Deed of Manumission and Release of Service. Partly printed document completed in manuscript. Signed by George M. Watkins and C.M. Lansdale. Montgomery County, Maryland, 12 November 1864. 1 page, 4to. Docketed to verso. 

An extremely rare document recording the manumission of Helery Herbert (alt. Hilery, Wesley Herbert), backdated to the time of his enlistment on 31 March 1864 as a private into Company H of the 30th United States Colored Troops (USCT). 

The document reads in full: "Whereas my slave Helery Herbert has listed in the service of the United States: now in consideration thereof, I  G.M. Watkins, of Montgomery county, State of Maryland, do hereby, in consideration of said enlistment, manumit, set free, and release the above-named Helery Herbert from all service due me; his freedom to commence from the thirty-first day of March, the date of his enlistment as aforesaid in the thirtieth Regiment of Colored Troops in the service of the United States."

Watkins likely provided the manumission in order to secure compensation from the government. The Emancipation Proclamation did not cover Maryland and other slave-holding states which remained in the Union. Interestingly, an earlier document from 17 April 1863 records his request to recapture four individuals he enslaved  (John, Sarah, Richard, and Charity Edwards) under the Fugitive Slave Law. The document notes that the family "absconded from [his] possession, without...knowledge or consent and against his will, and fled to this District, where he has reason to believe, and does believe they now are fugitives and he prays process under the Fugitive Slave Law." 

The 30th USCT was a hard-fought unit which saw significant action, especially for a USCT regiment. In May and June, 1864, they guarded trains for the Army of the Potomac through the Wilderness and onto Petersburg, where they joined the Siege. Initially, they were used to dig rifle pits and build bomb proofs. During the disastrous Battle of the Crater, they fought with distinction. 

At the end of 1864, they joined Butler's bungled attempt to capture Fort Fisher, then participated in General Terry's much more successful campaign against the same target. They fought in several smaller engagements before joining Sherman's Army in the Carolinas Campaign, advancing on Raleigh, and witnessing Johnston's surrender on April 26th. Herbert fought for the entirety of the 30th's campaign, remaining on duty until he was mustered out on 10 December 1865.

An important USCT document. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation]  [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs] [USCT, United States Colored Troops, Glory, 54th Massachusetts, Buffalo Soldiers, Black Soldiers] 

Chipping, short separations along old folds.