Case 2 of Under the Shield: The Federal Occupation of the Historic Triangle
Shown here is an image of Case 2 of the "Under the Shield: The Federal Occupation of the Historic Triangle" Exhibit located in the Marshall Gallery (1st Floor Rotunda) of Swem Library at the College of William & Mary, on display from February 7th 2013 to August 13th 2013 The following is a transcription of the labels in this case: Edward R. Yoder, Freedman’s Store, Yorktown, Va. to E. J. Ransom, 25 October 1864 Yoder, possibly a Quaker teacher, described a school in Yorktown, Va. for contraband (freed blacks). He mentioned helping to raise a bell into the school house that once belonged to a Yorktown church. This may have been Grace Episcopal Church whose bell was taken to Philadelphia and later returned to the congregation. Slabtown: the African-American Presence at Yorktown As soon as Yorktown (which became known as Fort Yorktown) was abandoned by Confederate forces on May 4, 1862 and occupied by Federal troops, slaves began coming into the Union lines. Although the Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect in January of 1863, did not free slaves in occupied areas such as Yorktown, blacks, referred to as contraband of war or simply contrabands, continued to flock there. In the fall of 1863, United States Colored Troops (U. S. C. T.) arrived. After Isaac Wister took command, he ordered quarters for blacks built three-quarters of a mile from Fort Yorktown. Three communities were set up: Slabtown, Acretown (now Lackey) and Slab Richmond at Gloucester Point. Shiloh Baptist Church in Lackey was founded by contrabands in 1863 and is still active today. The Quakers (Friends Freedmen Relief Association) sent supplies, tools and teachers. They also opened stores. The National Cemetery in Yorktown where the remains of U.S.C.T. soldiers are interred, is located near Slabtown. The National Park Service maintains a permanent exhibit relating to the contraband settlement in a building near the cemetery. Grace Episcopal Church Grace Episcopal Church was built in 1697 and burned in 1814. Rebuilt in 1848, it suffered damage during the Civil War. The church with the original marl walls still stands in Yorktown today. The church bell (1725) was removed, and perhaps placed in a schoolhouse where contrabands were taught. It later made its way to Philadelphia, was recast in 1882, and then returned to the church. Yorktown Artifacts Eagle breastplate, eagle uniform button and shoulder scales (a type of epaulet), all found at Yorktown. The breastplate was supposed to cover a soldier’s heart and was worn on the strap of an ammunition box that would cover the chest. The eagle insignia was indicative of the style issued to Union forces. Cavalier (Newspaper), 12 May 1863 Newspaper published by Union troops first at Williamsburg and later at Yorktown during the occupation of the historic triangle. It was printed on the press of the Weekly Gazette and Eastern Virginia Advertiser Weekly Review. The letter of John A. Dix to Henry A. Wise was not only printed in the Cavalier, but also received wide circulation in Northern papers. Business is Booming in Yorktown The federal occupation of the port town led to small businesses springing up to serve the troops. Advertisements were published in the Cavalier, a paper printed by the troops. John Jacob Astor Telegram, 4 May 1862 John Jacob Astor served as aide-de-camp to Gen. George McClellan. Immensely wealthy, he moved to England after the war. In this telegram from Yorktown, he signaled that the rebel army had evacuated Yorktown, leaving eighty cannons behind. This evacuation would pave the way for the occupation of the town, made famous by Cornwallis’s surrender in 1781. Aerial View of Jamestown, 1998 While there was no engagement at Jamestown, it was considered a strategic defense point on the James River and, after Confederate forces abandoned it, it was occupied for the remainder of the war by Union troops. But for a brief time, no military presence was there and in late summer or early autumn of 1862, the Ambler House at Jamestown was burned by former slaves. The ruins are still visible today. Murder at Jamestown, October 1862 Jacob Morton Shriver, the uncle of Mrs. William Allen (wife of the owner of Jamestown Island) and two blacks, Littleton (slave) and Gilbert Wooten (free black) went to Jamestown along with Joseph A. Graves and his nephew George Graves (child). Seven armed slaves (formerly owned by Allen) first captured Wooten and later the rest of Wooten’s party. A crowd of about 100 blacks gathered. Joseph Graves, George Graves, Shriver, and Wooten were shot. Wooten, though shot three times, escaped, but the others were killed. Federal Troops Occupying Jamestown 1st New York Mounted Rifles 1st U. S. Colored Cavalry 1st New York Mounted Rifles 85th Pennsylvania Infantry 76th Pennsylvania Infantry 100th Pennsylvania Infantry 16th New York Heavy Artillery 20th New York Cavalry From the Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William and Mary. See swem.wm.edu/research/special-collections for further information and assistance.