Slave Payroll 4994
4/1864
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This payroll lists enslaved men, women, and children who were put to work mining at the Ashley Ferry Nitro Works in South Carolina.
During the Civil War, the Confederate Army required owners to loan their slaves to the military. From Virginia to Florida, enslaved workers were forced to dig trenches and work at ordnance factories and arsenals, mine potassium nitrate to create gunpowder, or shore up forts for the war effort. The income earned from this work would go to the slave owner, not the enslaved person who performed the labor.
The Confederate Quartermaster Department created payrolls like this one for slave labor on Confederate military defenses. The rolls show the period covered, the entity or person that employed the slaves working for the Confederacy, the place of service, the name of owner, the name and occupation of the hired enslaved person, the time employed, rate of wages, amount paid, and the signature of the person receiving the money (usually the owner or an attorney).
During the Civil War, the Confederate Army required owners to loan their slaves to the military. From Virginia to Florida, enslaved workers were forced to dig trenches and work at ordnance factories and arsenals, mine potassium nitrate to create gunpowder, or shore up forts for the war effort. The income earned from this work would go to the slave owner, not the enslaved person who performed the labor.
The Confederate Quartermaster Department created payrolls like this one for slave labor on Confederate military defenses. The rolls show the period covered, the entity or person that employed the slaves working for the Confederacy, the place of service, the name of owner, the name and occupation of the hired enslaved person, the time employed, rate of wages, amount paid, and the signature of the person receiving the money (usually the owner or an attorney).
This primary source comes from the War Department Collection of Confederate Records.
National Archives Identifier: 121637367
Full Citation: Slave Payroll 4994; 4/1864; Confederate Slave Payrolls, 1874 - 1899; War Department Collection of Confederate Records, Record Group 109; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/slave-payroll-4994, April 27, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.