Civil War History & Wine -- a Great Combination!

Living in Northern Virginia has its perks. After all, Civil War history surrounds us everywhere. As a added bonus, wineries dot the rolling countryside just beyond the inner suburbs. On Father's Day, my wife and children took me to The Winery at Bull Run, which offers the best of both worlds. Opened in 2012 by Jon and Kim Hickox. the winery sits on land adjacent to the Manassas National Battlefield Park and the famous Stone Bridge.

During the Civil War, the property was the site of Hillwood. The Weir family, who owned the estate at the time, lived at their nearby plantation known as Liberia and left the property in the hands of a tenant or caretaker. (Liberia served as Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard's headquarters around the time of First Manassas.  Gen. Irvin McDowell also did a stint there in 1862.) On July 21, 1861, soldiers under then-Colonels William T. Sherman and Erasmus Keyes marched across Hillwood on their way to ford Bull Run and join the Union attack. Capt. James Carlisle's battery of U.S. artillery also took position on the ridge line at Hillwood. During Second Manassas in August 1862, Confederate troops under A.P. Hill crossed the property en route to link up with the remainder of Stonewall Jackson's wing of the Army of Northern Virginia. As the Union forces retreated across the Stone Bridge following their defeat on August 30, they too passed by Hillwood. In other words, this land is an important piece of the story of both battles.

Following the devastation of the Civil War, the property was returned to family farming and other economic activities. The Hickox family purchased the land in 2008 and set to work on establishing their winery. Today, the winery's two vineyards are planted with Norton and Traminette varieties. The Winery at Bull Run also farms grapes on 115-acres in Rappahannock County, Virginia.

The remains of the Hillwood house (c. 1840s/50s) on the winery grounds. A fire nearly destroyed the historic structure in 1990. In 2008, Jon Hickox took down the damaged walls but preserved the foundation.

The Tasting Room represents two styles of Virginia barns. The darker wood structure built of reclaimed stone and wood is about the same size as the 19th century barn that stood at Hillwood. The white structure is typical of the 1920s dairy barns that were seen across Northern Virginia until the 1950s. 

The Tasting Room at the winery features display cases filled with relics that were found on the property and at other places nearby. Pictured above is a variety of artifacts from a field hospital that was located in front of the Hillwood house.

Additional artifacts in the Tasting Room, including artillery shells, Minie balls, and a State of New York belt buckle.

A view over the vineyard. Both Union and Confederate troops crossed this property at the time of the fighting at Manassas in July 1861 and August 1862. US-29, the Warrenton Turnpike during the war, is beyond the distant treeline.

What I believe to be a reconstructed winter cabin, similar to those used by Confederates in Centreville during the winter of 1861-62. 

One of several historical markers placed on the grounds at the winery. This one has a rather fanciful depiction of Hillwood, the Stone Bridge, and environs, during First Manassas.

The Winery at Bull Run represents a successful marriage of preservation and agricultural tourism. Large swaths of commercial and residential development have largely spoiled this part of Northern Virginia; the Hickoxes ensured that the pastoral and historic landscape of Hillwood would be preserved for generations to come. An outing to the winery is a must for any Civil War enthusiast. And the allure of wine tasting will make it easy for other family members to indulge in your love of history.

Sources & More Information
Local historian Chuck Mauro has written an interesting history of the Hillwood property and winery. The booklet is available for purchase at the winery's Tasting Room.

For more information on visiting The Winery at Bull Run, go to the vineyard's website here.

The Friends' Association Reports on the State of the Contraband Camps, June 1864

During late spring 1863, the Union Army resettled nearly nine hundred former slaves on abandoned secessionist properties across Northern Virginia. Lt. Col. Elias Greene, the Chief Quartermaster of the Department of Washington, wanted to put the contrabands to work raising crops for the Union war effort and viewed the government farms as a way to improve the condition of the freedmen and women who had fled to the nation's capital in search of freedom and opportunity. The Friends' Association for the Aid and Elevation of the Freedmen and other charitable organizations supplemented the government's efforts to assist the contrabands who lived in the camps. As summer 1864 fast approached, the farms were already a year old. Just how had conditions evolved since Greene launched his ambitious program to manage the contraband situation and improve the lot of the former slaves?

In June 1864, Harriet E. Stockly of the Friends' Association made a "visit of examination to the camps near Washington." (First Annual Rpt. 4.) Her final report, which was published in the Friends' Intelligencer of June 25, 1864, provides useful insights into the condition of the government farms in Northern Virginia at the time.

Camp Todd

Camp Todd sat across the Potomac from Washington in Alexandria (now Arlington) County. When the government established the camp in June 1863, Greene chose to house the freedmen and women in former army barracks near Ft. Albany. Stockly counted 280 persons a year later. [n1] Two-thirds were "adult women" because "most of the men belonging to these families [were] in 2d District regiment, stationed at Key West, Fa." (Friends' Intelligencer 249.) [n2] The noted abolitionist Emily Howland served as superintendent and teacher. Stockly described the economic activity at Camp Todd:

Those in camp are working industriously on the Hunter farm, in which there are 200 acres under cultivation. Many of the women are also working on the farm. The men receive from $8 to $10 , and the women from $6 to $8 per month. The vegetable garden belonging to government contains twenty acres. 

Here, as at all the camps, Stockly found that "[t]here seems a prevalent want . . . of a spot of ground to
belong to each family where they can raise vegetables for themselves, and also to give their homes a more attractive appearance."

Detail from 1862 Union Army map of N.E. Virginia showing properties associated with Camp Todd (courtesy of Library of Congress). Ft. Albany sat on land belonging to James Roach, a wealthy contractor with secessionist sympathies. The abandoned army huts used by the former slaves were located close to Ft. Albany, possibly on Roach's property. Today the area is bisected by I-395 near the Pentagon. According to Stockly's report, the contrabands farmed land belonging to the Hunter family, likely the property marked "Genl Hunter" on the map above. The Hunter plantation was known as Abingdon. Gen. Alexander Hunter had died by the time of the Civil War, but the plantation remained in his family through his brother and nephew, who entered the Confederate service in 1861. Today the grounds of Ronald Reagan National Airport occupy the site of Abingdon. Another possibility for the Hunter farm is the land belonging to a Mrs. Hunter situated to the west of Ft. Albany along Columbia Turnpike.

Camp Wadsworth

Stockly also visited Camp Wadsworth in Langley, where she counted "[o]ne hundred and seventy Freedmen" in the care of superintendent Philip Fowler and farmer Ephrafm Plowman. [n3] Five hundred acres were "under cultivation, worked by about 60 persons" for "10 hours a day." According to Stockly,"[t]he farm looks well, and it is supposed 30 bushels of wheat and 50 bushels of rye will be raised to the acre." On the downside, Stockly was shocked to find that "some children of only eleven years of age are put to daily labor in direct violation of Government regulations, which require that they be sent to school till they are 14." Her findings helped to spur the appointment of teacher Lydia T. Atkinson.

Stockly took stock of living situation at Camp Wadsworth, reporting that "[t]he Freedmen occupy two houses three-quarters of a mile apart." [n4] As for alternatives, Stockly observed that "[t]here are only three or four cabins and six acres appropriated to them, but the farmer promises to make a different arrangement." [n5]

Camp Rucker

At Camp Rucker near Falls Church, Stockly found "[e]ighty-six men, women and children -- 20 men, 32 women, and 34 children" under superintendent Fowler and farmer Oliver Beesley. [n6] Sarah Ann Cadwallader were serving as a teacher at the camp. All told, "there [were] at this time, on this farm, 90 acres in winter grain, 85 in corn, 50 in grass, 7 in garden, 2 1/2 in black-eyed peas, 25 of white beans, 2 1/2 of corn for horses, and 1 acre in potatoes."

Camp Rucker had been established on property belonging to Maj. William D. Nutt, who fled to Richmond upon arrival of Union troops in September 1861. The government initially sheltered the contrabands in tents, but by the time Stockly arrived, the situation had changed. She noted:

Since last fall, all the cabins, 15 in number, have been built: with four exceptions, they are 16 feet by 14 feet, and ample in height. There are upon an average about six persons to each house. Should the Freedmen remain here, there will be more cabins erected. Government has disposed of this farm, and the people will have to be removed, but this probably may not occur for two or three years. [n7]

Camp Rucker left Stockly with am extremely positive, if not somewhat exaggerated, impression:

The condition of the Freedmen here is very satisfactory. Their cabins are whitewashed outside and in, and all neatly kept. The people are clean, tidy and highly appreciative of the improvement in their condition. Many of them escaped from severe masters, and they manifest a degree of gratitude to those who have aided them which I have never seen excelled. They are exceedingly attached to their teacher, and fear lest she should leave them. She has labored indefatigably, and in a measure successfully, for their elevation, and it is their testimony that their condition has been greatly improved since she came among them. There is a smaller number at this camp than at any other, which gives them a decided advantage. The standard of morality is high, and they are well cared for. 

Stockly concluded:

The people here will not be likely to need further supplies from us. The teacher thinks that when the present supply is exhausted they will be self-sustaining, unless an unexpected calamity shall befall them.

While at Camp Rucker, Stockly had a chance to attend a wedding ceremony:

. . . I never saw a ceremony of the kind conducted with greater dignity or propriety. They were married by a colored clergyman, who read the Episcopal service, frequently pausing to consider the words before pronouncing them. We were honored with an invitation to the supper. The order in which it was partaken by the guests was somewhat peculiar. First the bride and groom ate alone, then the first bridesmaid and groomsmen, then the second, then their white friends, then their colored friends.

Stockly also visited other contraband settlements in Washington City, Alexandria, Falls Church, Freedman's Village, and Mason's Island before returning home.

Conclusion

Thanks to Stockly's report, we have an idea about how the freedmen and women were faring in the contraband camps of Northern Virginia after a year in operation. The number of former slaves at Camps Rucker, Todd, and Wadsworth remained roughly the same. Hundreds of acres were under cultivation, providing the government with crops and the freedmen and women with an income, however modest. Conditions at Camp Rucker had progressed to a point of near self-sufficiency, and the former slaves there finally had a roof over their heads. Teachers were also holding classes for those who had never learned to read and write. Of course, the situation was far from perfect. Unlawful child labor remained prevalent at Camp Wadsworth. The former slaves also lacked opportunities to own and farm their own plots of land. And left unsaid in Stockly's report, the very existence of the camps raised questions about how long a successful transition from slavery to freedom and economic independence would take. The Friends' Association, as well as the U.S. Government, had much work left to do.

Notes

1. The Superintendent of Freemen, Rev. Danforth B. Nichols, reported 230 persons in Camp Todd on June 30, 1863.

2. This regiment was also known as the 2nd United States Colored Troops.

3. Nichols reported 178 residents in June 1863, slightly more than a year later.

4. The dwellings belonged to Lewis D. Means and Confederate Navy officer James W. Cooke, secessionists who had fled Langley at the start of the war. See my previous post for more information about the owners.

5. It is unclear who built these cabins and where they were located.

6. By contrast, there were 105 residents of Camp Rucker in June 1863.

7. According to an item in the Alexandria Gazette on March 1, 1864, Nutt's property near Falls Church was seized and sold by the U.S. Government under the Direct Tax Act.

Sources

Alexandria Gazette, Mar. 1, 1864; Assn. of Friends (ed.), Friends' Intelligencer: A Religious and Family Journal, Vol. XXI (1865); Board of Managers, Friends' Assn. for the Aid and Elevation of the Freedmen, First Annual Report of the Board of Managers of the Friends' Assn. for the Aid and Elevation of the Freedmen (1865); Benjamin Franklin Cooling III & Walton H. Owen II, Mr. Lincoln's Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington (2010 ed.); Alexander Hunter, Johnny Reb and Billy Yank (1905);  "The Hunter Family Marker: Abingdon Plantation," HMdb.org; D.B. Nichols, Official Report on Superintendent Nichols Freedman's Department, South Potomac, Quartermaster for the Department of Washington, July 10, 1863, in New York Times, Aug. 9, 1863 ("Official Report"); "Prospect Hill Marker," HMdb.org.

The Changing Face of Alexandria, Late September 1863

Newspapers provide interesting and sometimes entertaining insights into a given time and place, which probably explains why I get so much enjoyment from browsing through copies of Civil War-era dailies and weeklies. (Plus I really like those old engravings!) This past weekend I read a few issues of the Alexandria Gazette from the end of September 1863. The articles offer a look at the continuing impact of war on Alexandria. After all, by this time 150 years ago, the Union military had occupied the city for over two years. The proximity of Alexandria to the nation's capital, and its role as a Federal supply depot and hospital center, brought a dramatic transformation during the war years.

Bird's eye view of Alexandria, 1863 print (courtesy of Wikipedia)

The city attracted thousands of new inhabitants, including slaves fleeing to the relative safety of the Union lines. The Gazette noted on September 25, 1863:

Since [1860], the temporary population of the city has been much increased, there being, particularly, an influx of "contrabands," the numbers of whom cannot be accurately ascertained.

A few days later, the paper described the changing face of Alexandria in the wake of this extensive migration:

The influx of strangers and new comers into this place, is very great. An old resident now observes along the streets, but few of his former acquaintances and friends, in the moving mass of pedestrians. . . . The business portion of the population too, is, almost entirely changed. Some few of the old signs remain, but new names, new firms, new occupations mostly meet the eye. (Sept. 28, 1863.)

All of the added population put pressures on the local housing market. According to the Gazette:

The demand for houses for rent is very great just at this time. An advertisement in the Gazette, offering a house for rent, a few days ago, brought twenty or thirty applicants in an hour or two. (Sept. 22, 1863.)

Not unexpectedly, the Gazette reported that "[r]ents are higher in this place, at this time, than they have ever been within the recollection of the oldest inhabitant." (Sept. 22, 1863.) Resourceful property owners found ways to take advantage of the shortage:

What was a very small open yard or court, on King Street, a few days ago, has been roofed in, and front and back walls built up, and six or eight hundred dollars per annum rent offered for the premises at once. (Sept. 22, 1863.)

More people also translated into increased demand for other necessities, like fuel. The Gazette measured the impact and urged caution:

The price of fuel -- wood and coal -- keep up. Consumers, this season, will have to be very economical, in order to keep their expenses at all within reasonable limits. It should be their duty to attend particularly to the use of fuel in their kitchens, offices, stores, dwellings, &c -- For there is often enough wasted, which if saved, would pay for tons of coal and cords of wood. (Sept. 22, 1863.)

The Gazette also kept readers informed about the availability and affordability of food:

The market was well supplied with vegetables and fruit, this morning, but prices remained as high as ever. (Sept. 22, 1863.)

Some inhabitants took matters into their own hands when it came to finding sources of nourishment:

It is said that more cows are kept in town this year, than there were ever before. The demand for milk and cream, all through the summer, has been great, and many families are supported from their dairies. (Sept. 24, 1863.)

Of course, entrepreneurs rushed to capitalize on all of the mouths to feed:

The number of restaurants and eating houses in this place continues to increase rather than diminish. They spring up like mushrooms, in a night, and every day sees a new sign, denoting where the hungry can be fed, -- "for a consideration." If one half of the places designated as "oyster houses" are kept supplied with bivalves, it will take a fleet of craft to furnish the quantity required. (Sept. 24, 1863.)

Businesses also catered to the burgeoning demand for entertainment. The Gazette offered this tidbit to readers:

DICK PARKER'S MUSIC HALL, at the corner of King and Royal streets, is the centre of attraction for amusement seekers. The Hall has been beautifully fitted up, and is well arranged for concerts and musical entertainments. Since it was opened on a Monday night, a full house has greeted each performance and great satisfaction has been given. (Sept. 23, 1863.)

An advertisement placed by Dick Parker's in the same edition of the Gazette boldly promised: "BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, NEW FACES, SPLENDID COMPANY, EVERYBODY DELIGHTED." (Sept. 23, 1863.) For the grand sum of one dollar, a guest could secure a private box. Otherwise, parquet seats could be had for twenty-five cents and orchestra seats for fifty cents.

The war literally took place at Alexandria's doorstep, and the city's inhabitants were surrounded by constant reminders of the conflict. John Mosby and his Rangers continued to wreak havoc across Northern Virginia. According to an article appearing on September 28:

Fifty of Moseby's [sic] men made a descent on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad last night, above Fairfax, tearing up the track, firing Pope's bridge, and cutting the telegraph. One bridge was partially consumed, but has been repaired, and the trains are again running.

Alexandria also saw the delivery of a different sort of cargo from the front:

One hundred and thirteen Confederate prisoners, taken within the past few days by the Army of the Potomac in its advance, were brought to this place this morning, and sent on to Washington. (Sept. 25, 1863.)

Meanwhile, the Union Army remained active in rounding up civilians suspected of disloyalty:

A family by the name of Beach, seven in all, living near Fairfax Station, have been arrested and sent to Washington, charged with complicity with Moseby's [sic] men. (Sept. 22, 1863.)

The war farther afield also preoccupied the people of Alexandria. The recent Battle of Chickamauga took top billing in the Gazette at the end of September. Perhaps many readers were shocked to read this piece reprinted from the Richmond Examiner:

The Surgeon General received a dispatch. . . conveying the melancholy tidings of the death of Major General J.B. Hood, of Texas. He was wounded in the leg by a grape shot in the battle on the Chickamauga, and sank under the effects of the amputation. (Sept. 26, 1863.)

The article, however, got it wrong, as Hood survived the wound he received during the engagement and lived to fight another day.

Alexandria had indeed changed considerably in the space of a few years, and as September 1863 drew to a close, the city continued to experience the consequences of war and occupation. Old residents and newcomers alike lived in a crowded, overpriced, and bustling place. Without a doubt, the importance of Alexandria to the Union war effort ensured that life in the city would not return to normal any time soon.

In Search of the Contraband Camps of McLean, Virginia, Part II: Camp Beckwith

A few weeks ago I wrote about the location of one of the contraband camps in the McLean, Virginia area. The Union Army established Camp Wadsworth on property belonging to local Confederate sympathizers near Langley on May 30, 1863. Just one week later, the Federal authorities decided to organize yet another contraband farm in the same general vicinity. This week I turn my attention to the possible location of this second camp, which was situated near Lewinsville. The historical evidence is somewhat less definitive than in the case of Camp Wadsworth, but I wanted to present my preliminary conclusions based on the documents and other sources I have reviewed since starting my research.

As D.B. Nichols, Superintendent of Freedman, noted in his July 1863 report on the newly-established contraband camps:

[W]e organized . . . Camp Beckwith, on MCVAY's and JACKSON's farms, near Lewinsville. (N.Y. Times, Aug. 9, 1863.)

According to a map of land ownership for Fairfax County in 1860, property belonging to both Dr. William Harvey McVeigh and Townsend McVeigh sat very close to the crossroads at Lewinsville. There is no record of a "McVay," so presumably Nichols misspelled the last name. Moreover, farmland under the name of Susan M. Jackson was located adjacent to William McVeigh's land near Lewinsville. Jackson was the widow of the infamous James W. Jackson, who gunned down Col. Elmer Ellsworth of the 11th New York Fire Zouaves at the start of the war. James Jackson's mother also had extensive acreage in the vicinity, but farther from Lewinsville and the McVeigh property. Both the McVeigh and Jackson families had reason to attract the attention of Union authorities, so it is perhaps not surprising that their abandoned land became the target for a social experiment involving the resettlement of contrabands.

Wartime view of Lewinsville, Virginia, from Harper's Weekly, Dec. 14, 1861 (courtesy of sonofthesouth.net). As I noted in a previous post, this depiction of the village is somewhat fanciful.

The McVeigh Property

Townsend McVeigh was born in Virginia in 1800. He owned land in Fairfax County close to Lewinsville (grid square 30:1, 1860 Map), but resided with his family in Loudoun County. In 1859 Townsend conveyed 95 acres near Lewinsville to his son William, a physician born in 1828 (grid square 30:1). This land comprised part of the Windy Hill Farm, which is today listed on the Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites.

According to 1860 Census, William McVeigh lived in Fairfax with his wife and three small children. He raised hay, oats, and potatoes. William also owned some dairy cows and cattle. Presumably this farming took place on William's property in Lewinsville. Tax records from 1861 indicate that McVeigh had three slaves.

Mason Shipman leased William's farm or otherwise raised crops there under contract.* The exact start and end date of this business relationship remains uncertain. Shipman's name appears on an 1862 Union Army map of Northeastern Virginia at or near the location of William's farm (see below). According to historian Chuck Mauro, Shipman was farming on William McVeigh's land when the Union Army confiscated his hay in 1863.

Map-1,detail of an 1862 Union Army map of Northeastern Virginia ("McDowell map") showing Lewinsville, Langley, and vicinity (courtesy of Library of Congress). The Shipman residence sat to the northwest of Lewinsville in an area along Scott's Run where William McVeigh's land bordered Susan Jackson's property.

William became active in the local community. He sat on the Board of Trustees for the Strawberry Vale Institute for Young Ladies near Peach Grove (today's Tyson's Corner).** William also served as one of the commissioners in the Lewinsville precinct for the vote on the Ordinance of Secession. William cast his ballot for ratification along with thirty-eight others, but in the end, Lewinsville was one of three precincts in the county to reject the Ordinance on May 23, 1861. Like other secessionists, William likely left his farm in 1861 before the Federal occupation of the neighborhood that fall. He died at his father's home in Middleburg in 1864.

The McVeigh family had its fair share of encounters with Union authorities. On April 10, 1863, the Alexandria Gazette reported that a "Dr. Wm. H. McVeigh" was one of several civilians arrested for disloyalty and brought to Washington by Union forces under Gen. Julius Stahel. Townsend McVeigh, William's father, also appears to have been arrested for his anti-Union sympathies and placed on a prison barge opposite Alexandria in June 1863. When he refused to take the oath of allegiance, Townsend was sent to Old Capitol Prison in Washington and later released.*** Records indicate that William's brother, Townsend Jesse (or T.J.) McVeigh likely served as a chaplain of the 2nd Virginia Infantry. T.J. was captured in early 1862 and sent to Old Capitol Prison. He was released on parole in March of that year.

When the Union authorities began to look for a place to locate a contraband camp outside of Washington, they surely wasted no time in setting their sights on the McVeigh lands. According to Shipman's claim before the Southern Claims Commission, Camp Beckwith was established on William's farm near Lewinsville. (Sprouse, Vol. 4, 1349.)**** It is altogether possible that some or all of the neighboring land owned by his father was also used for the same purpose, but I have yet to find any proof. Today the McVeigh properties are occupied by residential housing. The green area on Map-2 below represents William's property superimposed on the current-day map of McLean. Townsend McVeigh's land is shown in blue.

Map-2, showing the probable location of Camp Beckwith (view Camp Beckwith in a larger map)

The red pin  indicates the location of Lewinsville at the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and Great Falls Street. The Windy Hill farmhouse is indicated by the blue pin. The home, built around 1827, survives today but is barely visible behind trees.

Looking down Lewinsville Road along the southern edge of the former William McVeigh property. A housing development now sits on the heights above the treeline. The Windy Hill farmhouse is also located in the same neighborhood.

The Jackson Property

The Jackson family's land became the target of Union authorities for obvious reasons. James W. Jackson was born near Lewinsville in 1823 to Richard and Jane Donaldson Jackson.***** His father died when he was about six months old. Jane wanted her son to attend Georgetown College, but in the end she sent James to live with his brother, John, in Kentucky. While residing in the Bluegrass State, James met and married Susan Maria Adams of Washington County. He returned to Fairfax with his wife sometime before 1850 and spent a few years farming a tract of land around Lewinsville. In 1858 James became the proprietor of the Union Hotel in Fairfax Court House. By 1860, the Jackson family owned four slaves. Around the start of 1861, James moved his family to Alexandria, where he signed a five-year lease on the Marshall House at the corner of Pitt and King Streets. On January 19, the Alexandria Gazette reported that Jackson's inn and tavern were open for business.

James W. Jackson (courtesy of Johnson County Community College).

Jackson became an ardent secessionist and defiantly flew the stars and bars from the roof of the Marshall House to demonstrate his allegiance. As Union troops occupied Alexandria on May 24, Col. Ellsworth entered the hotel and tore down the flag. Jackson, a combative person by nature, confronted Ellsworth and killed him with a musket blast to the chest. Jackson was immediately shot dead by a Union soldier. The young innkeeper left behind his wife and three daughters. Soon after his death, Jackson was hailed throughout the Confederacy as a martyr for the cause of Southern independence.

James Jackson's wife owned over 120 acres near Lewinsville (grid squares 20:4, 21:3, 29:2, & 30:1). She acquired most or all of  this land in 1859. Susan was living in Alexandria with James when he was killed, and it is unclear whether she ever resided on her property in Lewinsville after his death. Susan and her children may also have visited or stayed with her mother-in-law in Lewinsville sometime during the summer of 1861.******

Jane Jackson lived on over 600 acres along the Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike near Langley and Lewinsville (grid squares 20:2, 20:4, 21:1, & 21:3) Her home is indicated on Map-1 to the west of Prospect Hill. In October 1861, soldiers from the 10th Pennsylvania Reserves raided Jane Jackson's house upon learning that she had furnished sensitive information to the Confederates about Union troop movements and positions. They placed her under arrest and sent her to Washington. The soldiers also found "two arms-full of important papers." (Ltr. from Anon. to Lancaster Express, Oct. 16, 1861.) According to one contemporary account, the Union troops "took all her negroes which could be of service to them, and gave the others away." (Anonymous 45.) They also "destroyed her furniture, and appropriated a quantity of house-keeping stores which she had laid up." (Anonymous 45.)

Jane and Susan, like other Confederate sympathizers, may have left the area at some point during the war, but more research is needed to determine their whereabouts. In June 1863, the Union Army established part of Camp Beckwith on property that had been abandoned by the Jackson family. Federal authorities likely selected Susan's tract, given its immediate proximity to Lewinsville and William McVeigh's land, where the other half of the camp was located. Jane Jackson's land was farther away, although I have not found evidence that would definitively exclude her property as a possible site.

Susan Jackson's property is indicated in orange on Map-2 above. Suburban housing developments now cover the land. The Capital Beltway (I-495) also cuts through the eastern edge of Jackson's former property near Scott's Run.

Photograph west looking along Lewinsville Road in McLean towards land that once belonged to Susan Jackson. The landscape has been dramatically transformed since the 1860s. Notice the bridge over I-495. 

Based on available sources, we generally know where the Union authorities placed Camp Beckwith. My research over the last several months has raised even more questions that it has answered. Work remains to be done, such as a thorough examination of the Shipman claim. I'd also like to find soldiers' letters and other primary source documents that contain possible clues confirming the camp locations. Another big unknown is the story of the contrabands who lived at Camp Beckwith and neighboring Camp Wadsworth. Other topics include the experiences of the Federal troops who protected the camps and the aid society workers who taught and assisted the contrabands. In the coming months and years, I hope to find more information, and I plan on returning to this topic to share my discoveries.

Notes

*William McVeigh's arrangement with Shipman is mentioned in a few secondary sources. (See Mauro 111; Sprouse, Vol. 4, 1349.) These sources rely on the Shipman's claim for damages before the Southern Claims Commission (SCC). Unfortunately, the SCC file is not available on-line, and I have not yet independently verified the content of Shipman's claim. An examination of the SCC file is likely to uncover additional details about both Shipman and McVeigh.

**The advertisement in the Alexandria Gazette for Aug. 20, 1860 lists McVeigh's address as Annandale in Fairfax County. It is unclear whether he resided there for a particular period of time before moving to Lewinsville, or maintained a residence in both places.

***Articles in the Alexandria Gazette refer to Townsend McVeigh as "Dr. Townsend" or "Dr. Townshend" McVeigh of Middleburg, Loudoun County.

****Again, a thorough examination of the Shipman SCC file may reveal additional details about the placement of Camp Beckwith.

*****Jackson's boyhood home, built in the mid-18th century, still stands along Swink's Mill Road in McLean. The house is listed on the Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites. The Jackson family sold the property in 1843.

******In an August 21, 1861 letter to the Pittsburg Gazette, a staff officer from the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves reported that some soldiers from the Reserves visited Jane Jackson's home and met one of James Jackson's daughters.

Sources

Alexandria Gazette, Aug. 20, 1860, Jan. 19, 1861, May 21, 1861, Mar. 7, 1863, Apr. 10, 1863, June 26, 1863, July 23, 1863, Aug. 15, 1863, May 10, 1864; Anonymous, Life of James W. Jackson: The Alexandria Hero, the Slayer of Ellsworth, the First Martyr in the Cause of Southern Independence (1862); Susan Collet Butler, "Windy Hill Farm," Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County, Vol. 11, pp. 63-74 (1971); Brian A. Conley, Fractured Land: Fairfax County's Role in the Vote for Secession, May 23, 1861 (2001); Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites Report: Windy Hill Farm (report and research notes of Susan Hellman, Dept. of Planning and Zoning,Sept. 2006, available at Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library); Carole Herrick, Images of America: McLean (2011); "Jackson Family Cemetery," Find-a-Grave (website); "James William Jackson (?-1861)," Find-a-Grave (website); "Jane Moore Donaldson Jackson (1796-1872)," Find-a-Grave (website); "Richard Jackson (1778-1823)," Find-a-Grave (website); Ltr. from "Alpha" to Pittsburg Gazette, Aug. 21, 1861 (courtesy of P.R.V.C. Hist. Soc.); Ltr. from Anon. to Lancaster Express, Oct. 16, 1861 (courtesy of P.R.V.C. Hist. Soc.); Ltr. from Nathaniel S. Falconer to Warren Ledger, Oct. 19, 1861 (courtesy of P.R.V.C. Hist. Soc.) ; Charles V. Mauro, The Civil War in Fairfax County: Civilians and Soldiers (2006); Hugh Milton McIlhany, Some Virginia Families (1903); "Dr. William Harvey McVeigh (?-1864)," Find-a-Grave (website); "Townsend McVeigh (1800-77)," Find-a-Grave (website); Beth Mitchell, Fairfax County in 1860: Property Owners (original map book available at Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library) ("1860 Map"); N.A.R.A., Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Virginia, available at fold3.com; N.Y. Times, Aug. 9, 1863; Official Records, 1:29:1, 201-02, 2:2, 272-73; "Mason Shipman (1828-1916)," Find-a-Grave (website); Edith Moore Sprouse, Fairfax County in 1860: A Collective Biography (1996) (7 vols. available at Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library); U.S. Federal Census Returns for the Commonwealth of Virginia, 1850 & 1860, available at ancestry.com; U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedules for 1860, available at ancestry.com.

Some Vintage Adverts and a Word About an Old Newspaper

My research over the last couple of weeks has led me to some on-line newspaper collections. The Library of Congress maintains the historic newspaper database, Chronicling America. This digitized collection contains a few Civil War-era newspapers for the Washington, DC area. I have found these papers useful in learning more about the 19th century landowners in and around Lewinsville and Langley, Virginia. Of course, I have also stumbled upon some fun advertisements during the course of my research. These ads provide a fascinating glimpse into daily life around the nation's capital prior to the war.

Take, for instance, the following lost and found ad from the October 7, 1856 edition of the Washington Evening Star:

Lewis D. Means owned property in Langley that the Union Army eventually seized for use as a contraband farm. However, at some point during the 1850s, he resided in Washington City and ran a tavern and drove yard. This ad mentions his "Drover's Rest, near Georgetown." Thomas A. C. Jones, the steer's owner, made some sort of arrangement with Means to ensure that his prized possession found its way back home. Jones lived near Prospect Hill, which was to the west of Langley along the Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike. Apparently the roads of Northern Virginia were filled with enough men herding cattle that a farmer could lose his steer among them!

And how about a little something for "back to school"? The following ad appeared in the September 1, 1860 edition of the Evening Star:

This school was located near Peach Grove (essentially today's Tyson's Corner) and likely operated from the Strawberry Vale Manor, which was built around 1780. The educational program offered "young ladies" classes in a variety of subjects, including music, art, and languages. This ad appeared in the paper alongside many other classifieds for women's academies; such institutions became prevalent in the United States during the 19th century. I'd be curious to learn about the composition of the student body. For example, how many young women, if any, were sent all the way to Peach Grove from Washington or Georgetown? The Board of Trustees of the Strawberry Vale Institute includes Lewis Means and several other men who were apparently enlightened enough to believe in women's secondary education. (I'll be talking about Dr. McVeigh in a future post.)

News on Newspapers!

The Alexandria Gazette and the Alexandria Local News are vital primary sources for anyone researching the Civil War in Northern Virginia and Washington. Unfortunately, Chronicling America does not provide digital access to copies of the Gazette before 1887. The Fairfax County's Historical Newspaper Index is searchable for Gazette articles from the Civil War era, but digital copies are not available. Instead, a researcher must trek to the Virginia Room at the City of Fairfax Regional Library to print articles from microfilm, or order the hard copies, which can take a few weeks.

Imagine my excitement the other day when I learned that the Arlington Public Library provides on-line access to copies of the Gazette from 1808 to 1876. Use of the database is free of charge, but requires an Arlington Public Library card. Those living, working, or attending school in Arlington Country are eligible to receive a card, as are residents from reciprocal jurisdictions like Alexandria, DC, and Fairfax County. I have already found a treasure trove of Gazette articles related to my research on the contraband camps. This is just another example of how the digital revolution has brought historical archives to the home.

Sources

N.A.R.A., U.S. Federal Census Returns for the District of Columbia, 1860 (available at ancestry.com); National Women's History Museum, "1800s: Secondary Education for Women," The History of Women and Education (website).

In Search of the Contraband Camps of McLean, Virginia, Part I: Camp Wadsworth

Back in June I wrote a two-part installment on the establishment of contraband camps in Northern Virginia. (See here and here.) Thousands of slaves fled to Washington in search of freedom during the first few years of the Civil War. As the number of contrabands grew, their living quarters became increasingly overcrowded and unsanitary. Seeking to resolve this problem, the Union Army decided to relocate dependent contrabands to abandoned secessionist properties outside Washington in May and June 1863.

Two of the camps were placed on land near Langley and Lewinsville, which are now part of the community of McLean, Virginia. As a McLean resident, I was naturally curious about the location of the contraband camps. Such historical sites are not always easy to find, as I have learned many times before in trying to pinpoint the location of former Union encampments in my neck of the woods. But the contraband camps present a somewhat different story. Today's post takes a look at Camp Wadsworth, the first of the two contraband camps established in McLean.

In a July 10, 1863 report concerning the new contraband camps, D.B. Nichols, the Superintendent of Freedmen, noted:

On the same day, May 30, we commenced an encampment on rebel COOKE's farm, near LANGLEY, on the Leesburgh [sic] Turnpike. This encampment we called Camp Wadsworth. A branch of this camp was shortly after formed on a farm of rebel MEANS near by. (N.Y. Times, Aug. 9, 1863.)

Cross-referencing the farmers' surnames on a map of land ownership in Fairfax County in 1860, I determined that Camp Wadsworth was established on property belonging to James W. Cooke and Lewis D. Means. Both men had ties to the Confederacy and were slave owners, making their abandoned farms a prime target for the contraband camps. The land ownership map shows the 1860 land boundaries superimposed on a county map from 1981, so I was also able to draw some conclusions as to the location of the camps in McLean. Not all researchers get so lucky without having to comb through countless land deeds and court records!

The Cooke Farm

James W. Cooke was born in North Carolina in 1812 and became an orphan at the age four. Cooke's uncle, a port collector in Beaufort, North Carolina, raised his young nephew and helped to secure his appointment as a U.S. Navy midshipman in 1828. Cooke spent most of the following years at sea, but in 1853 he was assigned to the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington. Cooke purchased a 60-acre property located along the road to Lewinsville, close to Langley and the Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike (grid squares 21:4 & 30:2, 1860 Map). He also bought another 43 acres farther to the east along Pimmit Run (grid square 31:1). In 1856, Cooke left for a one-year tour of duty on a naval supply ship.

While in Langley, Cooke grew corn, oats, and wheat. He also tended to a peach orchard of some 500 trees and raised milk cows, horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs. The 1860 Census Slave Schedules indicate that Cooke owned twelve slaves, most of whom were women and children.

Capt. James W. Cooke, CSN (courtesy of Wikipedia)

As secession tore the country apart, Cooke was faced with the difficult question of choosing sides. In early May 1861, he resigned his commission as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and joined the Virginia State Navy.* The following month Cooke was appointed as a lieutenant in the Confederate States Navy. Fearing for his family's safety, Cooked moved his wife and son farther south to Portsmouth, Virginia at some point early in the war. He likely took his slaves with him, but their ultimate fate is unknown. Union troops eventually entered the Langley area, where they ransacked Cooke's home and destroyed the orchard. A Pennsylvania regiment even used Cook's house as a headquarters in the fall of 1861.**

Cooke served as the commander of the gunboat Ellis during a fight off Roanoke Island in February 1862. Although wounded and captured, he was released on parole and rejoined the Confederate Navy. Promoted to commander in June 1862, he supervised the construction of the famed Confederate ironclad ram, CSS Albemarle, and took charge of the vessel upon completion. Under Cooke's leadership, the Albemarle successfully engaged Federal forces in April and May 1864. Cooke received an appointment as captain in June 1864 and ended the war as the commander of the inland waters of North Carolina. Cooke returned to Portsmouth after the war and died in 1869.

Portion of "Detailed map of part of Virginia from Alexandria to the Potomac River above Washington, D.C. 186-" from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (courtesy of Library of Congress). The map is oriented with east at the top. Both the Cooke and Means properties are shown along the road between Langley (top) and Lewinsville. Cooke's name is misspelled here. Today VA-123/Dolley Madison Blvd. and Old Chain Bridge Rd./Chain Bridge Rd. roughly follow the former roadbed.

The first branch of Camp Wadsworth was likely established on Cooke's 60-acre parcel along the Lewinsville Road. This plot was near Langley and the Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike, as Nichols described.*** Cooke's Pimmit Run property was smaller, isolated in the middle of other farmland, and farther from Langley. Moreover, Cooke has a residence on his property along Lewinsville Road where the contrabands would likely have been quartered. Today the site of Camp Wadsworth is occupied by residential neighborhoods, including the Madison of McLean townhouse development. The blue area below indicates the location of Cooke's 60-acre property superimposed on a current map of McLean:


View Camp Wadsworth in a larger map

On the map above, Lewinsville is located at the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and Great Falls Street to the left. Langley is shown on the map to the upper right. VA-193 is the Georgetown Pike (old Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike). My neighborhood, which belonged the Johnston family during the war, borders the old Cooke property.

A contemporary view of the south side of the former Cooke farm along the road to Lewinsville (now VA-123/Dolley Madison Blvd. at this spot). The walls of the Madison of McLean community are visible along the edge of the highway. Cooke lived across the road from Salona, the property of Jacob Smoot. Salona was used as a headquarters for Union Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith from October 1861-March 1862. The Salona house survives today.

The Means Farm

Lewis D. Means was born in Virginia in 1819. During the 1840s and 1850s he ran taverns in both Virginia and Washington. The 1860 Federal Census listed Means as a farmer living with his wife and four children in Fairfax County. He had a tract of 134 acres along the road to Lewinsville, not far from Cooke's property (grid squares 30:1, 30:2, & 30:4). Means also co-owned a larger parcel of 438 acres near Fairfax Court House with a man named James J. Love (grid squares 47:1 & 47:3). Means grew a variety of crops, including corn, oats, rye, and wheat. He also owned four slaves.

While living in Virginia, Means became involved in civic affairs. He sat on the Board of Trustees for the local Strawberry Vale Institute for Young Ladies, just up the road from Lewinsville at Peach Grove (current-day Tyson's Corner). He also served as a commissioner in the Lewinsville precinct for the vote on the Ordinance of Secession. Means cast his ballot in favor of secession. At some point in 1861 he moved his family to Fauquier County, Virginia to escape the Federal occupation. His property was almost certainly raided by Union soldiers who advanced into the area around Langley and Lewinsville in the fall of that year. Throughout the war Means appears to have acted as an agent for the Confederate Quartermaster's Department or otherwise sold goods to the Confederate Army. Incidentally, Means was the brother of Virginia Unionist Samuel Means, who led the partisan Loudoun Rangers. Means returned to Washington after the war, where he worked as a cattle dealer. He died in 1902.

The second branch of Camp Wadsworth was established on Means's acreage near Lewinsville, not far from the Cooke farm. The Union Army likely used Means's residence to house the contrabands. The area marked in yellow on the above map indicates the site of the former Means property in current-day McLean. This land is a mix of commercial and residential property and is bisected by major transportation routes. McLean Central Park also sits on the former Means property.

Current-day view of the south boundary of the former Means property along the road to Lewinsville (known today as Chain Bridge Rd. at this location in downtown McLean). The entrance to the farm was situated somewhere on this side of Mean's land.

The Means property also occupied this spot, which today is the site of McLean Central Park, as well as the intersection of VA-123 and Old Dominion Dr. At the time of the Civil War, neither of these roads existed.

Determining the location of Camp Wadsworth in McLean is just the beginning of the story. The selection of the Cooke and Means properties begs the question as to how the Union Army chose these specific properties. There were many abandoned secessionist properties scattered across Virginia, so what was it about these two men that drew the attention of those who were planning the contraband camps? Presumably Cooke was well-known enough of a local Confederate officer that the authorities viewed his farm as target for seizure. And once the camps were established, which former slaves were relocated there? What did they feel about life in camp? Who were the Union troops that kept guard? These and other such questions will require additional research, but at least we now have an idea about some of the locations in McLean where the contrabands resided and worked starting in the summer of 1863.

Notes

*It is unclear whether Cooke voted for the Virginia Ordinance of Secession in Fairfax County on May 23, 1861. His name does not appear on the voting tally for the Lewinsville precinct, which is where he more than likely would have cast his ballot.  A "J.W. Cook" is listed as supporting ratification of the Ordinance in the West End precinct.  If in fact this voter is Cooke, the last name is misspelled. Moreover, Cooke did not reside in West End precinct at the time.

**The N.Y. Times of October 11, 1861 names the unit as the "First Pennsylvania." In the fall of 1861, Gen. George A. McCall's Pennsylvania Reserves occupied Langley. The 1st Pennsylvania could mean the 1st Pennsylvania Reserves, the 1st Pennsylvania Rifles, the 1st Pennsylvania Artillery, or the 1st Pennsylvania Reserve Cavalry, all of which belonged to McCall's division.

***Leesburgh Turnpike" in Nichols's report.

Sources

Lindley S. Butler, Pirates, Privateers, & Rebel Raiders of the Carolina Coast (2000); Taylor M. Chamberlin & John M. Souders, Between Reb and Yank: A Civil War History of Northern Loudoun County, Virginia (2011); Brian A. Conley, Fractured Land: Fairfax County's Role in the Vote for Secession, May 23, 1861 (2001); Fairfax County Park Authority, Draft Park Master Plan for McLean Central Park (2013); "Lewis D. Means (1819-1902)," Find-a-Grave (website); Beth Mitchell, Fairfax County in 1860: Property Owners (original map book available at Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library) ("1860 Map"); N.A.R.A., Confederate Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms, 1861-65, available at fold3.com; N.A.R.A., Unified Papers and Slips Belonging in Confederate Compiled Service Records, available at fold3.com; N.Y. Times, Oct. 11, 1861; N.Y. Times, Aug. 9, 1863; Edith Moore Sprouse, Fairfax County in 1860: A Collective Biography (1996) (7 vols. available at Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library); U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval History and Heritage Command, "Captain James Wallace Cooke, Captain, Confederate States Navy (18??-1869)," Online Library of Selected Images: People -- United States; U.S. Federal Census Returns for the Commonwealth of Virginia and District of Columbia, 1850-80, available at ancestry.com; U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedules for 1860, available at ancestry.com; Washington Evening Star, Aug. 29, 1860.

Contraband Camps Established in Northern Virginia: May-June 1863, Part II

As I wrote last week, the population of contrabands in Washington exploded during the first couple years of the Civil War. Conditions for the former slaves at Camp Barker and other contraband settlements continued to deteriorate throughout the start of 1863. In May 1863, Lt. Col. Elias Greene, the Chief Quartermaster for the Department of Washington, proposed the establishment of contraband farms on abandoned secessionist lands in Northern Virginia. Greene hoped that his plan would lead to an improvement in the physical and moral health of the contrabands, as well as generate savings for the government. The War Department quickly approved Greene's proposal, and the Federal authorities set to work under the direction of D.B. Nichols, Superintendent of Freedmen.

On May 18, 1863, the Union military established the first of the contraband farms, Camp Springdale, on the grounds of Robert E. Lee's Arlington estate. According to an official report filed by Nichols on July 10, the initial population at the camp consisted of "around ninety persons in all." (Official Report.)* The contrabands were quartered in tents because no deserted homes were available to shelter the camp's inhabitants. (Incidentally, Greene and Nichols were also busy on Lee's property building a planned community for ex-slaves known as "Freedman's Village.")

A group of contrabands (courtesy of Library of Congress). This picture was taken in Cumberland Landing, Virginia, but similar scenes were surely encountered in Northern Virginia's contraband camps.

The work continued towards the end of the month. On May 30, the Federal authorities established Camp Rucker on secessionist property in Falls Church.** Nichols reported that "the people at this place had to be sheltered in tents, there being no houses in the vicinity belonging to rebel owners." (Official Report.) That same day, Camp Wadsworth was set up in Langley on a Confederate sympathizer's abandoned farm near the Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike. Not long after, a branch of Camp Wadsworth was situated on a neighboring secessionist property.*** The contrabands in the Langley camps lived in the empty farmhouses of the "rebel owners." (Official Report.)

The following week, Nichols and his men established two more contraband farms in Virginia. Camp Todd was placed on the site of a former Union Army encampment near Fort Albany**** The Union contrabands took possession of the log huts that were formerly occupied by soldiers under Gen. Silas Casey. Nichols considered that "these houses have capacity of holding not less than one thousand people, and are in a good degree of preservation." (Official Report.) Camp Beckwith was organized on two secessionist farms near Lewinsville, and the former slaves were placed in abandoned dwellings on the properties.*****

"Fort Albany, Near Alexandria, Virginia," from Harper's Weekly, Nov. 30, 1861 (courtesy of sonofthesouth.net). Camp Todd was established close to the fort at the start of June 1863.

Nichols reported the following numbers for each of the contraband camps in Northern Virginia as of June 30, 1863:

Camp Springdale, 300; Camp Todd, 230; Camp Rucker, 105; Camp Wadsworth, 178; Camp Beckwith, 72; total, 885.  (Official Report; see also Alexandria Gazette, Aug. 5, 1863.)

Nichols provided government rations to the contrabands living on the new farms. According to his official report:

Every man or woman above the ages of 16 and 14 years has drawn daily one ration; every boy from 1 year to 16 years, and every girl from 1 to 14 years, has drawn one-half rations; all below one year have drawn, nothing. (Official Report.)

In addition, Nichols believed that life on the contraband farms was having an overall positive impact, despite continued illnesses and deaths:

There has been a manifest improvement in the tone of health since we came over this side of the Potomac. We have had fresh air and pure water, and work on the soil to employ the people. This has contributed to the health of the people. Though several contagious diseases appeared among the people, yet they have easily yielded to the treatment, or have been removed to the pest-house in Washington. Twenty persons have died during the month of June, fifteen of whom were children, and five of the fifteen were only twelve months old, or under. (Official Report.)

By contrast, around twenty-five died per week in 1863 at Camp Barker, the main contraband settlement in Washington City. (NPS, "Freedman's Village," fn10.)

Nichols also oversaw the installation of buildings for use by the government in the administration of the contrabands in Virginia. He likely enlisted the services of able-bodied contrabands in undertaking this work. As Nichols informed Greene:

We have constructed quarters for the Superintendent of Freedmen and an office for the same; a storeroom for commissary department and another for agricultural implements, and a forage house and quarters and an office for the Surgeon. (Official Report.)******

Moreover, Nichols' teams removed wood poles from abandoned campsites at nearby Minor's Hill for use in constructing contraband housing. As to these various projects, Nichols concluded that the "work has been well done, and has a respectable show as regards amount, and the promise of ample remuneration is cheering." (Official Report.)

Nichols concluded with a few recommendations. He wanted all the contraband women and children to stay at Camps Springdale and Todd, under the protection Fort Albany's guns. The men could work on the other farms, return on Saturday evening, and leave for work again on Monday morning. Aside from the added security, Nichols also felt that the arrangement "would place [the contrabands] more immediately under the eye of the superintendent of them, and thus take away the necessity of having any assistant on each of these farms except that of the farmer." (Official Report.)

Nichols asked that the commander of the Department of Washington grant him "the power to perform the marriage ceremony among [the contrabands]." (Official Report.) He also requested that "a military commission (or a commission) be appointed, consisting of the military commander of the post, and the superintendent of the freedmen and the surgeon in charge, who shall hear causes of complaint made by [the contrabands] in relation to want of fidelity of parties to the marriage contract, and determine the facts and the penalty of every violation of the same." (Official Report.) Nichols noted that similar orders had already been instituted in the Department of South Carolina.

One hundred and fifty years ago the Federal government launched a social and economic revolution of sorts on the soil of the Old Dominion. The very notion of seizing the property of individuals who supported a government based on the preservation of slavery and turning that same land over to use by former slaves represented a radical step towards sealing the fate of the peculiar institution. The contraband farms "would eventually have nearly 1,300 acres under cultivation." (Berlin et al. 254.) Controversy and scandal also lie ahead. But in mid-July 1863, Greene and Nichols were just getting started. I hope you'll join me over the upcoming weeks and months as I return to the story of Northern Virginia's contraband camps.

Notes

*The founding of Camp Springdale pre-dated the official order authorizing the camps that was issued by Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman, commander of the Department of Washington, on May 22. The War Department, however, had approved Greene's plan on May 14. (Berlin et al. 299.) At this time, I am unsure of the origins of Camp Springdale's name.

**Camp Rucker was likely named after Gen. Daniel Henry Rucker, Chief Quartermaster of the Washington Depot. The Washington Depot was a major Union supply center for troops operating in the Eastern Theater of the war.

***Camp Wadsworth was the probable namesake of Gen. James Wadsworth, head of the Military District of Washington from March to September 1862.

****Fort Albany was situated north of Alexandria near the Long Bridge (generally the site of today's 14th Street Bridges). I have not yet discovered the provenance of the Camp Todd's name.

*****Camp Beckwith was likely named after Col. Amos Beckwith, the Chief Commissary of Subsistence of the Washington Depot.

******The exact location of these structures is uncertain from the information provided in the report. Given that Nichols subsequently worked at Freedman's Village, these buildings were likely erected on the Lee's estate.

Up Next

In a future post, I will pinpoint the location of Camps Wadsworth and Beckwith in the McLean, Virginia area and take a look at the individuals whose properties were seized by the government for use as contraband farms.

Sources

Alexandria Gazette, Aug. 5, 1863; "Amos Beckwith," Find a Grave; Ira Berlin et al., Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861-1867, Selected from the Holdings of the National Archives of the United States, Series I, Volume II, The Wartime Genesis of Free Labor: The Upper South (1993); John H. Eicher & David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands (2001); Allen C. Guelzo, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America (2004); Robert Harrison, Washington During Civil War and Reconstruction: Race and Radicalism (2011); National Park Service, "Freedman's Village," Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial (website); Clayton R. Newell & Charles R. Shrader, Of Duty Well and Faithfully Done: A History of the Regular Army in the Civil War (2011); D.B. Nichols, Official Report on Superintendent Nichols Freedman's Department, South Potomac, Quartermaster for the Department of Washington, July 10, 1863, in New York Times, Aug. 9, 1863 ("Official Report"); James Grant Wilson & John Fiske (eds.), "Amos Beckwith," Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, Vol. 1 (1888).

Contraband Camps Established in Northern Virginia: May-June 1863, Part I

A few months ago when researching events that transpired in the McLean area during 1863, I came across various references to "contraband camps." After some additional digging, I discovered that the Union military established camps for fugitive slaves on land in Northern Virginia at the end of May and start of June 1863. Unlike the Freedman's Village on Robert E. Lee's Arlington Estate, these contraband camps have attracted little attention in accounts of local Civil War history. In today's post I begin an exploration of the contraband camps of Northern Virginia. My research has just started, and I hope to tell more of this compelling story in the months ahead.

As the Civil War progressed, thousands of slaves fled to the nation's capital from surrounding states in search of freedom and opportunity. The abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia in April 1862 led to an even greater migration of slaves to Washington City. The problems of caring for these contrabands mounted as their numbers grew. Northern aid and religious societies provided material donations of necessities like clothing and sent teachers to educate the former slaves, but the chief responsibility for the contrabands rested with the Federal Government.

James Wadsworth, the military governor of Washington, soon recruited help from the outside. In June 1862 he named the Rev. Danforth B. Nichols as the Superintendent of Freedmen.  Nichols was a Methodist minister and member of the American Missionary Association, a society dedicated to abolition, racial equality, the education of blacks, and the spread of Christian values. (NPS, Theodore Roosevelt Island, fn121.) In his new role, Nichols oversaw the distribution of food, blankets, and clothing to ex-slaves; placed them in jobs throughout the city; and handled issues related to contraband housing.

Gen. James S. Wadsworth, commander of the Military District of Washington from March 1862 to September 1862 (courtesy of ExplorePAHistory.com).  Wadsworth faced the challenge of dealing with an influx of contrabands during his time in the nation's capital.

Many contrabands were housed in tenement dwellings along Duff Green's Row on Capitol Hill. In July 1862 smallpox erupted among the contrabands there, and the authorities feared the spread of the deadly disease. Nichols removed the contrabands to abandoned barracks at a more remote location, far from the populated areas of the capital. (The camp sat at 12th and Vermont Avenue, N.W., near today's Logan Circle). Called Camp Barker, this new settlement "became the center of the government's effort to provide relief and employment for former slaves in the District of Columbia," but before long, difficulties also plagued Camp Barker. (Berlin et al. 247.) The contraband population continued to grow, and conditions deteriorated. Diseases like scarlet fever, whooping cough, and measles spread in the overcrowded barracks and killed many of the former slaves. Nichols also worried that the close quarters at Camp Barker were contributing to promiscuity and immorality.

View of Camp Barker (courtesy of Civil War Trust).

The government clearly faced a daunting task as the third year of the war got underway. Lt. Col. Elias Greene, the Chief Quartermaster for the Department of Washington, hatched a plan. In early May 1863, he wrote to Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman, commander of the Department. Greene viewed the population of dependent contrabands as a "dead weight on the Government." (Berlin et al. 298.) The Chief Quartermaster reminded Heitzelman that lands abandoned by "rebel owners" in Virginia were "now lying idle." (in Berlin et al. 298.) He observed:

On quite a number of these farms the houses are left standing--of these, there are enough to provide quarters for, from 500 to 750 field hands, with a very small outlay for additions and improvements. (in Berlin et al. 298.)

The Chief Quartermaster suggested:

The force of contrabands, males and females, now idle in this City. . . can be employed to very great advantage in cultivating the above lands, raising corn and millet, cutting Hay . . . for this Department. (in Berlin et al. 298.)

Greene felt that there would be "a decided advantage afforded to [the contrabands] of the salutary effects of good pure country air." (in Berlin et al. 298.) Moreover "a return to their previous healthy avocations as 'field hands' under much happier auspices than heretofore, . . . must prove beneficial to them, and will tend to prevent the increase of diseases now prevalent among them." (in Berlin et al. 298.)

Greene concluded:

The arrangement I propose will not only in my opinion conduce to the sanitary and moral improvements of the contrabands, but will save the Govt an immense amount of money. (in Berlin 298.)

Greene recommended that Nichols, who agreed with the plan, remain as Superintendent. The Chief Quartermaster also asked for a response to his proposal within 48 hours so that farming could start before the imminent end of the planting season.

Heintzelman approved Greene's plan, and Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs added his endorsement. On May 14, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton agreed to the proposed system of contraband camps in Virginia, and a week later, Heintzelman formally issued orders authorizing Greene to execute his plan by relocating dependent contrabands to abandoned secessionist lands in Virginia. (General Orders No. 28, May 22, 1863.) The social experiment across the Potomac would begin in earnest.

Up Next: Nichols establishes five camps throughout Arlington and Fairfax.

Sources
Ira Berlin et al., Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861-1867, Selected from the Holdings of the National Archives of the United States, Series I, Volume II, The Wartime Genesis of Free Labor: The Upper South (1993); John H. Eicher & David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands (2001); Allen C. Guelzo, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America (2004); Robert Harrison, Washington During Civil War and Reconstruction: Race and Radicalism (2011); National Park Service, "Freedman's Village," Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial (website); National Park Service, Historic American Landscapes Survey: Theodore Roosevelt Island.