570: The Indian Ocean, the Middle East, and North Africa, and approximately 5 million African slaves were bought by Muslim slave traders and taken from Africa across the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Sahara Desert between 1500 and 1900. The captives were sold throughout the Middle East. This trade accelerated as superior ships led to more trade and greater demand for labour on plantations in the region. Eventually, tens of thousands of captives were being taken every year. The Indian Ocean slave trade
14874-636: The James were sent to attack Fort Fisher in North Carolina with Butler in command. Butler devised a scheme to breach the defenses with a boat loaded with gunpowder, which failed completely. He then declared that Fort Fisher was impregnable and withdrew his troops without authorization. However, Admiral David Dixon Porter (commander of the naval element of the expedition) informed Grant that it could be taken easily if anyone competent were put in charge. This mismanagement finally led to his recall by Grant in early 1865. As Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton
15075-719: The James River ship canal and the mouth of the Nansemond River . Butler also expanded Camp Hamilton, established in the adjacent town of Hampton, Virginia , just beyond the confines of the fort and within the range of its guns. The Union occupation of Fort Monroe was considered a threat to Richmond by Confederate General Robert E. Lee , and he began organizing the defense of the Virginia Peninsula in response. Confederate General John B. Magruder , seeking to buy time while awaiting men and supplies, established well-defended forward outposts near Big and Little Bethel, only 8 miles (13 km) from Butler's camp at Newport News as
15276-573: The James also included several regiments of United States Colored Troops . These troops saw combat in the Bermuda Hundred campaign (see below). At the Battle of Chaffin's Farm (sometimes also called the Battle of New Market Heights), the USCT troops performed extremely well. The 38th USCT defeated a more powerful force despite intense fire, heavy casualties, and terrain obstacles. Butler awarded
15477-576: The Nazis and the Soviet Union placed increasing importance on the labor provided in those camps, leading to a growing tendency among historians to designate such systems as slavery. A combination of these include the encomienda where the Spanish Crown granted private individuals the right to the free labour of a specified number of natives in a given area. In the "Red Rubber System" of both
15678-495: The Norfolk district was also tainted by financial scandal and cross-lines business dealings. Historian Ludwell Johnson concluded that during that period: "... there can be no doubt that a very extensive trade with the Confederacy was carried on in [Butler's Norfolk] Department.... This trade was extremely profitable for Northern merchants ... and was a significant help to the Confederacy.... It was conducted with Butler's help and
15879-632: The Peace and Constitutional Society, organized in Arkansas; and the Peace Society, which existed in Alabama, East Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, and perhaps even Florida that furnished the majority of intelligence that were verified by the network of northern spies that infiltrated the South. These groups consisted of Catholic, Methodist, Quakers , Jewish and other religious groups with relatives in
16080-640: The Rebellion . W. H. Ringgold was a free person of color who worked on a riverboat on the York River in Virginia. He had been "impressed" (coerced) into service as a result of having been in Fredericksburg at the time Virginia seceded from the Union. Ringgold spent six months on the river, helping move troops and supplies on the Virginia peninsula. When his ship was damaged by a storm, he and
16281-424: The South, which concocted stories about him that were conflations of biographical details involving not just Butler but also a namesake from New York and others. When two Massachusetts regiments had been sent overland to Maryland, two more were dispatched by sea under Butler's command to secure Fort Monroe at the mouth of the James River . After being dressed down by Scott for overstepping his authority, Butler
16482-535: The US Army's top general, Winfield Scott , and he was given formal orders to maintain the security of the transit links in Maryland. In early May, Scott ordered Butler to lead the operations that occupied Baltimore. On May 13 he entered Baltimore on a train with 1000 men and artillery, with no opposition. That was done in contravention of Butler's orders from Scott, which had been to organize four columns to approach
16683-781: The Umayyad Caliphate in Iraq. The Zanj Rebellion , a series of uprisings that took place between 869 and 883 near Basra (also known as Basara), against the slavery in the Abbasid Caliphate situated in present-day Iraq, is believed to have involved enslaved Zanj that had originally been captured from the African Great Lakes region and areas further south in East Africa . It grew to involve over 500,000 slaves and free men who were imported from across
16884-429: The Union Army. His military career before the Civil War began as a private in the Lowell militia in 1840. Butler eventually rose to become colonel of a regiment of primarily Irish American men. In 1855, the nativist Know Nothing governor Henry J. Gardner disbanded Butler's militia, but Butler was elected brigadier general after the militia was reorganized. In 1857 Secretary of War Jefferson Davis appointed him to
17085-550: The Union Navy commander. "Butler's 'Woman Order' was immediately effective. Insults by word, look or gesture abruptly ceased.... Throughout the South, however, the Woman Order evoked a universal shout of execration". Butler's insistence on prosecuting the woman as any other person "aiding the Confederacy" provoked angry jeers from white residents of New Orleans, who amplified a narrative that he used his power to engage in
17286-628: The Union blockade, he surrendered the Planter to them. Later that month he and his fellow crewmen received payment as a reward from the US government for half the appraised value of the ship as a reward. When Pinkerton left his position as chief of intelligence for the Army of the Potomac in November 1862, he took all his intelligence files on the Confederacy with him. (Because he had been a private contractor,
17487-398: The Union ironclad was completed and reached forces for the war. If Louvestre had not given her intelligence, the Virginia may have had several more unchallenged weeks to destroy Union ships blockading Hampton Roads . The risk was that the Confederates could have opened the port of Norfolk to urgently needed supplies from Europe. The strategic Confederate port of Charleston, South Carolina
17688-417: The Union. Van Lew obtained a position for Bowser as a servant in the Confederate "White House" through the recommendation of a "friend" who provided supplies to that household. Bowser pretended to be uneducated but hardworking and, after working part-time at several functions, was hired as a regular employee. Her access provided her with opportunities to overhear valuable information. As a black servant, Bowser
17889-545: The United States, and parts of the Caribbean such as Cuba and Haiti. The Iroquois enslaved others in ways that "looked very like chattel slavery." Beginning in the 18th century, a series of abolitionist movements saw slavery as a violation of the slaves' rights as people (" all men are created equal "), and sought to abolish it. Abolitionism encountered extreme resistance but was eventually successful. Several of
18090-594: The York River. His information was the best McClellan received before the start of his Peninsula Campaign in March 1862. It was the basis for much of his strategic planning for the opening of that campaign. Black Americans provided equally valuable intelligence to the Union Navy . Mary Louvestre , a freed slave, worked in Norfolk as a housekeeper for an engineer who was involved in the refitting and transformation of
18291-622: The administration of that city he showed great firmness and political subtlety. He devised a plan for relief of the poor, demanded oaths of allegiance from anyone who sought any privilege from government, and confiscated weapons. However, Butler's subtlety seemed to fail him as the military governor of New Orleans when it came to dealing with its Jewish population, about which the general, referring to local smugglers, infamously wrote, in October 1862: "They are Jews who betrayed their Savior , & also have betrayed us." In an ordinary year, it
18492-472: The aristocracy. In the 2020s, in North Korea , Kippumjo ("Pleasure Brigades") are made up of women selected from the general population to serve as entertainers and as concubines to the rulers of North Korea. "Tribute labor" is compulsory labor for the state and has been used in various iterations such as corvée , mit'a and repartimiento . The internment camps of totalitarian regimes such as
18693-516: The best-known of the Pinkerton black agents. As a slave in Mississippi , Scobell had been well educated by his owner, a Scotsman who subsequently freed him. He was quick-witted and an accomplished role player, which permitted him to function in several different identities on various missions, including food vendor, cook, or laborer. He often worked with other Pinkerton agents, sometimes playing
18894-479: The black community and collect their information on local conditions, fortifications, and troop dispositions. Scobell often used his membership in the " Legal League ," a clandestine Negro organization in the South supporting freedom for slaves, to acquire local information. League members sometimes supported Scobell's collection activities by acting as couriers to carry his information to Union lines. On at least one occasion, as described by Pinkerton, Scobell protected
19095-496: The capital of Algeria, captured Christians and Europeans were forced into slavery. In about 1650, there were as many as 35,000 Christian slaves in Algiers. By one estimate, raids by Barbary slave traders on coastal villages and ships extending from Italy to Iceland, enslaved an estimated 1 to 1.25 million Europeans between the 16th and 19th centuries. However, this estimate is the result of an extrapolation which assumes that
19296-401: The century from 1580 to 1680. By extension, for the 250 years between 1530 and 1780, the figure could easily have been as high as 1,250,000. Davis' numbers have been refuted by other historians, such as David Earle, who cautions that true picture of Europeans slaves is clouded by the fact the corsairs also seized non-Christian whites from eastern Europe. In addition, the number of slaves traded
19497-426: The city by land and sea. General Scott criticized Butler for his strategy (despite its success) as well as his heavy-handed assumption of control of much of the civil government, and he recalled him to Washington. Butler shortly after received one of the early appointments as major general of the volunteer forces. His exploits in Maryland also brought nationwide press attention, including significant negative press in
19698-400: The condition of some or all human-owned animals, arguing that their status is comparable to that of human slaves. The labour market, as institutionalized under contemporary capitalist systems, has been criticized by mainstream socialists and by anarcho-syndicalists , who utilise the term wage slavery as a pejorative or dysphemism for wage labour . Socialists draw parallels between
19899-472: The convention split over slavery. Butler ended up supporting Breckinridge over Douglas against state party instructions, ruining his standing with the state party apparatus. He was nominated for governor in the 1860 election by a Breckinridge splinter of the state party, but trailed far behind other candidates. Although he sympathized with the South, Butler stated, "I was always a friend of southern rights but an enemy of southern wrongs" and sought to serve in
20100-650: The countryside with no military purpose other than to confiscate cotton from residents who were assumed to be disloyal. Once brought into New Orleans, the cotton would be similarly sold in rigged auctions. To maintain correct appearances, auction proceeds were dutifully held for the benefit of "just claimants", but the Butler consortium still ended up owning the cotton at bargain prices. Always inventive of new terminology to achieve his ends, Butler sequestered, or made vulnerable to confiscation, such "properties" in all of Louisiana beyond parishes surrounding New Orleans. Butler censored New Orleans newspapers . When William Seymour,
20301-407: The crime of slavery in language by reducing its victims to a nonhuman noun instead of "carry[ing] them forward as people, not the property that they were" (see also People-first language ). Other historians prefer slave because the term is familiar and shorter, or because it accurately reflects the inhumanity of slavery, with person implying a degree of autonomy that slavery does not allow. As
20502-558: The editor of the New-Orleans Commercial Bulletin , asked Butler what would happen if the newspaper ignored his censorship, an angry Butler reportedly stated, "I am the military governor of this state — the supreme power — you cannot disregard my order, Sir. By God, he that sins against me, sins against the Holy Ghost." When Seymour published a favorable obituary of his father, who had been killed serving in
20703-463: The enemy's rear guard before the Confederates could sabotage the harbor. The intelligence provided by Smalls was considered so significant that the Secretary of the Department of the Navy described it in detail to President Lincoln in the Secretary's annual report. While this information was Smalls' greatest intelligence contribution to the Union, he subsequently provided another gift to the Navy. On
20904-604: The enslavement of slaves' offspring. Slavery was widespread in Africa, which pursued both internal and external slave trade. In the Senegambia region, between 1300 and 1900, close to one-third of the population was enslaved. In early Islamic states of the western Sahel , including Ghana , Mali , Segou , and Songhai , about a third of the population were enslaved. In European courtly society, and European aristocracy, black African slaves and their children became visible in
21105-435: The escape of Mrs. Lawton from pursuing Confederate agents. He worked for Pinkerton from late 1861 until the intelligence chief closed down his operations in November 1862, when McClellan was replaced by Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside . According to Corey Recko, historians have not been able to discover proof that slave/spy John Scobell existed. He may have been a fictional character created by Allan Pinkerton for his book The Spy of
21306-485: The fact that this story is repeated in numerous articles and books makes it a part of the legend of intelligence activities during the war. This article incorporates text in the public domain from the Central Intelligence Agency . Slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property , especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with
21507-433: The family in 1828 to Lowell, Massachusetts , where she operated a boarding house for workers at the textile mills . He attended the public schools there, from which he was almost expelled for fighting, the principal describing him as a boy who "might be led, but could not be driven." He attended Waterville (now Colby ) College in pursuit of his mother's wish that he prepare for the ministry, but eventually rebelled against
21708-631: The family in such activities. Everyone in New Orleans believed that Andrew accumulated a profit of $ 1–$ 2 million while in Louisiana. Upon inquiry from Treasury Secretary Chase in October 1862, the general responded that his brother actually cleared less than $ 200,000 (~$ 4.76 million in 2023). When Butler was replaced in New Orleans by Major General Nathaniel Banks, Andrew Butler unsuccessfully tried to bribe Banks with $ 100,000 if Banks would permit Andrew's "commercial program" to be carried out "as previous to [Banks's] arrival." Butler's administration of
21909-466: The files belonged to him). This left Union forces without centralized Confederate order-of-battle information, and the one remaining intelligence officer in the Army of the Potomac had to travel to the War Department in Washington to re-create this information from records of previous battles. When Gen. Joseph Hooker took command of the Army of the Potomac on 27 January 1863, he immediately saw
22110-461: The first "all-source intelligence" organization in US history. Sharpe obtained, collated, analyzed, and provided reports based on scouting, spying behind enemy lines, interrogations, cavalry reconnaissance , balloon observation, Signal Corps observation, flag signal and telegraph intercepts, captured Confederate documents and mail, southern newspapers, and intelligence reporting from subordinate military units. This structured approach, which ended with
22311-454: The first African-American regiment in the US Army, the 1st Louisiana Native Guard , and commissioned 30 officers to command it at the company level. This was highly unusual, as most USCT regiments were commanded by white officers only. "Better soldiers never shouldered a musket," Butler wrote, "I observed a very remarkable trait about them. They learned to handle arms and to march more easily than intelligent white men. My drillmaster could teach
22512-406: The first significant Union victory after First Bull Run, was lauded in Washington and won Butler accolades from President Lincoln. Butler was sent back to Massachusetts to raise new forces. That thrust Butler into a power struggle with Governor Andrew, who insisted on maintaining his authority to appoint regimental officers, refusing to commission (among others) Butler's brother Andrew and several of
22713-506: The focus is on increasing the number of slaves doing simple tasks rather than upgrading their efficiency. For example, it is sometimes argued that, because of this narrow focus, technology in Greece – and later in Rome – was not applied to ease physical labour or improve manufacturing. Scottish economist Adam Smith stated that free labour was economically better than slave labour, and that it
22914-568: The fortress. Butler's officers were impressed with Scott's information but wanted to confirm it. Scott agreed to accompany a Union officer on several scouting trips behind Confederate lines to obtain more specific intelligence. On one of these missions, Scott barely avoided being wounded by a Confederate picket ; the bullet went through his jacket. Based on the intelligence gained from these missions, Butler determined that Confederate forces were planning an attack on Newport News , capture of which would isolate Fort Monroe from Union resupply. He ordered
23115-444: The gang to a task and made each worker's performance dependent on the actions of the others. The slaves chopped out the weeds that surrounded the cotton plants as well as excess sprouts. Plow gangs followed behind, stirring the soil near the plants and tossing it back around the plants. Thus, the gang system worked like an assembly line . Since the 18th century, critics have argued that slavery hinders technological advancement because
23316-531: The general's close associates. The spat instigated a recruiting war between Butler and the state militia organization. The dispute delayed Butler's return to Virginia, and in November he was assigned to command ground troops in Louisiana . While in command at Fort Monroe, Butler had declined to return to their owners fugitive slaves who had come within his lines. He argued that Virginians considered them to be chattel property , and that they could not appeal to
23517-494: The geography of the area very well, and, though he had little education, was clever. He quickly developed an interest in the Union flag-signal system, and he learned all he could about it. After several weeks, Dabney's wife asked permission to return to Confederate lines as a personal servant to a Southern woman returning to her home. A few days after his wife's departure, Dabney began reporting Confederate movements to members of Hooker's staff. His reports soon proved accurate, and he
23718-689: The heart of our country, where our hold upon this secret espionage is firmest, it waits but the opening fire of the enemy's battle line to wake it, like a torpid serpent, into venomous activity." After the war, however, the intelligence contributions of black Americans began to be lost to history. While racial prejudice probably played a part in this, as it did regarding the military contributions of black American Union military units , several other factors added to this lack of recognition. Historically, most successful spies do not want their identities made public. Even individuals who may have provided one-time pieces of useful intelligence usually prefer anonymity. This
23919-509: The highest ranking volunteer major generals in the Union army; next to Grant himself, he was the ranking field officer in the Eastern theater, and command of the Army of the Potomac would default to him in Grant's absence. For that reason, Grant remained with the army as much as possible and only made trips away from the front when it was absolutely necessary. In December, troops from the Army of
24120-468: The idea of doing so by designating them as contraband of war , an idea that the Lincoln administration endorsed and that played a role in making emancipation an official war goal. His commands were marred by financial and logistical dealings across enemy lines, some of which may have taken place with his knowledge and to his financial benefit. Butler was dismissed from the Union Army after his failures in
24321-481: The idea. In 1836, Butler sought permission to go instead to West Point for a military education, but he did not receive one of the few places available. He continued his studies at Waterville, where he sharpened his rhetorical skills in theological discussions and began to adopt Democratic Party political views. He graduated in August 1838. Butler returned to Lowell, where he clerked and read law as an apprentice with
24522-597: The interior of West Africa. These expeditions were typically carried out by African kingdoms , such as the Oyo Empire ( Yoruba ), the Ashanti Empire , the kingdom of Dahomey , and the Aro Confederacy . It is estimated that about 15 percent of slaves died during the voyage , with mortality rates considerably higher in Africa itself in the process of capturing and transporting indigenous peoples to
24723-415: The king and of the clergy should be great. Where ever any one of these was wanting, slavery still continues..." Even after slavery became a criminal offense, slave owners could get high returns. According to researcher Siddharth Kara , the profits generated worldwide by all forms of slavery in 2007 were $ 91.2 billion. That was second only to drug trafficking, in terms of global criminal enterprises. At
24924-407: The lack of supporting documents, much of this information is difficult to substantiate or place in perspective and context. George Scott , an escaped slave, provided information that helped lead to one of the first large-scale battles of the war. He furnished intelligence on Confederate fortifications and troop movements to Gen. Benjamin F. Butler , commander of Fort Monroe located at the mouth of
25125-572: The late 1300s and 1400s. Starting with Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor , black Africans were included in the retinue . In 1402 an Ethiopian embassy reached Venice . In the 1470s black Africans were painted as court attendants in wall paintings that were displayed in Mantua and Ferrara . In the 1490s black Africans were included on the emblem of the Duke of Milan . During the trans-Saharan slave trade , slaves from West Africa were transported across
25326-522: The late 16th and early 17th century observers, account for around 35,000 European Christian slaves held throughout this period on the Barbary Coast, across Tripoli, Tunis, but mostly in Algiers. The majority were sailors (particularly those who were English), taken with their ships, but others were fishermen and coastal villagers. However, most of these captives were people from lands close to Africa, particularly Spain and Italy. This eventually led to
25527-459: The lines. He designated subordinate George Johnston to manage the task. In fall 1864, Johnston was charged with corruption. However, instead of being prosecuted, he was allowed to resign after saying he could show "that General Butler was a partner in all [the controversial] transactions," along with the general's brother-in-law Fisher Hildreth. Shortly thereafter, Johnston managed a thriving between-the-lines trade depot in eastern North Carolina. There
25728-423: The lookout for former slaves who had some education or seemed particularly skilled in observing and remembering military details. Once these individuals were identified, they were sent to Pinkerton for further assessment and evaluation. From these black Americans, Pinkerton recruited a small number for intelligence collection missions behind Confederate lines. John Scobell was recruited in the fall of 1861 and became
25929-476: The losses of Sudanese slaves being transported on foot to Egypt: "after the Daftardar bey's 1822 campaign in the southern Nuba mountains, nearly 40,000 slaves were captured. However, through bad treatment, disease and desert travel barely 5,000 made it to Egypt." W.A. Veenhoven wrote: "The German doctor, Gustav Nachtigal , an eye-witness, believed that for every slave who arrived at a market three or four died on
26130-411: The lucrative inter-belligerent trade. He used a Federal warship to send $ 60,000 in sugar to Boston where he expected to sell it for $ 160,000. However, his use of the government ship was reported to the military authorities, and Butler was chastised. Instead of earning a profit, military authorities permitted him to recover only his $ 60,000 plus expenses. Thereafter, his brother Andrew officially represented
26331-466: The matter. He instituted a ten-hour work day at the Middlesex Mills. During the debates over the ten-hour day a Whig -supporting Lowell newspaper published a verse suggesting that Butler's father had been hanged for piracy . Butler sued the paper's editor and publisher for that and other allegations that had been printed about himself. The editor was convicted and fined $ 50, but the publisher
26532-402: The meaning "to strip the enemy (killed in a battle)" or "to make booty / extract spoils of war". This version has been criticized as well. There is a dispute among historians about whether terms such as " unfree labourer " or "enslaved person", rather than "slave", should be used when describing the victims of slavery. According to those proposing a change in terminology, slave perpetuates
26733-401: The meaning 'prisoner of war slave', 'slave' in the 8th/9th century, because they often became captured and enslaved. However this version has been disputed since the 19th century. An alternative contemporary hypothesis states that Medieval Latin sclāvus via * scylāvus derives from Byzantine σκυλάω ( skūláō , skyláō ) or σκυλεύω ( skūleúō , skyleúō ) with
26934-499: The need for an effective centralized intelligence system. On 11 February, Col. George H. Sharpe , an attorney and an officer of New York state volunteers, accepted the post of head of the Army's intelligence service. Under Sharpe, with direction from Hooker, the Bureau of Military Information (BMI) was created. Its sole focus was collection of intelligence on the enemy; it had no counterintelligence responsibilities. It soon developed into
27135-449: The night of May 12, 1862, he, family members, and other black American crewmen of the Planter , a cargo steamer turned into an armed coastal patrol ship, sailed out of Charleston harbor after the captain and two mates had gone home. In the dark, Smalls pretended to be the captain and, from his previous experiences, was able to provide all the correct countersigns to challenges from the various harbor fortifications. Upon reaching ships forming
27336-574: The ninth to the nineteenth).... Four million enslaved people exported via the Red Sea , another four million through the Swahili ports of the Indian Ocean, perhaps as many as nine million along the trans-Saharan caravan route, and eleven to twenty million (depending on the author) across the Atlantic Ocean. The trans-Atlantic slave trade peaked in the late 18th century, when the largest number of slaves were captured on raiding expeditions into
27537-468: The north where they funnelled the intelligence. The value of the information that could be obtained, both passively and actively, by black Americans behind Confederate lines was clearly understood by most Union generals from early in the war. A stream of articles and stories in the Northern press during the war highlighted the important role of southern African Americans. Gen. Robert E. Lee , commander of
27738-502: The number of European slaves captured by Barbary pirates was constant for a 250-year period: There are no records of how many men, women and children were enslaved, but it is possible to calculate roughly the number of fresh captives that would have been needed to keep populations steady and replace those slaves who died, escaped, were ransomed, or converted to Islam. On this basis it is thought that around 8,500 new slaves were needed annually to replenish numbers – about 850,000 captives over
27939-522: The opposite holds true, then it is more costly for landowners to guard the slaves than to employ paid workers who can demand only low wages because of the degree of competition. Thus, first slavery and then serfdom gradually decreased in Europe as the population grew. They were reintroduced in the Americas and in Russia as large areas of land with few inhabitants became available. Slavery is more common when
28140-422: The other crewmen were permitted to travel to the North by way of Maryland 's Eastern Shore. On reaching Baltimore, he sought out Union officials, who immediately sent him to Pinkerton in Washington. In December 1861, Ringgold provided Pinkerton with detailed intelligence on Confederate defenses on the peninsula. This included locations of fortifications and artillery batteries, troop concentrations, and defenses on
28341-507: The petty looting of New Orleanians. "[F]or years after the Civil War steamships plying the lower Mississippi were furnished with chamber pots bearing the likeness of 'Beast Butler'". He was nicknamed "Butler the Beast" by Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard (despite Beauregard's leaving his wife under Butler's personal care) or alternatively "Spoons Butler", the latter nickname deriving primarily from an incident in which Butler seized
28542-638: The political establishment over matters of both style and substance. Feuds with Republican politicians led to his being denied several nominations for the governorship between 1858 and 1880. Returning to the Democratic fold, he won the governorship in the 1882 election with Democratic and Greenback Party support. He ran for president on the Greenback Party and the Anti-Monopoly Party tickets in 1884 . Benjamin Franklin Butler
28743-495: The presidential election was over, so the administration no longer had to be concerned about Butler's running for president, and, in General Order Number 1, Lincoln relieved him from command of the Department of North Carolina and Virginia and ordered him to report to Lowell, Massachusetts. Grant informed Butler of his recall on January 8, 1865, and named Major General Edward O. C. Ord to replace him as commander of
28944-423: The problem in a letter to Confederate high command, complaining "All along the lines slavery is comparatively valueless to us for labor, but of great and increasing worth to the enemy for information. It is an omnipresent spy system, pointing out our valuable men to the enemy, revealing our positions, purposes, and resources, and yet acting so safely and secretly that there is no means to guard against it. Even in
29145-406: The psychiatric patient must follow the orders of the psychiatrist. They assert that instead of chains to control the slave, the psychiatrist uses drugs to control the mind. Drapetomania was a pseudoscientific psychiatric diagnosis for a slave who desired freedom; "symptoms" included laziness and the tendency to flee captivity. Some proponents of animal rights have applied the term slavery to
29346-459: The punishment ... of being made to sit as presiding officer over the Senate, to listen for four years to debates more or less stupid, in which I can take no part or say a word...." There was no good place to put Butler; sending him to Missouri or Kentucky would likely end in disaster, so it was considered safer to leave him where he was in Virginia. More worrying was the fact that Butler was one of
29547-401: The rail links supplying Richmond , and force the Confederates to abandon the city. In spite of Grant 's low opinion of Butler's military skills, he was given command of the operation. Butler's force landed on May 5, when Petersburg was almost undefended, but Butler became unnerved by the presence of a handful of Confederate militia and home guards. While he dithered, the Confederates assembled
29748-411: The river past Confederate picket lines. In a swift raid, taking the Confederates by surprise, the Union forces destroyed several million dollars worth of Confederate supplies and brought back more than 800 slaves and thousands of dollars in enemy property. By this action alone, Tubman's contribution to the Union cause was significant. When Tubman died in 1913, she was honored with a full military funeral as
29949-492: The role of their servant while in the South. He worked with Timothy Webster , perhaps Pinkerton's best agent, on missions into Virginia and also with Mrs. Hattie Lawton , Pinkerton's best female operative. Scobell is credited with providing valuable intelligence on Confederate order of battle, status of supplies, and troop morale and movements. Frequently, while the white Pinkerton agents elicited information from Confederate officials and officers, Scobell would seek out leaders in
30150-1059: The ships. Slavery in Mexico can be traced back to the Aztecs . Other Amerindians , such as the Inca of the Andes, the Tupinambá of Brazil, the Creek of Georgia, and the Comanche of Texas, also practiced slavery. Benjamin Butler (politician) Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army , politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts . Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts , Butler
30351-535: The slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavement is the placement of a person into slavery, and the person is called a slave or an enslaved person (see § Terminology ). Many historical cases of enslavement occurred as a result of breaking the law, becoming indebted, suffering a military defeat, or exploitation for cheaper labor; other forms of slavery were instituted along demographic lines such as race or sex . Slaves may be kept in bondage for life, or for
30552-412: The slaves were not treated as chattel slaves and were given certain rights in a system similar to indentured servitude elsewhere in the world. The forms of slavery in Africa were closely related to kinship structures. In many African communities, where land could not be owned, enslavement of individuals was used as a means to increase the influence a person had and expand connections. This made slaves
30753-598: The states of the United States began abolishing slavery during the American Revolutionary War. The French Revolution tried to abolish slavery in 1794, but a permanent abolition did not occur until 1848. In much of the British Empire, slavery was subject to abolition in 1833, throughout the United States it was abolished in 1865 and in Cuba in 1886. The last country in the Americas to abolish slavery
30954-468: The strategic advantage of providing the plans and intentions of an enemy rather than reporting on how and when they are carried out. Although the Confederacy did not create its civilian and military power structure until just before the war began, the Union did have several such agents in the Confederate capital by the first year of the war. Two were black Americans employed by Confederate President Jefferson Davis in his official residence. William A. Jackson
31155-418: The streets and spit on it, and trampled on it until it was torn to pieces. It was then distributed among the rabble, and each one thought it a high honor to get a piece of it and wear it." Butler added that these actions were "against the laws of war and his country." Before Mumford was executed, Butler permitted him to make a speech for as long as he wished, and Mumford defended his actions by claiming that he
31356-552: The support he received in Radical Republican circles drove Butler to change political allegiance, and he joined the Republican Party . He also sought revenge against the more moderate Secretary of State Seward, whom he believed to be responsible for his eventual recall. Butler continues to be a disliked and controversial figure in New Orleans and the rest of the South. On September 27, 1862, Butler formed
31557-445: The tasks are relatively simple and thus easy to supervise, such as large-scale monocrops such as sugarcane and cotton , in which output depended on economies of scale . This enables systems of labour, such as the gang system in the United States, to become prominent on large plantations where field hands toiled with factory-like precision. Then, each work gang was based on an internal division of labour that assigned every member of
31758-524: The time the weighted average global sales price of a slave was estimated to be approximately $ 340, with a high of $ 1,895 for the average trafficked sex slave, and a low of $ 40 to $ 50 for debt bondage slaves in part of Asia and Africa. The weighted average annual profits generated by a slave in 2007 was $ 3,175, with a low of an average $ 950 for bonded labour and $ 29,210 for a trafficked sex slave. Approximately 40% of slave profits each year were generated by trafficked sex slaves, representing slightly more than 4% of
31959-494: The town as well as Amelia Island, which guarded the approach to Fernandina. Smalls, a harbor pilot, had observed Confederate preparations to destroy the town's harbor facilities during the withdrawal. Smalls understood the importance of keeping the Fernandina harbor operable as a logistics facility and base for Union operations against Charleston. Based on the intelligence he provided, Union forces attacked Fernandina and routed
32160-419: The trade of labour as a commodity and slavery. Cicero is also known to have suggested such parallels. Economists have modeled the circumstances under which slavery (and variants such as serfdom ) appear and disappear. One theoretical model is that slavery becomes more desirable for landowners where land is abundant, but labour is scarce, such that rent is depressed and paid workers can demand high wages. If
32361-518: The various Confederate units. This confirmation convinced General Hooker of Wright's assertion that Lee's army was moving into Maryland. Hooker ordered his army to shadow the Confederate forces' movements while traveling on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains out of view of Lee's troops. This movement by the Union Army shielded Washington from Lee's forces and eventually forced the battle at Gettysburg . For several decades after
32562-436: The victory. This was Charlie Wright's contribution. He had provided the intelligence that eventually enabled Union forces to get to Gettysburg first and seize the best ground. Because both sides were poorly prepared for the war, notwithstanding the many years of political buildup to the actual fighting, there apparently were few intelligence agents who had been specifically placed in the enemy's institutions. In-place agents have
32763-415: The war a year early, although his two West Pointer corps commanders Maj. Gen "Baldly" Smith and Quincy Gilmore also did not perform well or make up for Butler's limitations as a general. Despite this fiasco, Butler remained in command of the Army of the James. Although Grant had largely been successful in removing incompetent political generals from service, Butler could not be easily gotten rid of. As
32964-618: The war's first large-scale battle. The battle's poor outcome for the Union was used as cover by General Scott to reduce Butler's force to one incapable of substantive offense, and it was implicit in Scott's orders that the troops were needed nearer to Washington. In August, Butler commanded an expeditionary force that, in conjunction with the United States Navy , took Forts Hatteras and Clark in North Carolina . That move,
33165-402: The war, Union cavalry reconnaissance was given credit for identifying Lee's movement in the valley toward Maryland. But historical records now make it clear that Wright's intelligence was the key factor in convincing Hooker to move his forces. While many reasons can be cited for Lee's defeat at Gettysburg, there can be no doubt that the ground held by the Union forces played a significant role in
33366-559: The war, she traveled to Washington and obtained all the official records from the War Department related to her activities and destroyed them. Thus, details on Bowser's specific activities are sparse. Bowser had been a slave of the Van Lew family, but Van Lew freed her and sent her North to be educated. When Van Lew decided to establish a spy ring in Richmond shortly before the fighting began, she asked Bowser to return and work with her for
33567-405: The war. Butler also worked to secure a leadership position should the militia be deployed. He first offered his services to Governor Andrew in March 1861. When the call for militia finally arrived in April, Massachusetts was asked for only three regiments, but Butler managed to have the request expanded to include a brigadier general. He telegraphed Secretary of War Simon Cameron , with whom he
33768-408: The way ... Keltie ( The Partition of Africa , London, 1920) believes that for every slave the Arabs brought to the coast at least six died on the way or during the slavers' raid. Livingstone puts the figure as high as ten to one." Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world . In many African societies where slavery was prevalent,
33969-430: The western frontier. In May, the forces under his command were designated the Army of the James . On November 4, 1864, Butler arrived in New York City with 3,500 troops of the Army of the James. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton had "requested that Grant send troops to New York City to help oversee the election there. Stanton's concern arose from the city's perennial political and racial divisions, which had erupted during
34170-424: The withdrawal of many of his men for use elsewhere, Butler was unable to maintain the camp at Hampton, although his forces retained the camp at Newport News. Butler's commission, which required approval from Congress, was vigorously debated after Big Bethel, with critical comment raised about his lack of military experience. But his commission was narrowly approved on July 21, the day of the First Battle of Bull Run ,
34371-469: The world despite slavery being illegal. In the modern world, more than 50% of slaves provide forced labour , usually in the factories and sweatshops of the private sector of a country's economy. In industrialised countries, human trafficking is a modern variety of slavery; in non-industrialised countries, people in debt bondage are common, others include captive domestic servants , people in forced marriages , and child soldiers . The word slave
34572-433: The world's 29 million slaves. A widespread practice was branding , either to explicitly mark slaves as property or as punishment. Slaves have been owned privately by individuals but have also been under state ownership. For example, the kisaeng were women from low castes in pre modern Korea, who were owned by the state under government officials known as hojang and were required to provide entertainment to
34773-547: The world, except as a punishment for a crime . In chattel slavery , the slave is legally rendered the personal property (chattel) of the slave owner. In economics, the term de facto slavery describes the conditions of unfree labour and forced labour that most slaves endure. Mauritania was the last country in the world to officially ban slavery, in 1981, with legal prosecution of slaveholders established in 2007. However, in 2019, approximately 40 million people, of whom 26% were children, were still enslaved throughout
34974-446: Was Brazil, in 1888 . Chattel slavery survived longest in the Middle East . After the Trans-Atlantic slave trade had been suppressed, the ancient Trans-Saharan slave trade , the Indian Ocean slave trade and the Red Sea slave trade continued to traffic slaves from the African continent to the Middle East. During the 20th century, the issue of chattel slavery was addressed and investigated globally by international bodies created by
35175-438: Was a political major general of the Union Army during the American Civil War and had a leadership role in the impeachment of U.S. president Andrew Johnson . He was a colorful and often controversial figure on the national stage and on the Massachusetts political scene, serving five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and running several campaigns for governor before his election to that office in 1882 . Butler,
35376-401: Was a slave hired out by the year to President Davis as a coachman. His first documented report was on 3 May 1862, when he crossed into Union lines near Fredericksburg, Virginia. As a servant in the Davis household, he was able to observe and overhear the Confederate President's discussions with his military leadership. While no record remains of the specific intelligence he produced, it apparently
35577-425: Was acquainted, suggesting that Cameron issue a request for a brigadier and general staff from Massachusetts, which soon afterward appeared on Governor Andrew's desk. He then used banking contacts to ensure that loans that would be needed to fund the militia operations would be conditioned on his appointment. Despite Andrew's desire to assign the brigadier position to Ebenezer Peirce , the bank insisted on Butler, and he
35778-533: Was acquitted on a technicality. Butler blamed the Whig judge, Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar , for the acquittal, inaugurating a feud between the two that would last for decades and significantly color Butler's reputation in the state. Butler, as a Democrat, supported the Compromise of 1850 and regularly spoke out against the abolition of slavery . At the state level, he supported the coalition of Democrats and Free Soilers that elected George S. Boutwell governor in 1851. This garnered him enough support to win election to
35979-486: Was acting out of a high sense of patriotism. Most, including Mumford and his family, expected Butler to pardon him. The general refused to do so, but promised to care for his family if necessary. (After the war, Butler fulfilled his promise by paying off a mortgage on Mumford's widow's house and helping her find government employment.) For the execution and General Order No. 28, he was denounced (December 1862) by Confederate President Jefferson Davis in General Order 111 as
36180-439: Was almost certainly ignored by the President's guests. Her reporting focused on conversations she overheard between Confederate officials at the President's residence and on documents she was able to read while working around the house. She and Van Lew, often dressed as a country farmwife, would meet at isolated locations on the outskirts of Richmond to exchange information. Another Union spy, Thomas McNiven , noted that Bowser had
36381-452: Was born in Deerfield, New Hampshire , the sixth and youngest child of John Butler and Charlotte Ellison Butler. His father served under General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 and later became a privateer , dying of yellow fever in the West Indies not long after Benjamin was born. He was named after Founding Father Benjamin Franklin . His elder brother, Andrew Jackson Butler (1815–1864), served as
36582-454: Was borrowed into Middle English through the Old French esclave which ultimately derives from Byzantine Greek σκλάβος ( sklábos ) or εσκλαβήνος ( ésklabḗnos ). According to the widespread view, which has been known since the 18th century, the Byzantine Σκλάβινοι ( Sklábinoi ), Έσκλαβηνοί ( Ésklabēnoí ), borrowed from a Slavic tribe self-name *Slověne, turned into σκλάβος , εσκλαβήνος ( Late Latin sclāvus) in
36783-416: Was drawn from the Zanj , Bantu peoples that lived along the East African coast. The Zanj were for centuries shipped as slaves by Arab traders to all the countries bordering the Indian Ocean during the Indian Ocean slave trade . The Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs recruited many Zanj slaves as soldiers and, as early as 696, there were slave revolts of the Zanj against their Arab enslavers during their slavery in
36984-467: Was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society . Butler quickly gained a reputation as a dogged criminal defense lawyer who seized on every misstep of his opposition to gain victories for his clients, and also became a specialist in bankruptcy law . His trial work was so successful that it received regular press coverage, and he was able to expand his practice into Boston . George Riley worked at his Boston law office. Butler's success as
37185-421: Was finally abolished in the Arabian Peninsula in the 1960s: Saudi Arabia and Yemen in 1962, in Dubai in 1963, and Oman as the last in 1970. The last country to abolish slavery, Mauritania , did so in 1981 . The 1981 ban on slavery was not enforced in practice, as there were no legal mechanisms to prosecute those who used slaves, these only came in 2007. Indenture, also known as bonded labour or debt bondage,
37386-426: Was further marred by the failure of staff to communicate passwords and precautions. A friendly fire incident during the night gave away the Union position, further harming the advance, which was attempted without knowledge of the layout or the strength of the Confederate positions. Massachusetts militia general Ebenezer W. Peirce , who commanded in the field, received the most criticism for the failed operation. With
37587-469: Was hyperactive, with exaggerated estimates relying on peak years to calculate averages for entire centuries, or millennia. Hence, there were wide fluctuations year-to-year, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries, given slave imports, and also given the fact that, prior to the 1840s, there are no consistent records. Middle East expert, John Wright, cautions that modern estimates are based on back-calculations from human observation. Such observations, across
37788-413: Was impeached in early 1868 , Butler served as the lead prosecutor among the House-appointed impeachment managers in the Johnson impeachment trial proceedings . Additionally, as Chairman of the House Committee on Reconstruction, Butler authored the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and coauthored the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1875 . In Massachusetts, Butler was often at odds with more conservative members of
37989-411: Was later made standard Union Army policy to not return fugitive slaves. This policy was soon extended to the Union Navy. Butler directed the first Union expedition to Ship Island , off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, in December 1861, and in May 1862 commanded the force that conducted the capture of New Orleans after its occupation by the Navy following the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip . In
38190-418: Was multi-directional and changed over time. To meet the demand for menial labour, Bantu slaves bought by east African slave traders from southeastern Africa were sold in cumulatively large numbers over the centuries to customers in Egypt, Arabia, the Persian Gulf, India, European colonies in the Far East, the Indian Ocean islands , Ethiopia and Somalia. According to the Encyclopedia of African History , "It
38391-446: Was nearly impossible to end slavery in a free, democratic, or republican form of government since many of its legislators or political figures were slave owners and would not punish themselves. He further stated that slaves would be better able to gain their freedom under centralized government, or a central authority like a king or church. Similar arguments appeared later in the works of Auguste Comte , especially given Smith's belief in
38592-409: Was next assigned command of Fort Monroe and of the Department of Virginia . On May 27, Butler sent a force 8 miles (13 km) north to occupy the lightly defended adjacent town of Newport News, Virginia at Newport News Point, an excellent anchorage for the Union Navy . The force established and significantly fortified Camp Butler and a battery at Newport News Point that could cover the entrance to
38793-499: Was not in Washington at the time, Grant appealed directly to Lincoln for permission to terminate Butler, noting "there is a lack of confidence felt in [Butler's] military ability". Grant also voiced his suspicions about corruption going on in Butler's department, including smuggling of supplies to Lee's army, and that Butler arbitrarily arrested anyone who noticed what was going on, although, due to Butler's formidable political connections, nothing came of Grant's complaints. By this point,
38994-443: Was not the Union man that Butler had previously thought he was. Butler then returned to Massachusetts, where he warned Governor John A. Andrew that hostilities were likely and that the state militia should be readied. He took advantage of the mobilization to secure a contract with the state for his mill to supply heavy cloth to the militia. Military contracts would constitute a significant source of profits for Butler's mill throughout
39195-446: Was not unusual for as much as 10 percent of the city's population to die of yellow fever . In preparation, Butler imposed strict quarantines and introduced a rigid program of garbage disposal. As a result, in 1862, only two cases were reported. Many of his acts, however, were highly unpopular. Most notorious was Butler's General Order No. 28 of May 15, 1862, that if any woman should insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of
39396-401: Was one of the few in the south with railroad lines capable of speedy transportation of supplies to Richmond and other key Confederate manufacturing and supply centers. In March 1862, Robert Smalls , a free black, rowed out to a Union warship that was part of a large fleet assembled to attack the seacoast town of Fernandina, Florida . He reported that Confederate troops were preparing to evacuate
39597-485: Was particularly true in the emotional period after the Civil War, when many of these black Americans lived near people who had not given up their insurgency and were intent on imposing white supremacy on blacks. Neither side had many official records related to their intelligence activities, having been reluctant to document them, for the above reasons of secrecy. Many records were purposely destroyed to protect those involved and still living. Before fleeing Richmond in 1865,
39798-440: Was questioned as to the source of his intelligence. Dabney explained that he and his wife had worked out a signaling system based on the laundry that she hung out to dry at her mistress's house, which was observable from Hooker's headquarters. As the wife observed Confederate troop movements, she would hang the laundry in a particular sequence to signal Dabney of the activity. For example, a white shirt represented Gen. A. P. Hill ,
39999-445: Was sent south to ensure the security of transportation routes to Washington. The nation's capital was threatened with isolation from free states because it was unclear whether Maryland , a slave state, would also secede. The two regiments Massachusetts sent to Maryland were the 6th and 8th Volunteer Militia. The 6th departed first and was caught up in a secessionist riot in Baltimore, Maryland on April 19. Butler traveled with
40200-471: Was valuable enough to cause General McDowell to telegraph it immediately to the War Department in Washington. The second agent, Mary Elizabeth Bowser , was part of a Union spy ring known as "the Richmond underground," directed by Elizabeth Van Lew , whose family was well respected and well connected socially in Richmond. While not hiding her Union loyalties, Van Lew affected behavior that made her appear harmless and eccentric to Confederate authorities. After
40401-431: Was well acquainted with these two corps and that he believed Wright's information was reliable. Wright identified more than a dozen separate Confederate regiments from both Ewell's Corps and Longstreet's Corps. The key intelligence Wright provided was that these troops had passed through Culpeper bound for Maryland. Thanks to the Bureau's records and all-source information, Sharpe was able to confirm Wright's descriptions of
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