Grouping of five (5) abolitionist and patriotic covers featuring contrabands. Each approx. 5 1/4 in. x 3 1/8 in. Light mount remnants on verso. 

1. Untitled cover showing an overseer whipping a man in chains. N.p., n.d.

2. "Contraband, or Jeff on Cotton," Philadelphia: J. Magee. N.d. 

3. "Contraband barricade. Come and get your property," New York: New York Union Envelope Depot. N.d.

4. "One of the F.F.V.'s [First Families of Virginia] after his Contraband," New York: D. Murphy's Son, Print. N.d.

5. Untitled cover showcasing a uniformed soldier and sailor in facing vignettes. N.p., n.d.

Major General Benjamin Butler issued his famous "contraband" decision or "Fort Monroe Doctrine," declaring that enslaved men reaching Union lines would be considered "contraband of war" and not returned to slavery. Before this, the Union typically enforced the Fugitive Slave Act, returning escaped slaves to their previous owners. Butler's order led thousands to seek refuge at Fort Monroe, later dubbed "Freedom's Fortress." Many "contrabands" worked for the Union Army as cooks, wagon drivers, and laborers until the formation of the United States Colored Troops in January 1863. 

[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [African Americana, African American History, Black History, Slavery, Enslavement, Abolition, Emancipation]  [Manuscripts, Documents, Letters, Ephemera, Signatures, Autographs] [Postal History, Covers, Philately] [USCT, United States  Colored Troops, Black Soldiers]