Stampede Among the Negroes in Virginia

Soon after the first fugitive slaves were granted protection as "contraband of war" by General Benjamin F. Butler at Union-held Fort Monroe (Virginia) in May 1861, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper presented its readers with a double-page spread of images documenting recent events at the fort. In vignettes created by the newspaper’s "Special Artist," refugees from slavery are shown making their escape from bondage, arriving at Fort Monroe, being mustered into service, and making themselves useful in a variety of ways, from preparing rations to digging trenches. At the upper right, a slaveholder is seen attempting to reclaim thirty fugitives from his estate, while at the upper left, he is shown relinquishing them in the presence of General Butler after refusing to take the oath of allegiance to the federal government. By the time these scenes were published, as many as 500 fugitives had found safety at Fort Monroe.