THE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL,
F 
1'' -77
I B3
R E PPORT
OF
E. L.' PIERCE, GOVERNMENT AGENT,
TO THE
HON. SALMON P. CHASE,
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
- BOSTON:
PUBLISIIED BY R. F. WALLCUT,
No. 221 WASHINGTON STREET.
1862.
,, a-*
~~
I.  
4* 
REPORT.
PORT ROYAL, February 3, 1862.
To THE HIION. SALMON P. CHASE,
Secretary of the Treasury:
D)EAR SIR,-'My first communication to you was mailed
on the third day after my arrival. The same day, I mailed
two letters to benevolent persons in Boston, mentioned in my
previous communications to you, asking for contributions of
clothing, and for a teacher or missionary to be sent, to be
supported by the charity of those interested in the movement,
to both of which favorable answers have been received. The
same day, I commenced a tour of the largest islands, and
ever since have been diligently engaged in anxious examinations of the modes of culture- the amount and proportions
of the products -  the labor required for them-the life and
disposition of the laborers upon them- their estimated numbers-the treatment they have received from their former
masters, both as to the labor required of them, the provisions
and clothing allowed to them, and the discipline imposedtheir habits, capacities, and desires, with special reference to
their being fitted for useful citizenship-and generally whatever concerned the well-being, present and future, of the territory and its people. Visits have also been made to the
communities collected at Hilton Head and Beaufort, and conferences held with the authorities, both naval and military,
and other benevolent persons interested in the welfare of these
people, and the wise and speedy reorganization of society
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THE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
here. No one can be impressed more than myself with the
uncertainty of conclusions drawn fromin experiences and reflections gathered in so brief a period, however industriously
and wisely occupied. Nevertheless, they may be of some
service to those who have not been privileged with an equal
opportunity.
Of the plantations visited, full notes have been taken of
seventeen, with reference to number of negroes in all; of
field hands; amount of cotton and corn raised, and how much
per acre; time and mode of producing and distributing manure; listing, planting, cultivating, picking and ginning cotton; labor required of each hand; allowance of food and
clothing; the capacities of the laborers; their wishes and
feelings, both as to themselves and their masters.   Many of
the above points could be determined by other sources, such
as persons at the North familiar with the region, and publications. The inquiries were, however, made with the double
purpose of acquiring the information and testing the capacity
of the persons inquired of. Some of the leading results of
the examination will now be submitted.
An estimate of the number of plantations open to cultivation, and of the persons upon the territory protected by the
forces of the United States, if only approximate to the truth,
may prove convenient in providing a proper system of administration. The following islands are thus protected, and
the estimated number of plantations upon each is given: -
..  65  St. Helena,..
~.30   Hilton Head,...
inorse,.   6   Pinckney,
I.1    Bull, including Barratria,
1.   I  Daufuskie,..
4a  Hutchinson and Fenwick,
n     2
a   2
Or about two hundred in all.
Port Royal,~
Ladies',.
Parry, including E
Cat,
Cane,
Dathaw,
Coosaw, ~
Morgan,
There are several other islands thus protected, without
plantations, as Otter, Pritchard, Fripp, Hunting and Phillips.
Lemon and Daw have not been explored by the agents engaged in collecting cotton.
The populous island of North Edisto, lying in the direction of Charleston, and giving the name to the finest cotton, is
4
. 50
16
. 5
2
. 5
6
195 
REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
still visited by the rebels. A part near Botany Bay Island is
commanded by the guns of one of our war vessels, under which
a colony of one thousand negroes sought protection, where they
have been temporarily subsisted from its stores. The number has within a few days been stated to have increased to
2300. Among these, great destitution is said to prevail.
Even to this number, as the negroes acquire confidence in us,
large additions are likely every week to be made. The whole
island can be safely farmed as soon as troops can be spared
for the purpose of occupation.  But not counting the plantations of this island, the number on Port Royal, Ladies', St.
Helena, Hilton Head, and the smaller islands, may be estimated at 200 plantations.
In visiting the plantations, I endeavored to ascertain with
substantial accuracy the number of persons upon them, with:
out, however, expecting to determine the precise number.
On that of Thomas Aston Coffin, at Coffin Point, St. Helena,
there were 260, the largest found on any one visited. There
were 130 on that of Dr. J. W. Jenkins, 120 on that of the
Eustis estate, and the others range from 80 to 38, making an
average of 81 to a plantation. These, however, may be
ranked among the best peopled plantations, and forty to each
may be considered a fair average. From these estimates, a
population of 8000 negroes on the islands, now safely protected by our forces, results.
Of the 600 at the camp at Hilton Head, about one-half
should be counted with the aforesaid plantations whence they
have come. Of the 600 at Beaufort, one.-third should also
be reckoned with the plantations. The other fraction in each
case should be added to the 8000 in computing the popula tion now thrown on our protection.
The negroes on Ladies' and St. Helena Islands have quite
generally remained on their respective plantations, or if absent, but temporarily, visiting wives or relatives. The dispersion on Port Royal and Hilton Head Islands has beenrr far
greater, the people of the former going to Beaufort in con siderable numbers, and of the latter to the camp at Hilton
Head.
Counting the negroes who have gone to Hilton Head and
Beaufort from places now protected by our forces as still
attached to the plantations, and to that extent not swelling
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THE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
the 8000 on plantations, but adding thereto the usual negro
population of Beaufort, as also the negroes who have fled
to Beaufort and Hilton Head from places not yet occupied by our forces, and adding also the colony at North
Edisto, and we must now have thrown upon our hands, for
whose present and future we must provide, from 10,000 to
12,000 persons-probably nearer the latter than the former
number.  This number is rapidly increasing.  This week,
forty-eight escaped from a single plantation near Grahamville, on the main land, held by the rebels, led by the driver,
and after four days of trial and peril, hidden by day and
threading the waters with their boats by night, evading the
rebel pickets, joyfully entered our camp at Hilton Head.
The accessions at Edisto are in larger number, and according
to the most reasonable estimates, it would only require small
advances by our troops, not involving a general engagement
or even loss of life, to double the number which would be
brought within our lines.
A fact derived from the Census of 1860 may serve to illustrate the responsibility now devolving on the Government.
This County of Beaufort had a population of slaves in proportion of 82 13 of the whole,-a proportion only exceeded by seven other counties in the United States, viz.:
one in South Carolina, that of Georgetown; three in Mississippi, those of Bolivar, Washington and Issequena; and
three in Louisiana, those of Madison, Tensas and Concordia.
An impression prevails that the negroes here have been
less cared for than in most other rebel districts.  If this be
so, and a beneficent reform shall be achieved here, the experiment may anywhere else be hopefully attempted.
The former white population, so far as can be ascertained,
are rebels, with one or two exceptions.  In January, 1861, a
meeting  of the planters on St. HIelena Island was held, of
which Thomas Aston Coffin was chairman. A vote was
passed, stating its exposedcondition, and offering their slaves
to the Governor of South Carolina, to aid in building earth
mounds, and calling on him for guns to place upon them.  A
copy of the vote, probably in his own handwriting, and signed
by Mr. Coffin, was found in his house.
It is worthy of note that the negroes now within our lines
are there by the invitation of no one; but they were on the
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REPORT OF TIlE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
soil when our army began its occupation, and could not have
been excluded, except by violent transportation. A small
proportion have come in from the main land, evading the
pickets of the enemny and our own,-something easily done
in an extensive country, with whose woods and creeks they
are familiar.
The only exportable crop of this region is the long staple
Sea Island cotton, raised with more difficulty than the coarser
kind, and bringing a higher price. The agents of the Treasury Department expect to gather some 2,500,00.0 pounds of
ginned cotton the present year, nearly all of which had been
picked and stored before the arrival of our forces. Considerable quantities have not been picked at all, but the crop for
this season was unusually good. Potatoes and corn are
raised only for consumption on the plantations,- corn being
raised at the rate of only twenty-five bushels per acre.
Such features in plantation life as will throw light on the
social questions now anxiously weighed deserve notice.
In this region, the master, if a man of wealth, is more
likely to have his main residence at Beaufort, sometimes
having none on the plantation, but having one for the driver,
who is always a negro. He may, however, have one, and an
expensive one, too, as in the case of Dr. Jenkins, at St.
Helena, and yet pass most of his time at Beaufort, or at the
North. The plantation in such cases is left almost wholly
under the charge of an overseer.  In some cases, there is not
even a house for an overseer, the plantation being superintended by the driver, and being visited by the overseer living
on another plantation belonging to the same owner.   The
houses for the overseers are of an undesirable character,
Orchards of orange or fig trees are usually planted near
them.                 
The field hands are generally quartered at some distanceeighty or one hundred rods-from the overseer's or master's
house, and are ranged in a row, sometimes in two rows, fronting each other.  They are sixteen feet by twelve, each appropriated to a family, and in some cases divided with a partitition. They numbered, on the plantations visited, from ten
to twenty, and on the Coffin plantation, they are double, numbering twenty-three double houses, intended for forty-six families.  The yards seemed to swarm with children, the negroes
coupling at an early age.
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THE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
Except on Sundays, these people do not take their meals
at a family table, but each one takes his hominy, bread, or
potatoes, sitting on the floor or a bench, and at his own time.
They say their masters never allowed them any regular time
for meals. Whoever, under our new system, is charged with
their superintendence, should see that they attend more to the
cleanliness of their persons and houses, and that, as in families of white people, they take their meals together at a
table-habits to which they will be more disposed when they
are provided with another change of clothing, and when better food is furnished and a proper hour assigned for meals.
Upon each plantation visited by me, familiar conversations
were had with several laborers, more or less, as time permitted-sometimes inquiries made of them, as they collected in
groups, as to what they desired us to do with and for them,
with advice as to the course of sobriety and industry which
it was for their interest to pursue under the new and strange
circumstances in which they were now placed. Inquiries as
to plantation economy, the culture of crops, the implements
still remaining, the number of persons in all, and of field
hands, and the rations issued, were made of the drivers, as
they are called, answering as nearly as the two different systems of labor will permit to foremen on farms in the free
States.  There is one on each plantation-on the largest one
visited, two. They still remained on each visited, and their
names were noted. The business of the driver was to superintend the field-hands generally, and see that their tasks were
performed fully and properly. He controlled them, subject
to the master or overseer. He dealt out the rations. Another
office belonged to him. He was required by the master or
overseer, whenever he saw fit, to inflict corporal punishment
upon the laborers; nor was he relieved from this office when
the subject of discipline was his wife or children. In the
absence of the master or overseer, he succeeded to much of
their authority. As indicating his position of consequence,
he was privileged with four suits of clothing a year, while
only two were allowed to the laborers under him. It is evident, from some of the duties assigned to him, that he must
have been a person of considerable judgment  and knowledge
of plantation economy, not differing essentially from that
required of the foreman of a farm in the free States. He
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REPORT OF TIlE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
may be presumed to have known, in many cases, quite as
much about the matters with which he was charged as the
owner of the plantation, who often passed but a fractional
part of his time upon it.
The driver, notwithstanding the dispersion of other laborers, quite generally remains on the plantation, as already
stated. He still holds the keys of the granary, dealing out
the rations of food, and with the same sense of responsibility
as before.  In one case, I found him in a controversy with a
laborer to whom he was refusing his peck of corn, because of
absence with his wife on another plantation when the corn
was gathered, -it being gathered since the arrival of our
army. The laborer protested warmly that he had helped to
plant and hoe the corn, and was only absent as charged because of sickness. The driver appealed to me, as the only
white man near, and learning from other laborers that the
laborer was sick at the time of gathering, I advised the
driver to give him his peck of corn, which he did accordingly.
The fact is noted as indicating the present relation of the
driver to the plantation, where he still retains something of
his former authority.
This authority is, however, very essentially diminished.
The main reason is, as he will assure you, that he has now no
whit e           man    to back him.   Other reasons may, however, concur. A class of laborers are generally disposed to be jealous  of one of their own number promoted to be over them,
and accordingly some negroes, evidently moved by this feelin g,      will tell you that the drivers ought now to work as field
hands, and some field hands be drivers in their place. The
driver has also been required to report delinquencies to the
master or overseer, and upon their order to inflict corporal
punishment. The laborers will, in somle cases, say that he
has been harder than he need to have been, while he will say
that he did only what he was forced to do. The complain ants who have suffered under the lash may be pardoned for
not being sufficiently charitable to him who has unwillingly
inflicted it, while, on the other hand, he has been placed in a
dangerous  position, where a hard nature, or self-.interest, or
dislike         f or the victim, might have tempted him  to be more
cruel than his position required. The truth, in proportions
impossible  for us in many cases to fix, may lie with both par
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I 
THiE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
ties. I am, on the whole, inclined to believe that the past
position of the driver and his valuable knowledge, both of
the plantations and the laborers, when properly advised and
controlled, may be made available in securing the productiveness of the plantations and the good of the laborers. It
should be added that, in all cases, the drivers were found
very ready to answer inquiries and communicate all information, and seemed desirous that the work of the season should
be commenced.
There are also on the plantations other laborers, more intelligent than the average, such as the carpenter, the plowman, the religious leader, who may be called a preacher, a
watchman  or a helper,-the  two latter being recognized
officers in the churches of these people, and the helpers being
aids to the watchman.   These persons, having recognized
positions among their fellows, either by virtue of superior
knowledge or devotion, when properly approached by us, may
be expected to have a beneficial influence on the more ignorant, and help to create that public opinion in favor of good
conduct which, among the humblest as among the highest, is
most useful. I saw many of very low intellectual development, but hardly any too low to be reached by civilizing
influences, either coming directly from us or mediately
through their brethren. And while I saw some who were
sadly degraded, I met also others who were as fine specimens
of human nature as one can ever expect to find.
Beside attendance on churches on Sundays, there are evening prayer-meetings on the plantations as often as once or
twice a week, occupied with praying, singing, and exhortations. In some cases, the leader can read a hymn, having
picked up his knowledge clandestinely, either from other negroes or from white children. Of the adults, about one-half,
at least, are members of churches, generally the Baptist,
although other denominations have communicants among them.
In the Baptist Church on St. Helena Island, which I visited
on the 22d January, there were a few pews for the proportiopally small number of white attendants, and the much
larger space devoted to benches for colored people. On one
plantation there is a negro chapel, well adapted for the purpose, built by the proprietor, the late Mrs. Eustis, whose
mnemory is cherished by the negroes2 and some of whose sons
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REPORT OF TIlE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
are now loyal citizens of Massachusetts. I have heard among
the negroes scarcely any profane swearing-not more than
twice -a striking contrast with my experience among soldiers
in the army.
It seemed a part of my duty to attend some of their religious meetings, and learn further about these people what
could be derived from such a source. Their exhortations to
personal piety were fervent, and, though their language was
many times confused, at least to my ear, occasionally an important instruction or a felicitous expression could be recognized. In one case, a preacher of their own, commenting on
the text, " Blessed are the meek," exhorted his brethren not
to be " stout-minded."  On one plantation on Ladies' Island,
where some thirty negroes were gathered in the evening, I
read passages of Scripture, and pressed on them their practical duties at the present time with reference to the good of
themselves, their children, and their people. The passages
read were the 1st and 23d Psalms; the 61st chapter of
Isaiah, verses 1-4; the Beatitudes in the 5th chapter of
Matthew; the 14th chapter of John's Gospel, and the 5thl
chapter of the Epistle of James. In substance, I told them
that their masters had rebelled against the Government, and
we had come to put d6wn the rebellion; that we had now
met them, and wanted to see what was best to do for them;
that Mr. Lincoln, the President or Great Man at Washington, had the whole matter in charge, and was thinking what
he could do for them; that the great. trouble about doing
anything for them was that their masters had always told us,
and had made many people believe, that they were lazy,
and would not work unless whipped to it; that Mr. Lincoln
had sent us down here to see if it was so; that what they did
was reported to him, or to men who would tell him; that
where I came from all were free, both white and black; that
we did not sell children or separate man and wife, but all
had to work; that if they were to be free, they would have
to work, and would be shut up or deprived of privileges if
they did not; that this was a critical hour with them, and if
they did not behave well now and respect our agents and appear willing to work, Mr. Lincoln would give up trying to
do anything for them, and they must give up all hope for
anything better, and their children and grand-children a hun
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TIIE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
dred years hence would be worse off than they had been. I
told them they must stick to their plantations and not run
about and get scattered, and assured them that what their
masters had told them of our intentions to carry them off to
Cuba and sell them was a lie, and their masters knew it to
be so, and we wanted them to stay on the plantations and
raise cotton, and if they behaved well, they should have
wages-small, perhaps, at first; that they should have better food, and not have their wives and children sold off; that
their children should be taught to read and write, for which
they might be willing to pay something; that by-and-by they
would be as well off as the white people, and we would stand
by them against their masters ever coming back to take them.
The importance of exerting a good influence on each other,
particularly on the younger. men, who were rather careless
and roving, was urged, as all would suffer in good repute
from the bad deeds of a few.  At Hilton Head, where I spoke
to a meeting of two hundred, and there were facts calling for
the counsel, the women were urged to keep away from the
bad white men, who would ruin them. Remarks of a like
character were made familiarly on the plantations to such
groups as gathered about. At the Hilton Head meeting, a
good-looking man, who had escaped from the southern part
of Barnwell District, rose and said, with much feeling, that
he and many others should do all they could by good conduct to prove what their masters said against them to be
false, and to make Mr. Lincoln think better things of them.
After the meeting closed, he desired to know if Mr. Lincoln
was coming down here to see them, and he wanted me to give
Mr.'Lincoln his compliments, with his name, assuring the
President that he would do all he could for him. The message was a little amusing, but it testified to the earnestness
of the simple-hearted man.   He had known Dr. Brisbane,
who had been compelled some years since to leave the South
because of his sympathy for slaves. The name of Mr. Lincoln was used in addressing them, as more likely to impress
them than the abstract idea of government.
It is important to add that in no case have I attempted to
excite them by insurrectionary appeals against their former
masters, feeling that such a course might increase the trouble
pf organizing them into a peaceful and improving system,
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12 
REPORT OF TIlE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
under a just and healthful temporary discipline; and besides
that, it is a dangerous experiment to attempt the improvement of a class of men by appealing to their coarser nature.
The better course toward making them our faithful allies, and
therefore the constant enemies of the rebels, seemed to be to
place before them the good things to be done for them  and
their children, and sometimes reading passages of Scripture
appropriate to their lot, without, however, note or comment, never heard before by them, or heard only when wrested
from their just interpretation; such, for instance, as the last
chapter of St. J ames's Epistle, and the Glad Tidings of
Isaiah: " I have come to preach deliverance to the captive."
Thus treated and thus educated, they may be hoped to become
useful coadjutors, and the unconquerable foes of the fugitive
rebels. 
There are some vices charged upon these people which deserve examination. Notwithstanding their religious professions, in some cases more emotional than practical, the marriage relation, or what answers for it, is not, in many instances, held very sacred by them.  The men, it is said, sometimes leave one wife and take another,-something likely to
happen in any society where it is permitted or not forbidden
by a stern public opinion, and far more likely to happen
under laws which do not recognize marriage, and dissolve
what answers for it by forced separations, dictated by the
mere pecuniary interest of others. The women, it is said,
are easily persuaded by white men,-a facility readily accounted for by the power of the master over them, whose
solicitation was equivalent to a command, and against which
the husband or father was powerless to protect, and increased
also by the degraded condition in which they have been
placed, where they have been apt to regard what ought to be
a disgrace as a compliment, when they were approached by a
paramour of superior condition and race. Yet often the dishonor is felt, and the woman, on whose several children her
master's features are impressed, and through whose veins his
blood flows, has sadly confessed it with an instinctive blush.
The grounds of this charge, so far as they may exist, will be
removed, as much as in communities of our own race, by a
system which shall recognize and enforce the marriage relation among them, protect them against the solicitations of
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I 
THE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
white men as much as law can, still more by putting them in
relations were they will be inspired with self-respect and a
consciousness of their rights, and taught by a pure and plainspoken Christianity.
In relation to the veracity of these people, so far as my
relations with them have extended, they have appeared, as a
class, to intend to tell the truth. Their manner, as much as
among white men, bore instinctive evidence of this intention.
Their answers to inquiries relative to the management of the
plantations have a general concurrence. They make no universal charges of cruelty against their masters. They will
say, in some cases, that their own was a very kind one, but
another one in that neighborhood was cruel. On St. Helena
Island they spoke kindly of " the good William Fripp," as
they called him, and of Dr. Clarence Fripp; but they all
denounced the cruelty of Alvira Fripp, recounting his inhuman treatment of both men and women. Another concurrenee is worthy of note.   On  the plantations visited, it appeared from the statements of the laborers themselves, that
there were, on an average, about 133 pounds of cotton produced to the acre, and five acres of cotton and corn cultivated
to a hand, the culture of potatoes not being noted. An article of the American Agriculturist, published in Turner's
Cotton Manual, pp. 132, 133, relative to the culture of Sea
Island Cotton, on the plantation of John H. Townsend, states
that the land is cultivated in the proportion of 7-12th cotton,
3-12ths corn, and 2-12ths potatoes-in all, less than six
acres to a hand-and the average yield of cotton per acre is
135 pounds.   I did not take the statistics of the culture of
potatoes, but about five acres are planted with them on the
smaller plantations, and twenty, or even thirty, on the larger;
and the average amount of land to each hand, planted with
potatoes, should be added to the five acres of cotton and corn,
and thus results not differing substantially are reached in
both cases.  Thus the standard publications attest the veracity and accuracy of these laborers.
Again, there can be no more delicate and responsible position, involving honesty and skill, than that of pilot. For
this purpose, these people are every day employed to aid our
military and naval operations in navigating these sinuous
channels.   They were used in the recent reconnoisance in
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REPORT OF THIE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
the direction of Savannah; and the success of the affair at
Port Royal Ferry depended on the fidelity of a pilot, William,
without the aid of whom, or of one like him, it could not
have been undertaken. Further information on this point
may  be  obtained  of the proper  authorities here.   These
services are not, it is true, in all respects, illustrative of the
quality of veracity, but they involve kindred virtues not
likely to exist without it.
It is proper, however, to state that expressions are sometimes heard from persons who have not considered these people thoughtfully, to the effect that their word is not to be
trusted, and these persons, nevertheless, do trust them, and
act upon their statements. There may, however, be some
color for such expressions. These laborers, like all ignorant
people, have an ill-regulated reason, too much under the control of the imagination. Therefore, where they report the
number of soldiers, or relate facts where there is room for
conjecture, they are likely to be extravagant, and you must
scrutinize their reports. Still, except among the thoroughly
dishonest,-no more numerous among them than in other
races,-there will be found a colorable basis for their statements, enough to show their honest intention to speak truly.
It is true also that you will find them too willing to express feelings which will please you. This is most natural.
All races, as well as all animals, have their appropriate
means of self-defence, and where the power to use physical
force to defend one's self is taken away, the weaker animal,
or man, or race, resorts to cunning and duplicity. Whatever
habits of this kind may appear in these people are directly
traceable to the well-known features of their past condition,
without involving any essential proneness to deception in the
race, further than may be ascribed to human nature. Upon
this point, special inquiries have been made of the Superintendent at Hilton Head, who is brought in direct daily association with them, and whose testimony, truthful as he is, is
worth far more than that of those who have had less nice
opportunities of obseryation, and Mr. Lee certifies to the
results here presented. Upon the question of the disposition
of these people to work, there are different reports, varied
somewhat by the impression an idle or an industrious laborer,
brought into immediate relation with the witness, may have
15 
TIIE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
made on the mind. In conversations with them, they uniformly answered to assurances that if' free they must work,
"Yes, massa, we must work to live; that's the law";  and
expressing an anxiety that the work of the plantations was
not going on. At Hilton Head, they are ready to do for Mr.
Lee, the judicious Superintendent, whatever is desired. Hard
words and epithets are, however, of no use in managing them,
and other parties for whose service they are specially detailed, who do not understand or treat them properly, find
some trouble in making their labor available, as might
naturally be expected. In collecting cotton, it is sometimes,
as I am told, difficult to get them together, when wanted for
work. There may be something in this, particularly among
the young men. I have observed them a good deal; and
though they often do not work to much advantage, - a dozen
doing sometimes what one or two stout and well-trained
Northern laborers would do, and though less must always he
expected of persons native to this soil than those bred in
Northern latitudes, and under more bracing air,-1 have not
been at all impressed with their general indolence.  As
servants, oarsmen, and carpenters, I have seen them working
faithfully and with a will. There are some peculiar circumstances in their condition, which no one who assumes to sit in
judgment upon them must overlook. They are now, for the
first time, freed from the restraint of a master, and like
children whose guardian or teacher is absent for the day,
they may quite naturally enjoy an interval of idleness. No
system of labor for them, outside of the camps, has been
begun, and they have had nothing to do except to bale the
cotton when bagging was furnished, and we all know that
men partially employed are, if anything, less disposed to do
the little assigned them than they are to perform the full
measure which belongs to them in regular life, the virtue of
the latter case being supported by habit. At the camps, they
are away from their accustomed places of labor, and have
not been so promptly paid as could be desired, and are exposed to the same circumstances which often dispose soldiers
to make as little exertion as possible.  In the general chaos
which prevails, and before the inspirations of labor have
been set before them by proper superintendents and teachers
who understand their disposition, and show by their conduct
16. 
REPORT OF TlIE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
an interest in their welfare, no humane or reasonable man
would subject them to austere criticism, or make the race
responsible for the delinquencies of an idle person, who happened to be brought particularly under his own observation.
Not thus would we have ourselves or our own race judged;
and the judgment which we would not have meted to us, let
us not measure to others.
Upon the best examination of these people, and a comparison of the evidence of trustworthy persons, I believe that
when properly organized, and with proper motives set before
them, they will, as freemen, be as industrious as any race of
men are likely to be in this climate.
The notions of the sacredness of property as held by these
people have sometimes been the subject of discussion here.
It is reported they have taken things left in their masters'
houses. It was wise to prevent this, and even where it had
been done to compel a restoration, at least of expensive articles, lest they should be injured by speedily acquiring, without purchase, articles above their condition. But a mnoment's
reflection will show that it was the most natural thing for
them to do. They had been occupants of the estates; had
had these things more or less in charge, and when the former
owners had left, it was easy for them to regard their title to
the abandoned property as better than that of strangers.
Still, it is not true that they have, except as to very simple
articles, as soap or dishes, generally availed themselves of
such property. It is also stated that in camps where they
have been destitute of clothing, they have stolen from each
other, but the Superintendents are of opinion that they would
not have done this if already well provided. Besides, those
familiar with large bodies collected together, like soldiers in
camp life, also know how often these charges of mutual pilfering are made among them, often with great injustice. It
should be added, to complete the statement, that the agents
who have been intrusted with the collection of cotton have
reposed confidence in the trustworthiness of the laborers,
committing property to their charge-a confidence not found
to have been misplaced.
To what extent these laborers desire to be free, and to
serve us still further in putting down the rebellion, has been
a subject of examination The desire to be free has been
17 
THE NEGROES AT PORT ROYATL.
strongly expressed, particularly among the more intelligent
and adventurous. Every day, almost, adds a fresh tale-of
escapes, both solitary and in numbers, conducted with a
courage, a forecast, and a skill, worthy of heroes. But there
are other apparent features in their disposition which it would
be untruthful to conceal.  On the plantations, I often found
a disposition to evade the inquiry whether they wished to be
free or slaves; and though a preference for freedom was expressed, it was rarely in the passionate phrases which would
come from an Italian peasant. The secluded and monotonous
life of a plantation, with strict discipline and ignorance
enforced by law and custom, is not favorable to the development of the richer sentiments, though even there they find at
least a stunted growth, irrepressible as they are. The inquiry
was often answered in this way: "The white man do what
he pleases with us; we are yours now, massa." One, if I
understood his broken words rightly, said that he did not
care about being free, if he only had a good master. Others
said they would like to be free, but they wanted a white man
for a "protector."  All of proper age, when inquired of,
expressed a desire to have their children taught to read and
write, and to learn themselves.  On this point, they showed
more earnestness than on any other.  When asked if they
were willing to fight, in case we needed them, to keep their
masters from coming back, they would seem to shrink from
that, saying that "black men have been kept down so like
dogs that they would run before.white men." At the close
of the first week's observation, I almost concluded that on
the plantation there was but little earnest desire for freedom,
and scarcely any willingness for its sake to encounter white
men.  But as showing the importance of not attempting to
reach general conclusions too hastily, another class of facts
came to my notice the second week.   I met then some more
intelligent, who spoke with profound earnestness of their
desire to be free" and how they had longed to see this day.
Other facts, connected with the military and naval operations,
were noted. At the recent reconnoisanee toward Pulaski,.
pilots of this class stood well under the fire, and were not
reluctant to the service. When a district of Ladies' Island
was left exposed, they voluntarily took such guns as they
could procure, and stood sentries. Also at North Edisto,
is 
REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
where the colony is collected under the protection of our
gunboats, they armed themselves and drove back the rebel
cavalry. An officer here high in command reported to me
some of these facts, which had been officially communicated
to him. The suggestion may be pertinent that the persons
in question are divisible into two classes. Those who, by
their occupation, have been accustomed to independent labor,
and schooled in some sort of self-reliance, are more developed
in this direction; while others, who have been bound to the
routine of plantation life, and kept more strictly under
surveillance, are but little awakened.  But even among these
last there has been, under the quickening inspiration of
present events, a rapid development, indicating that the same
feeling is only latent.
There is another consideration which must not be omitted.
Many of these people have still but little confidence in us,
anxiously looking to see what is to be our disposition of them,
It is a mistake to suppose that, separated from the world,
never having read a Northern book or newspaper relative to
them, or talked with a Northern man expressing the sentiments prevalent in his region, they are universally and
with entire confidence welcoming us as their deliverers.
Hlere, as everywhere else, where our army has met them,
they have been assured by their masters that we were going
to carry them off to Cuba. There is probably not a rebel
master, from the Potomac to the Gulf, who has not repeatedly
made this assurance to his slaves. No matter what his religious vows may have been, no matter what his professed
honor as a gentleman; he has not shrunk from the reiteration
of this falsehood. Never was there a people, as all who
know them will testify, more attached to familiar places
than they. Be their home a cabin, and not even that cabin
their own, they still cling to it. The reiteration could not
fail to have had some effect on a point on which they were so
sensitive. Often it must have been met with unbelief or
great suspicion of its truth. It was also balanced by the
consideration that their masters would remove them into the
interior. and perhaps to a remote region, and separate their
families, about as bad as being taken to Cuba, and they felt
more inclined to remain on the plantations, and take their
chances with us. They have told me that they reasoned in
19 
THE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
this way. But in many cases they fled at the approach of
our army. Then one or two bolder returning, the rest were
reassured and came back. Recently, the laborers at Parry
Island, seeing some schooners approaching suspiciously, commenced gathering their little effects rapidly together, and
were about to run, when they were quieted by some of our
teachers coming, in whom they had confidence. In some
cases, their distrust has been increased by the bad conduct of
some irresponsible white men, of which, for the honor of
human nature, it is not best to speak more particularly. On
the whole, their confidence in us has been greatly increased
by the treatment they have received, which, in spite of many
individual cases of injury less likely to occur under the stringent orders recently issued from the naval and military
authorities, has been generally kind and humane.   But the
distrust which to a greater or less extent may have existed
on our arrival, renders necessary, if we would keep them
faithful allies, and not informers to the enemy, the immediate adoption of a system which shall be a pledge of our
protection and of our permanent interest in their welfare.
The manner of the laborers toward us has been kind and
deferential, doing for us such good offices as were in their
power, as guides, pilots, or in more personal service, inviting
us on the plantations to lunch of hominy and milk, or potatoes, touching the hat in courtesy, and answering politely
such questions as were addressed to them. If there have
been exceptions to this rule, it was in the case of those whose
bearing did not entitle them to the civility.
Passing from general phases of character or present disposition, the leading facts in relation to the plantations and
the mode of rendering them useful and determining what is
best to be done, come next in order.
The laborers on St. Helena and Ladies' Islands very generally remain on their respective plantations.   This fact,
arising partially from local attachment and partially because
they can thus secure their allowance of corn, is important, as
it will facilitate their re6rganization. Some are absent, temporarily visiting a wife, or relative, on another plantation,
and returning periodically for their rations. The disposition
to roam, so far as it exists, mainly belongs to the younger
people. On Port Royal and Hilton Itead Islands, there is
20 
REPORT OF Trll GOVERNMENT AGENT.
a much greater dispersion, due in part to their having been
the scene of more active military movements, and in part to
the taking in greater measure on these islands of the means
of subsistence from the plantations. When the work recommences, however, there is not likely to be any indisposition to return to them.
The statistics with regard to the number of laborers, field
hands, acres planted to cotton and corn, are not presented as
accurate statements, but only as reasonable approximations,
which may be of service.
The highest number of people on any plantation visited
was on Coffin's, where there are 260. Those on the plantation of Dr. Jenkins number 130; on that of the Eustis
estate, 120; and the others, from 80 to 38. The average
number on each is 81. The field hands range generally from
one-third to one-half of the number, the rest being house
servants, old persons, and children. About five acres of cotton and corn are planted to a hand; and to potatoes, about
five acres in all were devoted on the smaller plantations, and
from twenty to thirty on the larger.
The number of pounds in a bale of ginned cotton ranges
from 300 to 400- the average number being not far from
345 pounds per bale. The average yield per acre on fifteen
plantations was about 133 pounds.
The material for compost is gathered in the periods of most
leisure-often in July and August, after the cultivation of
the cotton plant is ended, and before the picking has commenced. Various materials are used, but quite generally
mud and the coarse marsh grass, which abounds on the creeks
near the plantations, are employed.   The manure is carted
upon the land in January and February, and left in heaps,
two or three cart-loads on each'task, to be spread at the time
of listing. The land, by prevailing custom, lies fallow a
year.  The cotton and corn are planted in elevated rows or
beds. The next step is the listing, done-with the hoe, and
making the bed where the alleys were at the previous raising
of the crop, and the alleys being made where the beds were
before. In this process, half the old bed is hauled into the
alley on the one side, and the other half into the alley on
the other. This work is done mainly in February, being
commenced sometimes the last of January.  A  "task"' is
21 
TIIE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
105 feet square, and contains twenty-one or twenty-two beds
or rows. Each laborer is required to list a task and a half;
or if the land is moist and heavy, a task and five or seven
beds, say one-fourth or three-eighths of an acre.
The planting of cotton commences about the 20th or last of
March, and of corn about the same time or earlier. It is
continued through April, and by some planters it is not begun
till April. The seeds are deposited in the beds, a foot or a
foot and a half apart on light land, and two feet apart on
heavy land, and five or ten seeds left in a place. After the
plant is growing, the stalks are thinned so as to leave together two on high land and one on low or rich land. The
hoeing of the early cotton begins about the time that the planting of the late has ended. The plant is cultivated with the
hoe and plow during May, June and July, keeping the weeds
down and thinning the stalks. The picking commences the
last of August.   The cotton being properly dried in the
sun, is then stored in houses, ready to be ginned. The ginning, or cleaning the fibre from the seed, is done either by
gins operated by steam, or by the well-known foot-gins-the
latter turning out about 30 pounds of ginned cotton per day,
and worked by one person, assisted by another, who picks
out'the specked and yellow cotton. The steam-engine carries
one or more gins, each turning out 300 pounds per day, and
requiring eight or ten hands to tend the engine and gins,
more or less, according to the number of the gins. The footgins are still more used than the gins operated by steam,-the
latter being used mainly on the largest plantations, on which
both kinds are sometimes employed. I have preserved notes
of the kind and number of gins used on the plantations visited, but it is unnecessary to give them here. Both kinds
can be run entirely by the laborers, and after this year, the
ginning should be done entirely here-among other reasons,
to avoid transportation of the seed, which makes nearly threefourths of the weight of the unginned cotton, and to preserve
in better condition the seed required for planting.
The allowance of clothing to the field hands in this district has been two suits per year, one for summer and another
for winter.  That of food has been mainly vegetable-a
peck of corn a week to each hand, with meat only in June,
when the work is hardest, and at Christmas. No meat was
22 
REPORT OF TIIE GOVERNIMENT AGENT.
allowed in June, on some plantations, while on a few, more
liberal, it was dealt out occasionally-as once a fortnight, or
once a month. On a few, molasses was given at intervals.
Children, varying with their ages, were allowed from two to
six quarts of corn per week. The diet is more exclusively
vegetable here than almost anywhere in the rebellious regions,
and in this respect should be changed. It should be added,
that there are a large quantity of oysters available for food
in proper seasons.
Besides the above rations, the laborers were allowed each
to cultivate a small patch of ground, about a quarter of an
acre, for themselves, when their work for their master was
done. On this, corn and potatoes, chiefly the former, were
planted. The corn was partly eaten by themselves, thus supplying in part the deficiency in rations; but it was, to a
great extent, fed to a pig, or chickens, each hand being
allowed to keep a pig and chickens or ducks, but not geese or
turkeys. With the proceeds of the pig and chickens, generally sold to the masters, and at pretty low rates, extra
clothing, coffee, sugar, and that necessary of life with these
people, as they think, tobacco, were bought.
In the report thus far, such facts in the condition of the
territory now occupied by the forces of the United States
have been noted as seemed to throw light on what could be
done to reorganize the laborers, prepare them to become
sober and self-supporting citizens, and secure the successful
culture of a cotton-crop, now so necessary to be contributed
to the markets of the world. It will appear from them that
these people are naturally religious and simple-hearted-attached to the places where they have lived, still adhering to
them both from a feeling of local attachment and self-interest
in securing the means of subsistence; that they have the
knowledge and experience requisite to do all the labor, from
the preparation of the ground for planting until the cotton is
baled, ready to be exported; that they, or the great mass of
them, are disposed to labor, with proper inducements'thereto;
that they lean upon white men, and desire their protection,
and could, therefore, under a wise system, be easily brought
under subordination;  that they are susceptible to the higher
considerations, as duty, and the love of offspring, and are not
in any way inherently vicious, their defects coming from their
29. 
THE NEGROES AT PORT ROYATL.
peculiar condition in the past or present, and not from constitutional proneness to evil beyond what may be attributed
to human nature; that they have among them natural chiefs,
either by virtue of religious leadership or superior intelligence, who, being first addressed, may exert a healthful influence on the rest. In a word, that, in spite of their condition, reputed to be worse here than in many other parts of
the rebellious region, there are such features in their life and
character, that the opportunity is now offered to us to make
of them, partially in this generation, and fully in the next,
a happy, industrious, law-abiding, free and Christian people,
if we have but the courage and patience to accept it. If
this be the better view of them and their possibilities, I will
say that I have come to it after anxious study of all peculiar circumstances in their lot and character, and after anxious
conference with reflecting minds here, who are prosecuting
like inquiries, not overlooking what, to a casual spectator,
might appear otherwise, and granting what is likely enough,
that there are those among them whose characters, by reason
of bad nature or treatment, are set, and not admitting of
much improvement. And I will submit further, that, in
common fairness and common charity, when, by the order of
Providence, an individual or a race is committed to our care,
the better view is entitled to be first practically applied. If
this one shall be accepted and crowned with success, history
will have the glad privilege of recording that this wicked
and unprovoked rebellion was not without compensations most
welcome to our race.
What, then, should be the true system of administration
here?
It has been proposed to lease the plantations and the people upon them. To this plan there are two objections-each
conclusive. In the first place, the leading object of the parties bidding for leases would be to obtain a large immediate
revenue-perhaps to make a fortune in a year or two. The
solicitations of doubtful men, offering the highest price, would
impose on the leasing power a stern duty of refusal, to which
it ought not unnecessarily to be subjected.  Far better a system which shall not invite such men to harass the leasing
power, or excite expectations of a speedy fortune, to be derived from  the labor of this people   Secondly:  No  man,
24 
REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
not even the best of men, charged with the duties which
ought to belong to the guardians of these people, should be
put in a position where there would be such a conflict be tween his humanity and his self-interest- his desire, on the
one hand, to benefit the laborer, and, on the other, the too
often stronger desire to reap a large revenue-perhaps to
restore broken fortunes in a year or two. Such a system is
beset with many of the worst vices of the slave system, with
one advantage in favor of the latter, that it is for the interest
of the planter to look to permanent results. Let the history
of British East India, and of all communities where a supe rior race has attempted to build up speedy fortunes on the
labor of an inferior race occupying another region, be remem bered, and no just man will listen to the proposition of leas ing, fraught as it is with such dangerous consequences. Per sonal confidence forbids me to report the language of intense
indignation which has been expressed against it here by some
occupying high places of command, as also by others who
have come here for the special purpose of promoting the wel fare of these laborers. Perhaps it might yield to the treasury
a larger immediate revenue, but it would be sure to spoil the
country and its people in the end. The Government should
be satisfied if the products of the territory may be made
sufficient for a year or two to pay the expenses of adminis tration and superintendence, and the inauguration of a be neficent system which will settle a great social question, en sure the sympathies of foreign nations, now wielded against
us, and advance the civilization of the age.
The better course would be to appoint superintendents for
each large plantation, and one for two or three smaller com bined, compensated with a good salary, say $1,000 per year,
selected with reference to peculiar qualifications, and as care fully as one would choose a guardian for his children, clothed
with an adequate power to enforce a paternal discipline, to
require a proper amount of lab6r, cleanliness, sobriety, and
better habits of life, and generally to promote the moral and
intellectual culture of the wards, with such other induce ments, if there be any, placed before the superintendent as
shall inspire him to constant efforts to prepare them for use ful and worthy citizenship. To quicken and ensure the fidel ity of the superintendents, there should a director-general or
2
25 
THE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
governor, who shall visit the plantations, and see that they
are discharging these duties, and, if necessary, he should be
aided by others in the duty of visitation.  This officer should
be invested with liberal powers over all persons within his
jurisdiction, so as to protect the blacks from each other and
from white men, being required in most important cases to
confer with the military authorities in punishing offences.
Hlis proposed duties indicate that he should be a man of the
best ability and character: better if he have already, by virtue of public services, a hold on the public confidence. Such
an arrangement is submitted as preferable for the present to
any cumbersome territorial government.
The laborers themselves, no longer slaves of their former
masters, or of the Government, but as yet in large numbers
unprepared for the full privileges of citizens, are to be treated
with sole reference to such preparation. No effort is to be
spared to work upon their better nature and the motives
which come from it-the love of wages, of offspring, and
family, the desire of happiness, and the obligations of religion. And when these fail,-and fail they will, in some
cases,-we must not hesitate to resort, not to the lash, for
as from the department of war so also from the department
of labor, it must be banished, but to the milder and more
effective punishments -of deprivation of privileges, isolation
from family and society, the workhouse, or even the prison.
The laborers are to be assured at the outset that parental and
conjugal relations among them are to be protected and enforced; that children, and all others desiring, are to be
taught; that they will receive wages; and that a certain just
measure of work, with reference to the ability to perform it,
if not willingly rendered, is to be required of all. The
work, so far as the case admits, shall be assigned in proper
tasks, the standard being what a healthy person of average
capacity can do, for which a definite sum  is to be paid.  The
remark may perhaps be pertinent, that, whatever may have
been the case with women or partially disabled persons, my
observations, not yet sufficient to decide thie point, have not
impressed me  with the conviction that healthy persons, if
they had been provided with an adequate amount of food,
and that animal in due proportion, could be said to have been
overworked heretofore on these islands, the main trouble hav
26 
REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
ing been that they have not been so provided, and have not
had the motives which smooth labor. Notwithstanding the
frequent and severe chastisements which have been employed
here in exacting labor, they have failed, and naturally enough,
of their intended effects. Human beings are made up of so
much more of spirit than of muscle, that compulsory labor,
enforced by physical pain, will not exceed or equal, in the
long run, voluntary labor with just inspirations; and the
same law in less degree may be seen in the difference between
the value of a whipped and jaded beast, and one well disci plined and kindly treated.
What should be the standard of wages where none have
heretofore been paid, is less easy to determine. It should be
graduated with reference to the wants of the laborer and the
ability of the employer or Government; and this ability
being determined by the value of the products of the labor,
and the most that should be expected being, that for a year
or two the system should not be a burden on the Treasury.
Taking into consideration the cost of food and clothing, med ical attendance and extras, supposing that the laborer would
require rations of pork or beef, meal, coffee, sugar, molasses
and tobacco, and that he would work 300 days in the year,
he should receive about forty cents a day in order to enable
him to lay up $30 a year; and each healthy woman could do
about equally well. Three hundred days in a year is, per haps, too high an estimate of working days, when we con sider the chances of sickness and days when, by reason of
storms and other causes, there would be no work.  It is
assumed that the laborer is not to pay rent for the small
house tenanted by him. This sum, when the average number
of acres cultivated by a hand, and the average yield per acre
are considered with reference to market prices, or when the ex pense of each laborer to his former master, the interest on his
assumed value and on the value of the land worked by him, these being the elements of what it has cost the master before
making a profit,-are computed, the Government could afford
to pay, leaving an ample margin to meet the cost of the neces sary implements, as well as of superintendence and adminis tration. The figures on which this estimate is based are at
the service of the Department if desired. It must also be
borne in mind that the plantations will in the end be carried
27 
THE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
on more scientifically and cheaply than before, the plough
taking very much the place of the hoe, and other implements being introduced to facilitate industry and increase the
productive power of the soil.
It being important to preserve all former habits which are
not objectionable, the laborer should have his patch of ground
on which to raise corn or vegetables for consumption or sale.
As a part of the plan proposed, missionaries will be needed
to address the religious element of a race so emotional in
their nature, exhorting to all practical virtues, and inspiring
the laborers with a religious zeal for faithful labor, the good
nurture of their children, and for clean and healthful habits.
The benevolence of the Free States, now being directed
hither, will gladly provide these. The Government should,
however, provide some teachers specially devoted to teaching
reading, writing and arithmetic, say some twenty-five, for the
territory now occupied by our forces, and private benevolence
might even be relied on for these.
The plan proposed is, of course, not presented as an uLltimate result: far from it. It contemplates a paternal discipline for the time being, intended for present use only, with
the prospect of better things in the future. As fast as the
laborers show themselves fitted for all the privileges of citizens, they should be dismissed from the system and allowed
to follow any employment they please, and where they please.
They should have the power to acquire the fee simple of land,
either with the proceeds of their labor or as a reward of
special merit; and it would be well to quicken their zeal for
good behavior by proper recognitions. I shall not follow
these suggestions, as to the future, further, contenting myself
with indicating what is best to be done at once with a class of
fellow-beings now thrown on our protection, entitled to be
recognized as freemen, but for whose new condition the former
occupants of the territory have diligently labored to unfit
them.
But whatever'is thought best to be done, should be done
at once. A system ought to have been commenced with the
opening of the year. Beside that, demoralization increases
with delay, The months of January and February are the
months for preparing the ground by manuring and listing,
and the months of March and April are for planting.  A1
28 
REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
ready, important time has passed, and in a very few weeks
will be too late to prepare for a crop, and too late to assi
useful work to the laborers for a year to come. I imrplo
the immediate intervention of your Department to avert 1
calamities which must ensue from a further postponement.
There is another precaution most necessary to be take
As much as possible, persons enlisted in the army and na
should be kept separate from these people.   The associati
produces an unhealthy excitement in the latter, and there 
other injurious results to both parties which it is unnecessa
to particularize.  In relation to this matter, I had an int
view with the Flag-Officer, Com. Dupont, which resulted
an order that " no boats from any of the ships of the squa
ron can be permitted to land anywhere but at Bay Point a
Hilton Head, without a pass from the Fleet Captain," a
requiring the commanding officers of the vessels to  g
special attention to all intercourse between'the men und
their command and the various plantations in their vicini
Whatever can be accomplished to that end by this hums
and gallant officer, who superadds to skill and courage in
profession the liberal views of a statesman, will not be 1
undone.  The suggestion should also be made that, when e
ployment is given to this people, some means should be tak
to enable them to obtain suitable goods at fair rates, and p
cautions taken to prevent the introduction of ardent spit
among them.
A loyal citizen of Massachusetts, Mr. Frederick A. Eusi
has recently arrived here.  He is the devisee in a conside
bte amount under the will of the late Mrs. Eustis, who own
the large estate on Ladies' Island, and also another at Poc
taligo, the latter not yet in possession of our forces.   T
executors are rebels, and reside at Charleston.   Mr. Eus
has as yet received no funds by reason of the devise.   The
are two other loyal devisees and some other devisees reside
in rebellious districts, and the latter are understood to ha
received dividends.   Mr. Eustis is a gentleman of huma
and liberal views, and, accepting the present condition
things, desires that the people on these plantations should l
be distinguished from their brethren on others, but equa
admitted to their better fortunes.  The circumstances of tl
case, though of a personal character, may furnish a use
2*
29 
TIE NEGROES AT PORT ROYALo
precedent. With great pleasure and confidence, I recommend that this loyal citizen be placed in charge of the plantation on Ladies' Island, which he is.willing to accept-the
questions of property and rights under the will being reserved
for subsequent determination.
A brief statement in relation to the laborers collected at
the camps at Hilton Head and Beaufort may be desirable.
At both places, they are under the charge of the Quartermaster's Department. At Hilton Head, Mr. Barnard K.
Lee, Jr., of Boston, is the Superintendent, assisted by Mr.
J. D.  McMath of Alleghany City, Penn., both civilians.
The appointment of Mr. Lee is derived from Captain R. Saxton, Chief Quartermaster of the Expeditionary Corps, a
humane officer, who is deeply interested in this matter. The
number at this camp are about 600, the registered number
under Mr. Lee being 472, of which 137 are on the pay-roll.
Of these 472, 279 are fugitives from the main land, or other
points, still held by the rebels; 77 are from Hilton Head
Island; 62 from the adjacent island of Pinckney; 38 from
St. Helena; 8 from Port Royal; 7 from Spring, and one
from Daufuskie. Of the 472, the much larger number, it
will be seen, have sought refuge from the places now held by
rebels; while the greater proportion of the remainder came
in at an early period, before they considered themselves safe
elsewhere. Since the above figures were given, forty-eight
more, all from one plantation, and under the lead of the
driver, came in together from the main land. Mr. Lee was
appointed November 10th last, with instructions to assure the
laborers that they would be paid a reasonable sum for their
services, not yet fixed. They were contented with the assurance, and a quantity of blankets and clothing captured of
the rebels was issued to them without charge. About December 1st, an order was given that carpenters should be paid
$8 per month, and other laborers $5 per month. Women
and children were fed without charge, the women obtaining
washing and receiving the pay, in some cases in considerable
sums, not, however, heretofore, very available, as there was
no clothing for women for sale here. It will be seen that,
under the order, laborers, particularly those with families,
have been paid with  nuffcient liberality.  There were 63
laborers on the pay-roll,an December 1st, and $101.50 were
30 
REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
paid to them for the preceding month. On January 1st,
there were for the preceding month 127 on the pay-roll, entitled to $468.59. On February 1st, there were for the preceding month 137 on the pay-roll, entitled to something more
than for the month of January; making in all due them not
far from $1000. This delay of payment, due, it is stated,
to a deficiency of small currency, has made the laborers
uneasy, and affected the disposition to work.
On January 18th, a formal order was issued by General
Sherman, regulating the rate of wages, varying from $12 to
$8 per month for mechanics, and from $8 to $4 for other
laborers. Under it, each laborer is to have, in addition, a
ration of food. But from the monthly pay are to be deducted rations for his family, if here, and clothing both for
himself and family.  Commodious barracks have been erected
for these people, and a guard protects their quarters.
I have been greatly impressed by the kindness and good
sense of Mr. Lee and his assistant, in their discipline of these
people.  The lash, let us give thanks, is banished at last.
No coarse words or profanity are used toward them. There
has been less than a case of discipline a week, and the delinquent, if a male, is sometimes made to stand on a barrel, or,
if a woman, is put in a dark room, and such discipline has
proved successful. The only exception, if any, is in the case
of one woman, and the difficulty there was conjugal jealousy,
she protesting that she was compelled by her master, against
her will, to live with the man.
There is scarcely any profanity among them, more than
one-half of the adults being members of churches. -Their
meetings are held twice or three times on Sundays, also on
the evenings of Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. They are
conducted with fervent devotion by themselves alone or in
presence of a white clergyman, when the services of one are
procurable.  They close with what is called "a glory shout,"
one joining hands with another, together in couples singing a
verse and beating time with the foot. A fastidious religionist
might object to this exercise; but being in accordance with
usage, and innocent enough in itself, it is not open to excep tion. As an evidence of the effects of the new system in in spiring self-reliance, it should be noted that the other evening
they called a meeting of their own accord, and voted, the
31
11 —' 
THiE NEGROES AT PORT ROYALo
motion being regularly made and put, that it was now but
just that they should provide the candles for their meetings,
hitherto provided by the Government.   A  collection was
taken at a subsequent meeting, and $2.48 was the result.
The incident may be trivial, but it justifies a pleasing inference. No school, it is to be regretted, has yet been started,
except one on Sundays, but the call for reading books is daily
made by the laborers. The suggestion of Mr. Lee, in which
I most heartily concur, should not be omitted-that with the
commencement of the work on the plantations, the laborers
should be distributed upon them, having regard to the family
relations and the places whence they come.
Of the number and condition of the laborers at Beaufort,
less accurate information was attainable, and fewer statistics
than could be desired. They have not, till within a few
days, had a General Superintendent, but have been under the
charge of persons detailed for the purpose from the army.
I saw one whose manner and language toward them was, to
say the least, not elevating. A new Quartermaster of the
post has recently commenced his duties, and a better order of
things is expected.  He has appointed as Superintendent Mr.
Wm. Harding, a citizen of Daufuskie Island. An enrollment
has commenced, but is not yet finished. There are supposed
to be about six hundred at Beaufort. The number has been
larger, but some have already returned to the plantations in
our possession from which they came. At this point, the
Rev. Solomon Peck, of Roxbury, Mass., has done great good
in preaching to them and protecting them firom the depredations of white men. He has established a school for the children, in which are sixty pupils, ranging in age from six to
fifteen years. They are rapidly learning their letters and
simple reading. The teachers are of the same race with
the taught, of ages respectively of twenty, thirty, and fifty
years. The name of one is John Milton. A visit to the
school leaves a remarkable impression. One sees there those
of pure African blood, and others ranging through the lighter
shades, and among them brunettes of the fairest features. I
taught several of the children their letters for an hour or two,
and during the recess heard the three teachers, at their own
request, recite their spelling-lessons of words of one syllable,
and read two chapters of Matthew. It seemed to be a morn
32 
REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
ing well spent. Nor have the efforts of Dr. Peek been confined to this point.  He has preached  at Cat, Cane and
Ladies' Island, anticipating all other white clergymen, and
on Sunday, February 2d, at the Baptist Church on St. Helena,
to a large congregation, where his ministrations have been
attended with excellent effects. On my visits to St. Helena,
I found that no white clergyman had been there since our
military occupation began, that the laborers were waiting for
one, and there was a demoralization at some points which
timely words might arrest. I may be permitted to state, that
it was at my own suggestion that he made the appointment
on this island. I cannot forbear to give a moment's testi.
mony to the nobility of character displayed by this venerable
man.   Of mild and genial temperament, equally earnest and
sensible, enjoying the fruits of culture, and yet not dissuaded
by them from the humblest toil, having reached an age when
most others would have declined the duty, and left it to be
discharged by younger men; of narrow means, and yet in
the main defraying his own expenses, this man of apostolic
faith and life, to whose labors both hemispheres bear witness,
left his home to guide and comfort this poor and shepherdless
flock; and to him belongs, and ever will belong, the distinguished honor of being the first minister of Christ to enter
the field which our arms had opened.
The Rev. Mansfield French, whose mission was authenticated and approved by the Government, prompted by benevolent purposes of his own, and in conference with others
in the city of New York, has been here two weeks, during
which time he has been industriously occupied in examining
the state of the islands and their population, in conferring
with the authorities, and laying the foundation of beneficent
appliances with reference to their moral, educational, and
material wants. These, having received the sanction of officers in command, he now returns to commend to the public,
and the Government will derive important information from
his report. Beside other things, he proposes, with the approval of the authorities here, to secure authority to introduce women of suitable experience and ability, who shall
give industrial instruction to those of their own sex among
these people, and who, visiting from dwelling to dwelling,
shall strive to improve their household life, and give such
33 
THE NEGROES AT PORT ROYAL.
counsels as women can best communicate to women. All
civilizing influences like these should be welcomed here, and
it cannot be doubted that many  noble hearts among the
women of'the land will volunteer for the service.
There are some material wants of this territory requiring
immediate attention. The means of subsistence have been
pretty well preserved on the plantations on St. Helena; so
also on that part of Ladies' adjacent to St. Helena. But on
Port Royal Island, and that part of Ladies' near to it, destitution has commenced, and will, unless provision is made, become very great. Large amounts of corn for forage, in
quantities from fifty to four or five hundred bushels from a
plantation, have been taken to Beaufort. On scarcely any
within this district is there enough to last beyond April,
whereas it is needed till August. On others, it will last only
two or three weeks, and on some it is entirely exhausted. It
is stated that the forage was taken because no adequate supply was at hand, and requisitions for it were not seasonably
answered. The further taking of the corn in this way has
now been forbidden; but the Government must be prepared
to meet the exigency which it has itself created. It should
be remembered that this is not a grain-exporting region, corn
being produced in moderate crops only for consumption.
Similar destitution will take place on other islands, from the
same cause, unless provision is made.
The horses, mules and oxen, in large numbers, have been
taken to Beaufort and Hilton Head as means of transportation. It is presumed that they, or most of them, are no
longer needed for that purpose, and that they will be returned to those who shall have charge of the plantations.
Cattle to the number of a hundred, and in some cases less,
have been taken from a plantation and slaughtered, to furnish
fresh beef for the army. Often cattle have been killed by
irresponsible foraging parties, acting without competent authority. There can be no doubt that the army and navy
have been in great want of the variation of the rations of
salt beef or pork; but it also deserves much consideration, if
the plantations are to be permanently worked, how much of a
draught they can sustain.
The garden seeds have been pretty well used up, and I
inclose a desirable list furnished me by a gentleman whose
34 
REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
perience enables him to designate those adapted to the soil,
.d useful too for army supplies.  The general cultivation
f the islands also requires the sending of a quantity of
ploughs and hoes.
It did not seem a part of my duty to look specially after
matters which had been safely entrusted to others; but it is
pleasing, from such observation as was casually made, to testify that Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Reynolds, who was
charged with the preservation of the cotton and other confiscated property, notwithstanding many difficulties in his
way, has fulfilled his duties with singular fidelity and success.
Since the writing of this report was commenced, some
action has been taken which will largely increase the numbers of persons thrown on the protection of the Government.
To-day, February 10th, the 47th Regiment New York Volunteers has been ordered to take military occupation of North
Edisto Island, which is stated to have had formerly a population of 5000 or 6000, and a large number of plantations,
a movement which involves great additional responsibility.
Agents for the collection of cotton are to accompany it.
Hlerewith is communicated a copy of an order by General
Sherman, dated February 6th, 1862, relative to the disposition of the plantations and of their occupants. It is an evidence of the deep interest which the Commanding General
takes in this subject, and of his conviction that the exigency
requires prompt and immediate action from the Government.
I leave for Washington, to add any oral explanations which
may be desired, expecting to return at once, and, with the
permission of the Department, to organize the laborers on
some one plantation, and superintend them during the planting season, and upon its close, business engagements require
that I should be relieved of this appointment.
I am, with great respect,
Your friend and servant,
EDWTARD L. PIERCE.
-1
35 
36    APPEAL OF THE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION.
EDUOATIONAL COMMISSION.
The Committee on Teachers and on Finance would call the atte
tion of the friends of the Commission to the importance of additional
subscription to its funds.
There are at Port Royal and other places, many thousands of
colored persons, lately slaves, who are now under the protection
of the U. S. Government. They are a well-disposed people, ready
to work, and eager to learn. With a moderate amount of welldirected, systematic labor, they would very soon be able to raise
crops more than sufficient for their own support.  But  they need
aid and guidance in their first steps towards the condition of selfsupporting, independent laborers.
It is the object of the Commission to6 give them this aid, by 
sending out, as agents, intelligent and benevolent persons, who shall
instruct and care for them. These agents are called teachers, but
their teaching will by no means be confined to intellectual instruction. It will include all the more important and fundamental lessons
of civilization, -voluntary industry, self-reliance, frugality,  forethought, honesty and truthfulness, cleanliness and order.   With
these will be combined intellectual, moral and religious instruction.
The plan is approved by the U. S. Government, and Mr. EDWARD L. PIERCE, the Special Agent of the Treasury Department,
is authorized to accept the services of the agents of this Commis.-.
sion, and to provide for them transportation, quarters and subsistence.
Their salaries are paid by the Commission.
More than one hundred anrid fifty applications have been received
by the Committee on Teachers, and thirty-five able and efficient
persons have been selected.  Twenty-nine of these sailed for Port
RIoyal in the Atlantic, on the 3d instant. Three were already actively
employed at that place, and the others are to follow by the next
steamner. Some of these are volunteers, who gratuitously devote
their time and labor to this cause. Others receive a monthly salary
from the Commission.
The funds in the treasury, derived from voluntary and almost
unsolicited contributions, are sufficient to support those now in service for two or three months. But the Commission is as yet only on
the threshold of its undertaking. It is stated by Mr. Pierce that
at least one hundred and fifty teachers could be advantageously.
employed in the vicinity of Port Royal alone.
Subscriptions may  be  sent to Mr. WILLIAM ENDICOTT,  Jr.,
Treasurer, No. 33 Summer street,-or to either of the Committee
on Finance.
GEORGE B. EMERSON,
LE BARON RUSSELL,
LORING LOTIIPROP,
CHARLES F. BARNARD,
Bo. F. STE VENSON,
Committee on Teachers.
Boston, March 14, 1862.
E~DWARD ATKINSONr,
,MARTIN BRIMMER,
WILLIAM ENDICOTT, JR.,
JAMES T. FISHER,
WILLIAM I. BOWDITCH,
Committee on Finance.
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