Civil War and Slavery

Before the war, in Augusta County, there was a Free Black Registry. In Staunton, a major city in the county there were 193 registered free blacks. In the county as a whole there were 523 registered free blacks. The free black population in Augusta declined in the 1850s as a percentage of the total population, just as it did in the Upper South and Virginia . This poses major problems for these people. Having to register as a matter of public record is troublesome because it gives the establishment a power over an individual in a way that is comparable to the Jewish people that had to wear the Stars of David during World War II. In an article written in The Vindicator in 1861 there were "a number of free African-Americans living in Staunton who are unregistered and have no business in town, according to the Vindicator. The paper urges the authorities to notify the free blacks to leave or suffer the legal consequences." This was a typical response to any African American that, by law, the public could get at. Obviously in the slave driven South there was a taboo on the mixing of the races by marriage. Before the war it was typically against the law. In another article written by The Vindicator , a black man, John Sophia, eloped with a white woman, Amelia Pinley. This article was in a negative tone and was typical of the reaction to such an event. The pre-war existence of free-blacks in Augusta County was not a pleasant one for the most part. This, however, did not mean this treatment was exclusive to their version of southern hospitality.
In Franklin County, which was in the North, there was not slavery. When people learn about the Civil War for the first time, they think that the North was very sensitive to the African-American cause and while this was true to an extent in that it was far better than the South, there were still very deep prejudices existing in the northern states. Franklin County indeed had its share of problems with the "negro" community. With the deep rooted animosity and treachery that existed between the black and white races, there are going to be unavoidable troubles even in the towns and states where slavery did not exist. In Chambersburg, a main town in Franklin County, according to the Valley Spirit , there was a "colored man" that was lynched by white soldiers for no apparent reason. This is an example of the shameful behavior that existed in both divisions of the country long before it went to war over slavery.
During the war on both sides of Maryland there were some incidents that should not go unmentioned. Before the North officially made the Civil War a war on slavery, runaway slaves were to be returned to their masters and were frequently called contraband. There were several articles to the affect of contraband being found or offerings of rewards for the return of their contraband. Aside from the runaway slave debate there were festering wounds that were being picked at in both counties. Thaddeus Stevens was debating the "negro soldier bill" in Congress. An article in the Valley Spirit stated that, "Mr. Wadsworth of Kentucky argues that the aim of the bill was to entrench blacks in the cotton states who would then be able to exterminate or drive out the whites. Wright of Pennsylvania thought that if things were so bad that the Union needed blacks to help, than things were too far gone that the blacks would be of any use. He added that the solution to the military problems was to put McClellan at the head of the army." This article illustrates the continued belief in the inferiority of the African-American person. Another illustration in Franklin County occurs when a black serviceman returns home. According to the Valley Spirit , Nip Scott, an African American man, returns home from duty from the 77th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers and was accused of being a coward in battle. Finally in Augusta County, The Spectator runs an article harshly criticizing President Lincoln's decision to invoke the Emancipation Proclamation. One spirited remark from the article read, "The devil triumphed, and Lincoln issued the proclamation which has 'crowned the pyramid of his infamies with an atrocity abhorred of men, and at which demons might shudder." The Civil War was in full wrecking ball mode on both of the counties especially when it came to race relations.
After the war was over and Reconstruction had begun there was a nervousness that was rising in the North and one of latent hostility bubbling up to the surface in the South. There is first what Franklin County was enduring now that the Civil War was over. Blacks had been "free" in that territory for a while however there still was an air of superiority from whites toward the black population. However, there were the Civil War Amendments on the horizon and sure to be new laws stemming from them. This did not make for any easier a transition than it did in the southern states. An incident reported by the Franklin Repository states that, "A conductor on one of the passenger railways in Philadelphia will be the first person to face charges for refusing to pick up a black passenger, as called for by recently enacted legislation. The suit was brought by Caroline R. Lacount, "a teacher in colored school," who alleges that the conductor saw her, but paid no attention to her efforts to hail the car. Should the claimant win in the case, the railway company would be liable to pay a penalty of up to $500. For his role, the conductor could be fined no less than $100 and no more than $500, and imprisoned no less than thirty days and no more three months." This event illustrates the newness and the difficulty with which even the non slaveholding states had with the freeing of the slaves or African-Americans in general.
As compared to their northern counterparts, the people in Augusta, Virginia had a more significant problem meshing with their newly freed co-citizens. The editor of the Staunton Spectator ,"argues that "the effects of negro suffrage" would be felt not only in the South, but also among "the white laboring men of the North." With the "Southern States" now powerless to resist, it remained for the "conservatism of the North" to determine "whether Abolitionism shall further dictate to the country this humiliation of the white man." Sadly this sentiment littered the minds and judgments of the people of the county. The Valley Virginian also then, "reported a 'disgraceful' incident in which an African American man put his arms around a white woman after winning a tournament." These kinds of everyday occurrences were frequently blown out of proportion and written about daily. The insecurity of this part of the population far exceeded their ability to adapt to the new parameters given them.
There were also, as there frequently is when dealing with human beings, exceptions to the callousness heaped upon the African-American people of the day. The Spectator wrote in 1863 that, "Praises a black man by the name of Henry Jones [property of Mr. E. Cannon of Clarksville, Virginia] who sent a letter containing $465 in gold specie to the Confederate Treasury Department to aid the war effort. Jones's letter reportedly speaks of "our glorious cause" and claims that the slaves of the South have a greater interest in the success of the war than the white population, since he is convinced that "if the Yankees are successful the negroes are destined to the most cruel treatment at their hands." However empty this act of dignity bestowed upon this man is because of his support of the Confederacy, it is a tiny light in a dark cavern when the alternative is complete and utter oppression.
African-Americans, no matter where they resided in the era of the Civil War, were not treated well and had to endure many hardships whether in the North or South. Through all of the research done on this topic there were very surprising acts of meanness exhibited upon blacks by their fellow citizens. One who knows about the Civil War and slavery knows of the dirty nature of the beast, however to read actual primary sources so close to home as local newspapers, brings it into new light. African-American people throughout American history have endured many hardships to bring themselves where they are today. However looking closely on these two communities, no more than 200 miles apart and on opposite sides of the fight, there is significance that can be gained here than looking anywhere else in the Union or Confederacy. Just as in Manitowoc and Shelton Laurel, these unique communities sometimes banded together and other times shattered into pieces caused by the tragic circumstances of the Civil War.

http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/maps/augusta/augustaslavery1.html - Augusta County: Residences with Slavery, 1860 (Map Provided; Appendix A)

http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/govdoc/free.html - Valley of the Shadow Free Black Registry.

http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/tablesandstats/augusta/freeblackpop.html - Augusta County: Free Black Population Percentages, 1820-1860. (Graph Provided; Appendix B)

"Free Negroes," The Vindicator (Augusta, VA), January 11, 1861.
"More Amalgamation," The Vindicator (Augusta, VA), April 16, 1859.
"Horrible Occurrence," Valley Spirit (Franklin, PA), June 5, 1861.
"The Negro Soldier Bill," Valley Spirit (Franklin, PA), February 11, 1863.
"From the Wars," Valley Spirit (Franklin, PA), May, 21, 1862.
"Lincoln's Fiendish Proclamation," The Spectator (Augusta, VA), October 7, 1862
"The First Case," Franklin Repository (Franklin, PA), April 3, 1867.
"Negro Suffrage," Staunton Spectator (Augusta, VA), November 7, 1865.
"Disgraceful," Valley Virginian (Augusta, VA), June 19, 1867.
"Patriotism of a Colored Man," The Spectator (Augusta, VA), August 18, 1863.