Now let me try LOTS OF TEXT

RESEARCH NEEDS


1. Read Lucy Chase letter of March 4 (1863) [Craney Is. Forwarded 3d mo.
4th [1863]] to see what she says after she talks about
Quashee. Transcribe, if useful, and consider whether a scan is needed or not.

I can truly say, white-man though I am, that I have, with the Negro, 'a
feeling sense' of this state of transition. Lo! an episode! Every hour of
my life here is strange: it is not the past; it is not the future, and
with all the chances and changes of war it does not seem to be the present,
either. Carlyle is right. Quashee does love to lie in the sun.



2. Image of Butler?

Main Author: Baker, Joseph E., ca. 1837-1914.
Title: Benj. F. Butler : Major General of U.S. Army.
Imprint: Boston : Lithographed & published by J.H. Bufford, 313 Washington
St. Boston., 1861.
Description: 1 print : lithotint ; 43 x 26 cm.
Notes: Printed area measures 36.5 x 23.1 cm.
J.E. Baker [signed on stone].
Taken from a Photograph by Southworth.
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1861 by J.H. Bufford in
the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Mass.
Local Note(s): American Antiquarian Society copy 2 trimmed.
American Antiquarian Society copy 2 is chine collé print.
American Antiquarian Society copy 2 the gift of Charles H. Taylor and has
ink stamp: Taylor Lith. Coll.
Subject(s): Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893 Portraits.
Armed Forces--Portraits.
United States--Biography--Portraits.
Genre(s): Portrait prints.
Ink stamps (Provenance).
Chine collé prints.
Lithotints.
Lithographs.
Printer/Publisher(s): Bufford, John Henry, 1810-1870, copyright holder.
Illustrator/Lithographer(s): Bufford, John Henry, 1810-1870, lithographer.
Former Owner/Donor(s): Southworth, Albert S., associated name.
Taylor, Charles Henry, 1867-1941, donor.
Primary Material: Visual Material
Physical Description: Nonprojected Graphic
Call number(s): Lithf Buff Bake Butl copy 1
Lithf Buff Bake Butl copy 2

OR

Title: In memoriam of the late General Benj. F. Butler, lawyer, statesman,
soldier.
Imprint: [United States : s.n., 1893]
Description: 1 sheet ([1] p.) : ill., 1 port. ; 30 x 22 cm.
Notes: Verse in three stanzas; first line: A hero has gone to
rest.Illustration include portrait of General Butler, died 1893, a soldier
with flag, and Grand Army of the Republic medal.Printed area, including
ornamental border, measures 28.0 x 19.3 cm.
Subject(s): Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893. Butler,
Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893 Portraits.
Genre(s): Broadsides.Elegies.Relief prints.
First line broadside verse: A hero has gone to rest.
Primary Material: Book
Call number(s): Ballads I35m 12



4. Transcribe:

Box 4, Folder 1, April 1, 1845-flirtation letter to Henry Seargent (sp?)
(SCAN says Box 2, Folder 11-check which one is right)-actually, this is the
date for the rejection letter FROM Sargeant. Find her letter back.



PHOTO OPS

Stampede of Slaves to Fortress Monroe
Engraving, Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War, May 1861 p. 202
"WORK'S OVER" - SCENES AMONG THE BEAUFORT, Harpers CONTRABANDSDecember 21,
1861, page 801 (on harpweekwebsite)
Descriptive Title: Morning Mustering of the 'Contraband' at Fortress
Monroe, on their way to their Day's Work, Under the Pay and Direction of
the U.S.
Original Caption: Morning Mustering of the 'Contraband' at Fortress
Monroe, on their way to their Day's Work, Under the Pay and Direction of
the U.S.
Material Type: Wood engravings
Creator: Unidentified
Date: 1861
Source: Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper; November 2, 1861; p.373.
Location: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs
and Prints Available online at Digital Schomburg
http://149.123.1.8/schomburg/images_aa19/aa19c_info.cfm?myzw7404


Descriptive Title: Left: Freedmen's Schoolhouse at Atlanta, Georgia;
Right: Freedmen's Farm School, near Washington, D. C.
Original Caption: Left: Freedmen's Schoolhouse at Atlanta, Georgia;
Right: Freedmen's Farm School, near Washington, D. C.
Material Type: Wood engravings
Creator: Unidentified
Date: 1867
Source: Harper's Weekly, Vol. XI, No. 535, March 30 1867, p. [193]
Location: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs
and Prints Division
Subjects: Schools--Georgia--Atlanta
Schools--Washington D. C.
http://149.123.1.8/schomburg/images_aa19/aa19c_info.cfm?myzw7404



Descriptive Title: St. Philip's Church, Richmond, Virginia -- School for
African-American children.
Original Caption: St. Philip's Church, Richmond, Virginia -- School for
colored children
Material Type: Wood engravings
Creator: Unidentified
Date: 1867
Source: Harper's Weekly, Vol. XI, No. 543, p. 321.
Location: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs
and Prints Division.
Subjects: Churches--Virginia--Richmond
Schools--Virginia-Richmond
http://149.123.1.8/schomburg/images_aa19/aa19c_info.cfm?myzw7404



Descriptive Title: Emancipated Slaves, White and Colored. Back row
(adults) left to right: Wilson Chinn, Mary Johnson, Robert Whitehead. Front
left to right: Charles Taylor, Augusta Broujey, Isaac White, Krebecca
Huger, Rosina Downs.
Original Caption: Emancipated Slaves, White and Colored. The Children
are from the Schools Established in New Orleans, by Order of Major- General
Banks.[Left to Right: Wilson Chinn, Mary Johnson, Robert Whitehead.
Material Type: Wood engravings
Creator: Unidentified
Date: 1864
Source: Harper's Weekly, January 30,1864 p.69.
Location: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs
and Prints Division.
http://149.123.1.8/schomburg/images_aa19/aa19c_info.cfm?myzw7404


Descriptive Title: Top: Scenes in Memphis, Tennessee, During the
Riot-Burning a Freedmen's School-House. Bottom: Scenes in Memphis,
Tennessee, During the Riot-Shooting Down African Americans on the Morning
of May 2, 1866.
Original Caption: Scenes in Memphis, Tennessee, During the Riot.
Material Type: Wood engravings
Creator: Sketched by A.R.W.
Date: 1866
Source: Harper's Weekly, May 26,1866, p. 321.
Location: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs
and Prints Division.

http://149.123.1.8/schomburg/images_aa19/aa19c_info.cfm?myzw7404



Descriptive Title: Top: Children playing outside primary school; Bottom:
all ages in class at primary school for Freedmen.
Original Caption: Noon at the Primary School for Freedmen, Vicksburg,
Mississippi; Primary School for Freedmen in charge of Mrs. Green, at
Vicksburg, Mississippi.
Material Type: Wood engravings
Creator: A.R.W. [A.R. Waud]
Date: 1866
Source: Harper's Weekly, June 23, 1866, p. 392.
Location: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs
and Prints Division
http://149.123.1.8/schomburg/images_aa19/aa19c_info.cfm?myzw7404


Freedmen's Schools, Harpers, June 23, 1866, page 392

Descriptive Title: Marriage of an African-American soldier at Vicksburg by
Chaplain Warren of the Freedmen's Bureau.
Original Caption: Marriage of a colored soldier at Vicksburg by Chaplain
Warren of the Freedmen's Bureau.
Material Type: Wood engravings
Creator: Unidentified
Date: 1866
Source: Harper's Weekly, June 30, 1866, p. 412.
Location: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs
and Prints
http://149.123.1.8/schomburg/images_aa19/aa19c_info.cfm?myzw7404

Caption on front of picture: Contrabands coming into camp in consequence of
the proclamation, drawn by Mr. A. R. Waud. Appeared in Harper's Weekly,
January 31, 1863, Pg. 68.

Caption on front of picture: Contrabands coming into our lines under the
proclamation. Appeared in Harper's Weekly, May 9, 1863, Pg. 293. Artist
unknown.

Caption on front of picture: Contraband news. Appeared in Harper's Weekly,
April 30, 1864, Pg. 280. Artist unknown.

Caption on front of picture: The War in the Southwest-Adjutant-General
Lorenzo Thomas addressing the Negroes in Louisiana on the duties of
freedom. Caption on back of picture: Federal General Lorenzo Thomas
addressing Negroes on the duties of freedom. Appeared in Harper's Weekly,
November 7, 1863, Pg. 721. Artist unknown.



CHECK-GOOD POSSIBILITIES

Caption on front of picture: Revival of the old slave laws of Louisiana-A
scene in New Orleans: Arrest of contrabands on the night of January 30.
Appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, March 7, 1863, Pg. 381.
Artist unknown



The riot in New Orleans-siege and assault of the convention by the police
and citizens, sketched by Theodore R. Davis. Appeared in Harper's Weekly,
August 25, 1866, Pg. 536.

Negroes Building Stockades Under the Recent Act of CongressHarper's
WeeklyAugust 30, 1862Vol. VI, No. 296Pages: 545 - 560Illustrations in
Issue:SEE DETAIL Brigadier General Michael Corcoran, Late 69th Regiment New
York State MilitiaSEE DETAIL John Morgan's Highwaymen Sacking a Peaceful
Village in the WestSEE DETAIL Town of Stevenson, Alabama, Held by Union
ForcesSEE DETAIL Negroes Building Stockades under the Recent Act of Congress



New Year's Day Contraband Ball, 1857, "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper"






LOWER POSSIBILITIES

Courtesy of The Gilder Lehrman Collection, New York
Return to Previous Page
28 1866 11x14 1 B&W copy print none
Caption on front of picture: The excitement in New Orleans-view on St.
Charles Street. Caption on back of picture: Federal troops, St. Charles
Street, New Orleans. Appeared in Harper's Weekly, August 18, 1866, Pg. 516.
Artist, A. R. Waud.


Caption on front of picture (Copy 1): Return of a foraging party of the
Twenty-Fourth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, with their spoils, to Baton
Rouge, having captured horses, carts, wagons, mules, contrabands,
provisions, etc. Appeared in Leslie's Illustrated History, Pg. 289. Caption
on front of picture (Copy 2): Return of a foraging party of the
Twenty-Fourth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, with their spoils, to Baton
Rouge, having captured horses, carts, wagons, mules, contrabands,
provisions, etc., from a sketch by our special artist with Gen. Grover's
division. Caption on back of picture: Return of a foraging party of the
24th Regt., Conn. Vol. to Baton Rouge. Appeared in Frank Leslie's
Illustrated Newspaper, March 14, 1863, Pg. 393.


Caption on front of picture: Registered enemies taking the oath of
allegiance at the office of Gen. Bowen, at New Orleans, from a sketch by
Mr. J. R. Hamilton. Caption on back of picture: New Orleans citizens
registering their oath of allegiance to the United States in order to save
their property from Federal confiscation. Appeared in Harper's Weekly, June
6, 1863, Pg. 357.

Caption on front of picture: The Grandmothers. Caption on back of picture:
Poverty was everywhere. Appeared in Harper's Weekly, December 24, 1864, Pg.
825. Artist unknown.

Caption on front of picture: The plantation police or home-guard examining
Negro passes on the levee road below New Orleans. Caption on back of
picture: Home-guard examining slave passes. Appeared in Frank Leslie's
Illustrated Newspaper, July 11, 1863, Pg. 252. Artist, F. B. Schell.

Caption on back of picture: General B. F. Butler's public works program in
New Orleans. Appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, March 7,
1863, Pg. 380.

Caption on front of picture: The explosion of the steamer "Princess" at
Conrad's Point on the Mississippi. Appeared in Harper's Weekly, March 12,
1859, Pg. 165. Artist unknown.

Caption on front of picture: The trial of John Brown, at Charlestown,
Virginia, for treason and murder, sketched by Porte Crayon. Caption on back
of picture: Trial of John Brown on charges of treason against Virginia,
inciting a slave insurrection, and murder, at Charlestown, Virginia. He was
convicted and hanged. Appeared in Harper's Weekly, November 12, 1859, Pg. 728.



November 14, 1863


Click to enlarge

Matthew Brady Praised for Making Photographic History Vol. VII, No.
359Pages: 721 - 736Illustrations in Issue:SEE DETAIL The War in the
Southwest-Addressing the Negroes in Louisiana on the Duties of Freedom
May 10, 1862




Union Takes New Orleans Vol. VI, No. 280Pages: 289 - 304Illustrations in
Issue:SEE DETAIL Major General O. M. MitchellSEE DETAIL A Rebel Captain
Forcing Negroes to Load Cannon under the Fire of Berdan's Sharpshooters
August 30, 1862



General Corcoran, Taken Captive at the Battle of Bull Run, Released Vol.
VI, No. 296Pages: 545 - 560Illustrations in Issue:SEE DETAIL Brigadier
General Michael Corcoran, Late 69th Regiment New York State MilitiaSEE
DETAIL John Morgan's Highwaymen Sacking a Peaceful Village in the WestSEE
DETAIL Town of Stevenson, Alabama, Held by Union ForcesSEE DETAIL Negroes
Building Stockades under the Recent Act of Congress
May 7, 1864


Click to enlarge Click to enlarge

Union Convention Called at Baltimore - Shakespeare Tercentenary Celebrated
Vol. VIII, No. 384Pages: 289 - 304Illustrations in Issue:SEE DETAIL Cover:
Union Scouts in LouisianaNO DETAIL YET Map Showing Pleasant Hill,
LouisianaNO DETAIL YET Map Showing Plymouth, North CarolinaSEE DETAIL
Negroes Escaping out of Slavery

Top of FormJuly 12, 1862


Click to enlarge Click to enlarge

Battle at St. Charles - Food Aid to New Orleans Arrives Down River Vol. VI,
No. 288Pages: 433 - 448Illustrations in Issue:SEE DETAIL Major General
Lewis WallaceSEE DETAIL Brigadier General George P. ShepleySEE DETAIL
Battle at St. Charles, White River, ArkansasñExplosion of the "Mound
City"SEE DETAIL The Rebel Flee (Political Cartoon)SEE DETAIL The Surgeon at
Work at the Rear during an EngagementSEE DETAIL Bird's Eye View of Richmond
and the VicinitySEE DETAIL The Old Hampton Church, at Hampton, VirginiaSEE
DETAIL The Army of the Potomac-A Foraging PartySEE DETAIL Centerfold: The
War for the Union-A Bayonet ChargeSEE DETAIL Major General Benjamin F.
ButlerSEE DETAIL Contrabands Escaping to the United States
Bottom of Form
August 30, 1862


Click to enlarge

General Corcoran, Taken Captive at the Battle of Bull Run, Released Vol.
VI, No. 296Pages: 545 - 560Illustrations in Issue:SEE DETAIL Brigadier
General Michael Corcoran, Late 69th Regiment New York State MilitiaSEE
DETAIL John Morgan's Highwaymen Sacking a Peaceful Village in the WestSEE
DETAIL Town of Stevenson, Alabama, Held by Union ForcesSEE DETAIL Negroes
Building Stockades under the Recent Act of CongressSEE DETAIL Centerfold:
The Battle of Cedar Mountain, Fought August 9, 1862SEE DETAIL Man Rubbing
his Hands TogetherSEE DETAIL "A mystery in his own house, under his own
nose! What does it mean?"SEE DETAIL Late General R. L. McCookSEE DETAIL
Rebel General Stonewall JacksonSEE DETAIL City of Baton Rouge, LouisianaSEE
DETAIL Army of Virginia-Sigel's Corps Being Reviewed by Major General
PopeSEE DETAIL Army of Virginia-Contrabands Coming to Colonel Cluseret's
Headquarters
Top of Form
January 31, 1863


Click to enlarge

Army of the Potomac Again on the Move - Jeff Davis Gives Annual Message
Vol. VII, No. 318Pages: 65 - 80Illustrations in Issue:SEE DETAIL Cover:
Army BeefSEE DETAIL Contrabands Coming into Camp in Consequence of the
Proclamation
Bottom of Form
March 21, 1863


Click to enlarge Click to enlarge

Congress Adjourns: Gives Absolute Power to President Vol. VII, No.
325Pages: 177 - 192Illustrations in Issue:SEE DETAIL Hon. John Van BurenSEE
DETAIL James T. 6, Esq.NO DETAIL YET An Adventure in Mexico (Cartoon)SEE
DETAIL Cutting the Levees at ProvidenceNO DETAIL YET The Canal at Lake
ProvidenceNO DETAIL YET A "Contraband" Volunteer
Top of Form
May 9, 1863


Click to enlarge

Debt Reaches $1 Billion Vol. VII, No. 331Pages: 289 - 304Illustrations in
Issue:SEE DETAIL Cover: On Picket Duty in the Swamps of LouisianaNO DETAIL
YET Map Showing the Theatre of General Banks's CampaignSEE DETAIL Brashear
City, Berwick's Bay, LA, Base of General Banks's OperationsSEE DETAIL The
Iron-Clad "Barrataria" Snagged in Amite River, Louisianna and Attacked by
Rebel GuerrillasSEE DETAIL Contrabands Coming into Our Lines Under the
Proclamation
Vicksburg Surrenders to United States Forces Vol. VII, No. 342Pages: 449 -
464Illustrations in Issue:SEE DETAIL Cover: The Bombardment of Port
Hudson-the 100ñPound Parrot Gun of the "Richmond" at WorkSEE DETAIL The
Bombardment of Port Hudson-a Mortar Schooner at WorkSEE DETAIL General
Paine's Assault on Port Hudson-Carrying off Our Dead and Wounded under Flag
of TruceSEE DETAIL The Late MajorñGeneral John F. ReynoldsSEE DETAIL
Invasion of the North-Destruction of the Bridge over the Susquehanna, at
Columbia, PASEE DETAIL Centerfold: The Result of War-Virginia in 1863NO
DETAIL YET Map showing the Seat of the War in Pennsylvania and MarylandSEE
DETAIL The Invasion of the North-Street Scenes in PhiladelphiaNO DETAIL YET
The Coal MenNO DETAIL YET The Bulletin BoardNO DETAIL YET The Union
LeagueNO DETAIL YET To Arms! To Arms!NO DETAIL YET The Contrabands
Maximillian to Accept Mexican Throne Vol. VIII, No. 383Pages: 273 -
288Illustrations in Issue:SEE DETAIL (military men toasting at banquet
table)NO DETAIL YET In the FairSEE DETAIL Admiral Porter's FlotillaSEE
DETAIL Map of Fort De RussySEE DETAIL The Steam-Ram "Switzerland"SEE DETAIL
Centerfold: The Press on the FieldNO DETAIL YET Our ArtistNO DETAIL YET
Contraband News
January 30, 1864

IMPORTANT


Compania at Santiago, Chile Burns: Illumination of the Madonna Engulfs
Thousands Vol. VIII, No. 370Pages: 65 - 80Illustrations in Issue:SEE DETAIL
Ruins of the Church of the Compania, at Santiago, Chili, After the
Conflagration (3 illus)SEE DETAIL The Church of the Compania in the
DistanceSEE DETAIL The Church of the CompaniaSEE DETAIL Snowy Morning - On
PicketSEE DETAIL Emancipated Slaves, White and Colored - Children from the
Schools in New OrleansLetter to Editor: The group of emancipated slaves
whose portraits I send you were brought by Colonel Hanks and Mr. Philip
Bacon from New Orleans, where they were set free by General Butler. Mr.
Bacon went to New Orleans with our army, and was for eighteen months
employed as Assistant-Superintendent of Freedmen, under the care of Colonel
Hanker. He established the first school in Louisiana for emancipated
slaves, and these children were among his pupils. He will soon return to
Louisiana to resume his labor. REBECCA HUGHES is eleven years old, and
was a slave in her father's house, the special attendant of a girl a little
older than herself. To all appearance she is perfectly white. Her
complexion, hair, and features show not the slightest trace of negro blood.
In the few months during which she has been at school she has learned to
read well, and writes as neatly as most children of her age. Her mother and
grandmother live in New Orleans, whets they support themselves comfortably
by their own labor. The grandmother, an intelligent mulatto, told Mr. Bacon
that she had "raised" a large family of children, but those are all that
are left to her. ROSINA DOWNS is not quite seven years old. She is a
fair child, with blonde complexion and silky hair. Her father is in the
rebel army. She has one sister as white as herself, and three brothers who
are darker. Her mother, a bright mulatto, lives in New Orleans in a poor
hut, and has hard work to support her family. CHARLES TAYLOR is eight
years old. His complexion is very fair, his hair light and silky. Three out
of five boys in any school in Now York are darker than he. Yet this white
boy, with his mother, as he declares, has been twice sold as a slave. First
by his father and "owner," Alexander Wethers, of Lewis County, Virginia, to
a slave trader named Harrison, who sold them to Mr.Thornhill of New
Orleans. This man fled at the approach of our army, and his slaves were
liberated by General Butler. The boy is decidedly intelligent, and though
he has been at school less than a year he reads and writes very well. His
mother is a mulatto; she had one daughter sold into Texas before she
herself left Virginia, and one son who, she supposes, is with his father in
Virginia. These three children, to all appearance of unmixed white race,
came to Philadelphia last December, and were taken by their protector, Mr.
Bacon, to the St. Lawrence Hotel on Chestnut Street. Within a few hours,
Mr. Bacon informed me, he was notified by the landlord that they must
leave. The children, he said, had been slaves, and must therefore be
colored persons, and he kept a hotel for white people. From this hospitable
establishment the children were taken to the "Continental," where they were
received without hesitation. WILSON CHINN is about 60 years old, he was
"raised" by Isaac Howard of Woodford County, Kentucky. When 21 years old he
was taken down the river and sold to Volsey B. Marmillion, a sugar planter
about 415 miles above New Orleans. This man was accustomed to brand his
negroes, and Wilson has on his forehead the letters "V. B. M." Of the 210
slaves on this plantation 105 left at one time and came into the Union
camp. Thirty of them had been branded like cattle with a hot iron, four of
them on the forehead, and the others on the breast or arm. AUGUSTA
BROUJAY is nine years old. Her mother, who is almost-white was owned by her
half brother, named Solamon, who still retains two of her children. MARY
JOHNSON was cook in her master's family in New Orleans. On her left arm are
scars of three cuts given to her by her mistress with a rawhide. On her
back are scars of more than fifty cuts given by her master. The occasion
was that one morning she was half an hour behind time in bringing up his
five o'clock cup of coffee. As the Union army approached she ran away from
her master, and has since been employed by Colonel Hanks as cook. ISAAC
WHITE is a black boy of eight years; but none the less intelligent than his
whiter companions. He has been in school about seven months, and I venture
to say that not one boy in fifty would have made as much improvement in
that space of time. ROBERT WHITEHEAD - the Reverend Mr. Whitehead perhaps
we ought to style him since he is a regularly ordained preacher-was born in
Baltimore. He was taken to Norfolk, Virginia, by a Dr. A. F. N. Cook, and
sold for $1525; from Norfolk he was taken to New Orleans, where he was
bought for $1775 by a Dr. Leslie, who hired him out as house and ship
painter. When he had earned and paid over that sum to his master, he
suggested that a small present for himself would be quite appropriate. Dr.
Leslie thought the request reasonable, and made him a donation of a whole
quarter of a dollar. The reverend gentleman can read and write well, and is
s very stirring speaker. Just now he belongs to the church militant, having
enlisted in the United States army. A large photograph of the whole group
which you reproduce has been taken, and cartes de visite of the separate
figures. They are for sale at the rooms of the National freedman's Relief
Association, No. 1 Mercer Street, New York, or I will send them by mail on
receipt of the price: $1 for the large picture, 25 cents each for the small
ones. The profits to go to the support of the schools in Louisiana. C. C.
Lama.
Morning mustering of the "Contrabands" at Fortress Monroe, on their way
to their day's work. As a living illustration of one of the aspects of
the Civil War, a sketch is given above of the contrabands "Niggers" going
to their daily work at the Fortress Monroe. The variety of the Ethiopian
countenance is capitally given, and while some remind us of the merry phiz
of George Christy in his sable mood, others wear the ponderous gravity of a
New Jersey justice. The colored men had a comparatively pleasant time under
their state of contraband existence. (471K)

Freedmen's Schools

June 23, 1866, page 392 view enlargement back to Culture page




Noon at the primary school for Freedmen, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Primary school for Freedmen, in charge of Mrs. Green, at Vicksburg, Mississippi

FREEDMEN'S SCHOOL AT VICKSBURG

One of the most noticeable features of these schools for freedmen is the
cleanliness and good clothing of a majority of the scholars. Of course
there are ragged and rough specimens, but these are not the rule. It is one
of the many evidences I have found in Mississippi of the general well-being
of the negroes, and their capacity to take care of themselves. These
scholars, embracing all ages from the grandma down to the infant, are
attentive, and master their tasks without any appearance indicating that
the labor is irksome. The lady teachers, with a little tact, do almost any
thing with them; and, although all teaching is a wearisome business, I
should judge that these people showed the average intelligence displayed in
the New York public schools. The Superintendent of the schools, Chaplain
Warren, considers that in all that pertains to language they are, perhaps,
ahead of white children in quickness of apprehension. How far their
capacity for education would carry them is doubtful. That these schools
will vastly improve the colored people there is no room for doubt; the
evidence is conclusive on that point. The school-house is a dilapidated
affair, and the owner is anxious to get it into his possession again. The
location of the school will have to be changed. The prejudice of the
Southern people against the education of the negroes is almost universal.



Bottom of Form
2. The Hospital at Fort Monroe, Harper's Weekly, June 7, 1862