CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
From the beginning of the Civil War, the Confederate government attempted to requisition needed goods and services from private citizens. In March 1863, the Confederate Congress passed an Impressment Act that allowed them to requisition crops, livestock, and other property—including enslaved people—needed for the war effort. Enslaved men generally worked as laborers on fortifications, often around Richmond, but they also worked as teamsters, gravediggers, carpenters, blacksmiths, tanners, and mechanics, generally for a period of two to three months. The Confederate army also regularly impressed free Black men to serve in the same capacities as enslaved workers. The impressed men faced sickness, disability, and death as they labored for a government that sought to retain slavery as the law of the land. Some enslaved men were able to use their impressment as an opportunity to escape to Union lines.
Even before the Confederate legislation, Virginia's General Assembly passed "An Act to Further Provide for the Public Defence" in October 1862. It authorized the impressment of "male slaves between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years" at the request of the Confederate president to work on fortifications and other defenses for up to sixty days. According to the act, the Confederate government was to pay the owners of the men $16 per month with additional compensation if the enslaved man was injured, killed, seized by the U.S. army, or escaped during their service.
Government requisitions of crops, supplies, and labor was unpopular. Agricultural producers believed that prices for their goods were set too low, if they were paid at all. Many enslavers needed laborers to harvest crops, and others challenged the right of the government to seize their property. To some, it appeared hypocritical that a government founded on slaveholder rights would requisition these men from their enslavers.
This order for enslaved laborers by Virginia's governor was printed in the Abingdon Virginian in February 1863. It lists every slaveholder in the county, as well as how many enslaved people they were to provide to the Confederacy. The law required that no more than 5% of a city or county's population of enslaved people could be impressed and that the total number be apportioned among the locality's owners of slaves. Slaveholders who did not deliver their required number of enslaved people to the designated meeting location risked having the sheriff "seize all slaves not so delivered” for up to ninety days.
Citation: Abingdon Virginian, February 20, 1863, pg 3, Library of Virginia.
Read the 1862 act in the Acts Passed at the General Assembly of the State of Virginia Passed at Called Session 1862 (1863).
See an 1861 pay roll for impressed slaves in Virginia at Union or Secession: Virginians Decide.
For additional information, see the Confederate Impressment during the Civil War entry at Encyclopedia Virginia.
Even before the Confederate legislation, Virginia's General Assembly passed "An Act to Further Provide for the Public Defence" in October 1862. It authorized the impressment of "male slaves between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years" at the request of the Confederate president to work on fortifications and other defenses for up to sixty days. According to the act, the Confederate government was to pay the owners of the men $16 per month with additional compensation if the enslaved man was injured, killed, seized by the U.S. army, or escaped during their service.
Government requisitions of crops, supplies, and labor was unpopular. Agricultural producers believed that prices for their goods were set too low, if they were paid at all. Many enslavers needed laborers to harvest crops, and others challenged the right of the government to seize their property. To some, it appeared hypocritical that a government founded on slaveholder rights would requisition these men from their enslavers.
This order for enslaved laborers by Virginia's governor was printed in the Abingdon Virginian in February 1863. It lists every slaveholder in the county, as well as how many enslaved people they were to provide to the Confederacy. The law required that no more than 5% of a city or county's population of enslaved people could be impressed and that the total number be apportioned among the locality's owners of slaves. Slaveholders who did not deliver their required number of enslaved people to the designated meeting location risked having the sheriff "seize all slaves not so delivered” for up to ninety days.
Citation: Abingdon Virginian, February 20, 1863, pg 3, Library of Virginia.
Read the 1862 act in the Acts Passed at the General Assembly of the State of Virginia Passed at Called Session 1862 (1863).
See an 1861 pay roll for impressed slaves in Virginia at Union or Secession: Virginians Decide.
For additional information, see the Confederate Impressment during the Civil War entry at Encyclopedia Virginia.
Standards
VS.1, VS.7, USI.1, USI.9, VUS.1, VUS.7, GOVT.1, GOVT.15
Suggested Questions
Preview Activity
Analyze: Look at the list of enslavers. Based on this list, who are the largest slaveholders in Washington County? How do you know? Does anything surprise you about this list of enslavers? Why or why not?
Post Activities
STEM Stat/Analyze: According to the 1860 census, Washington County had a total population of 16,891, including white people, free people of color, and enslaved people. The Confederate government announced that it would requisition no more than 5% of a county’s total enslaved population. What do the numbers on this list tell you about the enslaved population of Washington County in 1863? What does the list tell you about the local economy? Make a graph or pie chart depicting your findings.
Another Perspective: In addition to the enslaved men and their enslavers directly affected by this act, other Washington County residents probably reacted to this requision. For example, how do you think the families of the enslaved men felt when they heard their loved one would be sent away with less than a week’s notice? What new responsibilities might they have in the men’s absence? Choose one group and write a journal entry from their perspective. Explain their opinion on the impressment of enslaved laborers and why they feel this way.
Dig Deeper: Go to this page of the Abingdon Virginian on Virginia Chronicle. Read some of the other notices around the requisition order. What can you infer about the war effort in this community at this time? Why? Give two examples. How would you do more research to determine whether your conclusion is correct?
Analyze: Look at the list of enslavers. Based on this list, who are the largest slaveholders in Washington County? How do you know? Does anything surprise you about this list of enslavers? Why or why not?
Post Activities
STEM Stat/Analyze: According to the 1860 census, Washington County had a total population of 16,891, including white people, free people of color, and enslaved people. The Confederate government announced that it would requisition no more than 5% of a county’s total enslaved population. What do the numbers on this list tell you about the enslaved population of Washington County in 1863? What does the list tell you about the local economy? Make a graph or pie chart depicting your findings.
Another Perspective: In addition to the enslaved men and their enslavers directly affected by this act, other Washington County residents probably reacted to this requision. For example, how do you think the families of the enslaved men felt when they heard their loved one would be sent away with less than a week’s notice? What new responsibilities might they have in the men’s absence? Choose one group and write a journal entry from their perspective. Explain their opinion on the impressment of enslaved laborers and why they feel this way.
Dig Deeper: Go to this page of the Abingdon Virginian on Virginia Chronicle. Read some of the other notices around the requisition order. What can you infer about the war effort in this community at this time? Why? Give two examples. How would you do more research to determine whether your conclusion is correct?