The full content of this document is only available to subscribing institutions. More information can be found via www.amdigital.co.uk
If you believe you should have access to this document, click here to Login.
| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC05039 |
| From Archive Folder | Unassociated Civil War Documents 1862 |
| Title | Rufus King to Edwin M. Stanton regarding reports from a contraband |
| Date | 26 June 1862 |
| Author | King, Rufus (1814-1876) |
| Recipient | Stanton, Edwin McMasters |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Writes from "Opposite Fredericksburg." Written by Brigadier General King as commander of a division under General Irving McDowell to Secretary of War Stanton. Says "A contraband has just arrived here, who left Louisa Court House, 35 miles, from this point, at Sundown, Today." The contraband reported that [General Robert S.] Ewell's and [General Stonewall] Jackson's Confederate troops, numbering 40-50,000, passed Louisa Court House on their way to Richmond, Virginia last Friday through Monday. They were leaving the mountains, except for some cavalry troops, and looked worn out. Says "His own master was among them and got home Sunday night." The contraband said he left because "now that the Southern troops had fallen back, the people expected the Yankees to follow and were hurrying off all The young and able-bodied Negroes further South." Some doodles in pencil on verso; one is of a building. On headquarters letterhead, with a jagged right side. Includes a paper frame that was probably used as matting. 1 bust engraving of King included. |
| Subjects | Civil War Military History Union General Union Forces Confederate General or Leader Confederate States of America African American History Contrabands Slavery Refugees |
| People | King, Rufus (1817-1891) Stanton, E. M. (Edwin McMasters) (1814-1869) Ewell, Richard S. (1817-1872) Jackson, Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" (1824-1863) Jackson, Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" (1824-1863) |
| Place written | Fredericksburg, Virginia |
| Theme | The American Civil War; African Americans; Slavery & Abolition |
| Sub-collection | Papers and Images of the American Civil War |
| Additional Information | General King was the grandson of Constitution signer and Federalist U.S. Senator Rufus King of New York. In August 1862, King would become disgraced for his actions at the battle of Second Bull Run. He was accused of drunkenness, while he more than likely suffered from an epileptic seizure. He would go on to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Papal States and was involved in the capture of one of the conspirators in the Lincoln assassination and attack on Secretary of State William H. Seward. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |
| Transcript | Show/hide |