THE PREEDMEN’S BUREAU 
 
 REPORTS 
 
 OF 
 
 GENERALS STEELMAN AND FULLERTON 
 
 VL pi'iiA 
 
 dAlI ' 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Condition of the Freedmen’s Bureau 
 
 IN THE 
 
 SOUTHERN STATES. 
 
 Generals Steedman and Fullerton, the Commissioners appointed by the President to 
 investigate the operations of the Freedmen’s Bureau in the Southern States, have 
 presented the following report for the States of Virginia and North Carolina t 
 
 Wilmington, N. C., May 8, 1866, 
 
 tlon. E. M. Stamen, Secretary of War: 
 
 We have the honor to report, in obedience to instructions of April 7 last, directing- 
 us to “inspect and report upon the Freedmen’s Bureau in the military departments 
 of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida* 
 Louisiana, Arkansas, • and Texas, ” that we have performed that duty in the depart¬ 
 ments of Virginia and North Carolina, and submit the following report of oar obser¬ 
 vations. We deem it proper to communicate the result of our inspection in these-. 
 States before proceeding further in the performance of the duty assigned to us. 
 
 It has been our endeavor to ascertain, by a thorough and impartial investigation, 
 the manner in which the Bureau has been administered and conducted in these depa t- 
 ments, and to observe the effect produced by it upon the relations between the white 
 and black races. In pursuing our investigations we have endeavored to arrive at the 
 truth, and we feel that we have succeeded in doing so by thoroughly examining and 
 conversing with representatives of all classes of people, white and black, as well as 
 officers on duty in the military service and in the Freedman’s Bureau in said States, 
 We have visited all the cities and towns of any importance, and the headquarters of 
 each district of the Bureau in Virginia and North Carolina, and also have taken 
 advantage of every opportunity to converse with and obtain the opinions with reference 
 to the Bureau of citizens whom we have met on the, streets, at the hotels, and while 
 travelling on the cars. 
 
 VIRGINIA. 
 
 The re are on duty in Virginia the following number of officers in the military serving* 
 and of other persons employed by or attached to the Bureau: One colonel, two lieutenant 
 colonels, three majors, one captain and commissary of subsistence, nine captains and 
 assistant quartermasters, nineteen captains of the line, twenty-three first lieutenants, 
 twenty second lieutenants, two hundred and thirty-three civilian employes, classified 
 and payed as follows : 
 
 58 clerks and superintendents of farms, paid average monthly wages.„.$78 50 
 
 12 assistant superintendents, paid average monthly wages..... 87 00 
 
 163 laborers, paid average monthly wages ....... 31 75- 
 
 In addition to the foregoing, enlisted men in the military service are employed as. 
 orderlies, guards, &c., hut we were unable to procure the number of those so employed- 
 Nine thousand freedmen received rations from the Bureau in the month of December” 
 last, 10,260 in the month of January, and 9,938 in February. The provision ret-wwa® 
 on which the rations were issued, show : 
 
 
 
 
 Men, 
 
 Women. 
 
 Children. 
 
 Total , 
 
 December. 
 
 
 
 1,020 
 
 2,789 
 
 5,191 
 
 9,000 
 
 January__ 
 
 
 
 1,215 
 
 3,084 
 
 5,961 
 
 10,260 
 
 February cc 
 
 
 
 1,324 
 
 3,147 
 
 5,467 
 
 9.0381 
 
 ^ l ^ l & 
 
 U‘cU 
 
2 
 
 WHY THE NEGROES NEED ASSISTANCE. 
 
 A majority of the freedmen to whom this subsistence has been furnished are' 
 undoubtedly able to earn a living if they were removed to localities where labor could 
 be procured. The necessity for issuing rations to this class of persons results from, 
 their accumulation in large numbers in certain places where the land is unproductive 
 and the demand for labor is limited. As long as‘these people remain in tlie present 
 localities, the civil authorities refuse to provide for the able-bodied, and are unable to 
 care for the helpless and destitute among them, owing to their great number and the 
 fact that very few are residents of the counties in which they have congregated during 
 the war. The necessity for the relief extended to these people, both able-bodied and 
 helpless, by the Government, will continue as long as they remain in their present con¬ 
 dition, and while rations are issued to the able- 1 >died they will not voluntarily change 
 their localities to seek places where they can y ure labor. 
 
 EVERYTHING DEPENDS IIP..* . THE AGENTS. 
 
 In those districts of Virginia where the affairs of the Bureau have been faithfully and 
 impartially administered by men of sound judgment and discretion, there has been no 
 conflict between the agents of the Bureau and the citizens. In all such districts the 
 agents are acting in harmony with the civil officers of the State, and are assisted and 
 supported in the performance of their duties by the citizens. But in many places 
 where the agents are not men of capacity and integrity a very unsatisfactory condition 
 of things exist. This originates in the arbitrary, unnecessary, and offensive inter¬ 
 ference of the agents of the Bureau with the relations between the planters and their 
 hired freedmen, causing vexatious delays in the prosecution of labor, and imposing 
 expense and costs in suits before themselves of trivial matters that could readily be 
 adjusted by the friendly advice of a sensible man. The effect produced by the action 
 of this class of agents is bitterness and antagonism between the whites and the freed¬ 
 men, a growing prejudice against the Government among the planters, and expectations 
 on the part of the freedmen that can never be realized. Where there has been no 
 such interference or bad advice given to the freedmen by the agents of the Bureau, 
 there is a growing Reeling of kindness between the races, and good order and harmony 
 prevail. 
 
 , SPECIMEN OF THE DECISIONS OF THE BUREAU. 
 
 As an evidence of the manner in ^hich this arbitrary power is exercised, we would 
 state that an agent of the Bureau, presiding in a freedmen’s court in Accomac county, 
 decided a question of title to land as follows : A colored man, who was freed twenty 
 years ago by his master, and who was permitted through the kindness of his master to 
 make his home on the plantation wherever he choose, set up a claim to ten acres thereof 
 around a cabin in which he had lived for ten years. The agent decided that the 
 colored man had acquired title to the ten acres by adverse possession, and forbade the 
 owners of the plantation from bringing the question again before his court, or any 
 other court, on pain of imprisonment. 
 
 A NEGRO DIVORCE CASE. 
 
 These agents exert the widest latitude in the exercise of their judicial functions, try¬ 
 ing questions involving title to real estate, contracts, crimes, and even actions affecting 
 the marital relation. We witnessed the trial of a divorce case before the sub-agent at 
 Charlottesville. The trial occupied about ten minutes, and resulted in a decree of 
 divorce. 
 
 TRANSFERENCE OF THE POWERS TO THE MILITARY. 
 
 The Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau for Virginia having turned over to the 
 civil courts all criminal cases in which freedmen are interested, and having made 
 preparations also to turn over civil cases, thus leaves no other duty lor the agents of 
 the Bureau to perform except to supervise contracts and to care tor the aged, infirm, 
 and helpless. We therefore respectfully recommend that the services of the officers 
 of the Bureau in Virginia be dispensed with, and that their duties be performed by the 
 officers commanding the troops in the department. Such a change would relieve the 
 Government of a large, and, in our opinion, wholly unnecessary expense of supporting 
 a superfluous number of officers and employes, while the duties can be as efficiently and 
 satisfactorily performed in the manner in which we have suggested. As long as the 
 Government of the United States exercises any control whatever over the Southern 
 States not exercised in the other States of the Union, so long the presence of military 
 force will be indispensable. The presence of both the Bureau and military force is un¬ 
 necessary. The officers commanding the troops can discharge the duties now per¬ 
 formed by both ; but the officers of the Bureau, without the presence of the troops, 
 would be powerless to execute even their own orders. 
 
3 
 
 PAST SERVICES OF THE BUREAU. 
 
 At the close of the war, in the chaotic condition in which society was left in the en¬ 
 tire absence of all civil authority, the judicious and sensible officers of the Bureau, sup¬ 
 ported by the military, exercised a good influence, and did much to preserve order and 
 assist in the organization of free labor. The restoration of civil law, and the recogni¬ 
 tion of the civil rights of the freedmen, as evidenced by the changes made by the 
 Legislature in the laws of Virginia—giving them the right to hold property, to sue and 
 be sued, and to testify in the courts in all cases in which they may be interested, (a 
 gratifying proof of the growing feeling of kindness toward them on the part of the 
 whites)—render the freedmen, in our opinion, perfectly secure, if left to the care of 
 
 the law and the protection of the troops. 
 
 # 
 
 INFLUENCE ON THE FREEDMEN. 
 
 There appears to be a contrariety of opinion as to whether the effect of the opera¬ 
 tions of the Bureau on the freedmen has been to promote habits of industry or idle¬ 
 ness among them. In our judgment the effect produced has depended wholly on the 
 character of the officers. Prudent and industrious freedmen rarely call upon the Bu¬ 
 reau for advice or assistance. It is the idle and worthless who look to it for support. 
 Among these, however, we do not mean to include the infirm and helpless. The mass 
 of the freedmen have an idea that the Bureau possesses some mysterious power to 
 serve them, and that if they fail to secure such a livelihood as they desire, they can fall 
 back upon it with a certainty of support. These ideas, it will be readily seen, lessen 
 their efforts to procure employment, and to support themselves and their families. 
 They also regard the existence of the Bureau as evidence that the Government looks 
 upon the white people of the South as their enemies, which is calculated to excite sus¬ 
 picion and bad feeling on their part. 
 
 GENERAL BROWN’S ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 The Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau for Virginia, Brevet Brigadier General 0. 
 Brown, is laboring faithfully and zealously to harmonize and protect the interests of 
 both races. We discovered no hostility among the white people of Virginia to the 
 education of the freedmen. In several localities, more especially at Lynchburg and 
 and Charlottesville, where we thoroughly examined into this subject, the people were 
 taking much interest in the establishment of schools for their education, giving as a 
 reason for their efforts in this direction that educated labor was preferable to uneducated 
 labor, which sentiment we believe prevails throughout the State. 
 
 CONDUCT OF THE OFFICERS. 
 
 We made no investigation into the conduct of the officers of the Bureau in Virginia 
 outside of their official duties. 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 Having completed our duties in Virginia, we proceeded to the Department of North 
 Carolina, and arrived at Raleigh on the 23d of April. Here we saw the Assistant Com¬ 
 missioner of the Bureau for said State, Colonel E. Whittlesey, and obtained from him 
 the following information as to the number of military officers and civilians employed, 
 and the number of freedmen to whom rations have been issued since the first of Decem¬ 
 ber last in said State : 
 
 Commissioned officers in the military service : one colonel, one lieutenant colonel, 
 two majors, seventeen captains, six first lieutenants, eight second lieutenants, one 
 chaplain. 
 
 MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 9 contract surgeons, at per month..•. $100 00 
 
 26 hospital attendants, at average pay each per month.• •••• 11 2a 
 
 19 civilian employes, clerks, agents, &c., at an average pay per month of.... 77 20 
 
 4 laborers, at an average pay per month of. 
 
 In addition to the foregoing, enlisted men are detailed as orderlies, guards, &c., by 
 commanding officers of the different military posts where officers of the Bureau are 
 
 serving. 
 
 Rations have been issued as follows : 
 
 December.. 
 
 January. 
 
 February. 
 
 March. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Women. 
 
 Children. 
 
 Total . 
 
 513 
 
 2,465 
 
 3,679 
 
 6,662 
 
 552 
 
 2,567 
 
 3,712 
 
 6,831 
 
 369 
 
 2.270 
 
 3,507 
 
 5,146 
 
 321 
 
 2,205 
 
 3,406 
 
 5,932 
 
4 
 
 The same reasons that exist for issuing rations to the Freedmen of Virginia, and the 
 necessity for the continuance of this relief, apply to Freedmen of North Carolina. 
 
 FEELING TOWARDS THE BUREAU. 
 
 We found the feeling towards the Bureau much the same as that already stated as 
 prevailing in Virginia, except that there appears to be a more universal desire in this 
 department on the part of all classes to have it removed. This feeling is no doubt 
 attributable to the misconduct of many of the officers of the Bureau, such as working 
 plantations, running saw-mills, manufacturing turpentine and tar, &c., operations 
 which bring them, armed with authority of their official positions, into competition 
 with the citizens who are employing Freedmen. 
 
 CONDUCT OF THE AGENTS. JF 
 
 We have investigated some of the charges made against agents of the Bureau, and 
 in pursuing our inquiries on this point, commenced with the Assistant Commissioner 4 
 
 of the State, Colonel E. Whittlesey, to whom we addressed the interrogatory: “Do 
 you know of any person in the military service, now on duty with the Freedmen ’3 
 Bureau in this department, who is, or has been since entering upon the duties of his 
 office, engaged or interested, either directly or indirectly, in the cultivation of any lands 
 within the department?” He answered, “No.” Subsequently, he addressed us a 
 note, hereto appended, in which he stated that, in order to assist the planters in hiring 
 Freedmen and trying fairly the experiment of free labor, he and some other officers of 
 the Bureau had loaned money, and thus indirectly had an interest in cultivating farms. 
 
 On receiving'this note, we addressed Colonel Whittlesey further interrogations, a copy 
 of which is hereto annexed, to which he replied in a communication, also hereto 
 appended, disclosing the fact that he is interested as an equal partner with the Rev. 
 
 Horace James, of Massachusetts, formerly Captain and Acting Quartermaster Freed- 
 men’s Bureau, and with Mr. Winthrop Tappan, of Maine, in the cultivation of a large 
 farm in Pitt County, North Carolina, He also stated therein that Captain F. A. See¬ 
 ley, Superintendent of the Bureau for the Eastern District, North Carolina, is inte¬ 
 rested in the cultivation of a plantation in Wayne County, North Carolina, with a Mr. 
 
 Potter, and that Captain Isaac Rosekranz, Commissary of Subsistence, is interested 
 with a Mr. Brooks in the cultivation of a plantation in Pitt County, North Carolina. 
 
 A BRIGHT EXCEPTION. 
 
 From Raleigh we proceeded to Salisbury, where we found Major Clinton A. Cilley, 
 Superintendent in the Bureau, having Charge of the Western District, embracing fifty- 
 one counties of the State. This efficient and competent, officer has administered the 
 affairs of the Bureau within his district with much ability and impartiality. We con¬ 
 ferred with the leading white citizens, embracing both those who had formerly been 
 Rebels and those who had been Union men, and also with a delegation of intelligent 
 colored people representing the Freedmen, all of whom agreed in the statement that 
 the Freedmen were at work, were perfectly satisfied, and that good feeling and har¬ 
 mony prevailed between the whites and blacks throughout the district. Major Cilley 
 is not. interested in the cultivation of any plantation, or in any other business not 
 directly connected with his official duties, and he has prohibited all officers serving 
 under him within his district from engaging in any enterprise which would enable 
 them to appropriate or control the labor of Freedmen under their jurisdiction to 
 advance their private interests. We attribute much of the order and contentment of 
 the Freedmen in the Western District to Major Cilley’s judicious and honest admin¬ 
 istration, t 
 
 • BACK TO RALEIGH. | 
 
 After completing eur inspection of the operations of tiie Bureau in Major Cilley’s 
 district, we returned to Raleigh, where we remained one day for the purpose of further f 
 
 interview with Colonel Whittlesey; but, he being absent, we were obliged to address 
 him certain interrogatories in writing, to which he afterwards replied as before stated. 
 
 AFFAIRS AT NEWBERN. 
 
 On the 27th of April we left Raleigh for Newheim, the headquarters of Captain F. 
 
 A . Seeley, Superintendent of the Bureau of the Eastern District of North Carolina. 
 
 We at once proceeded to investigate the affairs of the Bureau and the conduct of its 
 off oers in this district. Captain Seeley was interrogated as to whether he was inter¬ 
 ested in any manner, directly or indirectly, in the cultivation of lands, or in any other 
 private business requiring the labor of Freedmen. He answered that lie was not, 
 
0 
 
 except indirectly in manufacturing lumber, having purchased, or being about to pur¬ 
 chase, with two of his clerks, a saw-mill about forty miles down the river. Dr. Rush, 
 Medical Purveyor? U. S. V., stationed at Newbern, and a Mr. Potter, a citizen, were 
 subsequently examined, both of whom stated that Captain Seeley, Superintendent of 
 the Freedmen’s Bureau for the district, entered into partnership with them, about 
 December last, in a contract to cultivate the farm of Mr. George Collier, a citizen of 
 North Carolina, near Goldsborougli. They commenced operations by planting seven 
 hundred acres of cotton and some corn, this work necessarily requiring the 
 labor of a large number ot Freedmen. Dr. Rush stated that, some two weeks 
 since, he had conditionally purchased the interest of Captain Seeley in his plantation, 
 but had not yet consummated the contract. Mr. Potter stated that about a fortnight 
 ago Dr. Rush, he himself, and others had, conditionally, purchased a part of the in¬ 
 terest of Captain Seeley, and that Captain Seeley still owned an interest in the planta¬ 
 tion. Without being able to determine from the testimony how far Captain Seeley is 
 interested in this plantation, it is perfectly evident that he prevaricated in his answer 
 to our interrogatory. 
 
 FURTHER MISCONDUCT. ' 
 
 Captain Rosekranz, sub-agent of the Bureau at Newbern under Captain Seeley, and 
 commissary of subsistence, as will be seen by reference to the paper hereto attached, 
 is also engaged in cultivating a large plantation near Little Washington, N. C., with 
 the labor of freedmen, whom he supplied with rations as a part of their wages. 
 
 MISSING RATIONS. 
 
 In one of our interviews with the freedmen at Newbern some of them, who were em¬ 
 ployed in the Commissary Department of the Bureau, stated that rations in bulk had 
 been frequently taken from the supply warehouse at unusual hours, before the doors 
 were opened for the transaction of business, and hauled off in carts and wagons, and 
 that on one occasion they had followed a cart containing four barrels of pork, to see if 
 it went to the freedmen’s ration house. They ascertained that it did not. We inves¬ 
 tigated this particular case. Captain Rosekranz stated that he knew nothing about it. 
 His brother, a citizen, whom he had employed to act as a commissary sergeant, stated 
 that the four barrels of pork alluded to were ordered by himself*, to be taken from the 
 store-house to the building from which rations were issued to the freedmen, but that 
 the driver of the cart had made a mistake and took the pork to the Wrong place, a pro¬ 
 vision store kept by Mr. P. Merwin, and that immediately on discovering the mistake 
 he had it rectified and the pork returned to the store house. Afterwards we called 
 upon Mr. Merwin, who stated that at about the time Mr. Rosekranz said the pork had 
 been sent by mistake to his store he borrowed four barrels of pork from Captain Rose¬ 
 kranz, which he had not yet returned. He also stated that Captain Rosekranz on that 
 day, and after his examination before us, called at his store and requested him to 
 return the four barrels of pork immediately. Mr. Merwiq lurther stated that he had 
 exchanged with Captain Rosekranz two barrels ot brown sugar tor two barrels ot white 
 sugar, and paid Captain Rosekranz five cents per pound tor making the exchange. 
 
 THE CRUELTIES OF' REV. MR. FITZ. 
 
 Opposite Newbern, on the south bank of the Trent river, there is a settlement com¬ 
 posed exclusively of freedmen, and containing a population of about four thousand, 
 whose condition is truly deplorable, lliese unfortunate people came within our lines 
 and were located there during the war. They are living in small huts, built by thern- 
 
 * selves of lumber manufactured by hand ; these huts, generally containing but a single 
 room, each of which is occupied, in most cases, by large families. The appearance of 
 
 * this settlement, recently scourged with the small-pox, is well calculated to excite the 
 deepest sympathy for the helpless condition of its inhabitants. 1 he decrepid and 
 
 f helpless among them are supported by the Government ot the United States, and the 
 
 remainder procure an uncertain and scanty living from little jobs about Newbern—- 
 from fishing from small boats, huckstering, &c. The Rev. Mr. Fitz, formerly an army 
 chaplain, presides over this colony as assistant superintendent of the Bureau for the 
 Trent river settlement. This agent lias exercised the most arbitrary and despotic 
 power, and practiced, revolting and unheard-of cruelties on the helpless treedmen under 
 his charge. The outrageous conduct of this man was brought to our attention by a 
 delegation of freedmen from the settlement, who called upon us and made statements 
 in relation to his oppressions and outrages which we could scarcely credit, Aite. 
 hearing their statements we visited the settlement, convened the freedmen, investiga-i 
 ting the charges against this man, and ascertained that he had been guilty ot e. en 
 
6 
 
 greater wrongs and oppressions than had been complained of. In addition to the tes¬ 
 timony of the freedmeu, we took the statements of four intelligent ladies from the 
 North, who are teaching school in the settlement. Among the many acts of cruelty 
 committed by Superintendent Fitz, we found that he had in two instances suspended 
 freedmen with cords around their wrists, their feet not touching the floor, and kept 
 them in this position, in one case four, in the other case six hours ; that he sentenced 
 a freedman to an imprisonment of three months for a trivial ofl'ence—that of wrangling 
 with his wife. He kept another man, who was arrested for debt, shut up in the black 
 ;h 0US e—the prison—for months, while his wife and children, reduced to abject destitu¬ 
 tion, died with the small-pox, and took him from the prison under guard and compelled 
 him to bury his last child in the cradle in which it died. On another occasion, when 
 one of his guards reported to him that a colored woman had spoken disrespectfully of 
 him, without even inquiring what the woman had said, he ordered her to be im¬ 
 prisoned until the next morning at nine o’clock, when she would be brought before 
 him to answer for the indignity. In one instance he imprisoned six children for ten 
 days for playing in the streets on the Sabbath day. He imposed a fine of sixty dollars 
 upon an aged freedman for having told another freedman that he was about to be 
 arrested by Mr. Fitz. This poor old man not having the money to pay the fine, was 
 imprisoned until the next day, when his son paid the same, with three dollars 
 additional as jail fees. 
 
 FITZ’S TAXES. 
 
 The land upon which the huts in this settlement are built is owned by certain heirs 
 in North Carolina, ahdis held by the Freedmen’s Bureau as abandoned property. A 
 tax, which Superintendent Fitz says goes to the support of the Bureau, is imposed 
 upon the owner of each hut for ground rent. If the occupants fail to pay this tax 
 promptly, they are either turned out into the streets or imprisoned, and in some 
 instances huts have been torn down by order of the Superintendent for non-payment of 
 the tax. All business transacted by these people are taxed for the same purpose. Five 
 | dollars per month are levied upon every little shop; two dollars on each fishing-boat; 
 five dollars on each horse and cart, &c. The failure to pay those taxes when due at once 
 subjects the property taxed to confiscation. We were unable to obtain what amount 
 of money had been collected by Superintendent Fitz, or what disposition had been 
 made of it. The imperfect manner in which the books were kept would have rendered 
 a lengthy and detailed examination necessary to arrive at even an approximate idea of 
 the amount of money collected. In answer to a question as to what justification there 
 was for the oppressive burdens'he had imposed upon these people, Superintendent 
 Fitz replied that Captain Seeley told him, “ I must have a thousand dollars a month 
 from that settlement.” He also furnished us with a sworn statement, herewith for¬ 
 warded, marked “ E,” in which he attempts to defend his conduct by stating that he 
 acted in obedience to the orders of his superior officers in the Bureau. 
 
 4 
 
 CAPTAIN SEELEY SCREENING HIS SUBORDINATES. 
 
 In an interview we had with Captain Seeley, that officer evinced a desire to shield 
 Superintendent Fitz by stating that a great deal of what was said against him resulted 
 from prejudice, notwithstanding he had the sworn testimony before him that the charges 
 against Fitz were true. 
 
 BUREAU OFFICERS SHOOTING DOWN A FREEDMAN. 
 
 While at Newbern investigating the conduct of the officers of the Bureau, and 
 the reported oppressions of the freedmen, by this class of persons, our attention was 
 called to the alleged killing of a freedman by a white employe of Colonel Whittlesey, 
 Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau for North Carolina, and the Rev. Horace James, 
 formerly assistant quartermaster, on their plantation in Pitt county. Mr. James, while * 
 in the United States service, was superintendent of the Bureau for the district now 
 under charge of Captain Seeley, and is now an agent of the Bureau, without pay, for 
 the county in which he is planting. The circumstances under which this freedman was 
 killed, as stated by Mr. James himself, were as follows : The freedman was accused of 
 stealing provisions from the store of Colonel Whittlesey and Mr. James, was arrested, 
 tried, and convicted by Mr. James as agent of the Bureau, and was sentenced to dig 
 ditches on their plantation. While working out this sentence he ran away, and was 
 pursued by James and his clerk, Boyden, who arrived at the bank of a river while 
 the treedman was attempting to cross in a canoe. Boyden ordered him to return, tell¬ 
 ing him that if he did not he would shoot, and the freedman disregarding this order, 
 Boyden fired. Boyden states himself that he thinks he hit him, and as nothing has 
 
7 
 
 ever been heard of the freedman since, it is generally believed in the neighborhood 
 that he was killed and fell from the canoe into the river. These facts were stated in a 
 letter forwarded to Colonel Whittlesey, who returned it to Captain Seeley with the fol¬ 
 lowing endorsement: 
 
 Raleigh, March 28, 1866. 
 
 Respectfully returned, as the affair seems to have occurred at night, and, as the body 
 of the negro has not been discoved, it does not appear certain that the shot took effect. 
 No further action in the case seems to be called for. 
 
 By order of Colonel WHITTLESEY, 
 
 Assistant Commissioner. 
 
 Beecher, Assistant Adjutant (Jeneral. 
 
 A number of the freedmen at Newbern expressed dissatisfaction at the manner in 
 which this case had been passed over without investigation ; but as the plantation is 
 quite remote from any public line of communication, we were unable, owing to want of 
 time, to inquire into the matter. 
 
 AFFAIRS AT KINSTON. 
 
 On the 2d instant we left Newbern for Goldsboro, and on the'way stopped at Kinston 
 long enough to learn that Crptain Wheeler, agent for the Bureau at that point, is en¬ 
 gaged in working a large plantation on his own account, and employs thereon quite a 
 number of freedmen. 
 
 MOKE FARMING. 
 
 At Goldsboro’ the superintendent, G. 0. Glavis, chaplain United States army, is culti¬ 
 vating one farm on Government account, and is interested in cultivating two farms on 
 his own account. This officer stated in his examination before us that he was not 
 interested in the cultivation of plantations, except indirectly by loaning money to a 
 Mr. Brooks, a friend of his from the North, who was engaged in planting ; but we ascer¬ 
 tained from Mr. Carr and Mr. Lane, citizens of the vicinity of Goldsboro’, that he is 
 interested and joined with them in contracts for the cultivation of their plantations. 
 He and his friend Mr. Brooks entered into a contract with Mr. Lane to furnish rations and 
 pay for forty laborers, and to provide eight good mules. Mr. Lane offered to furnish the 
 land, to superintend in person the cultivation thereof, the crop to be equally divided, 
 one half to Mr. Lane and the other half to Mr. Brooks and Glavis. Mr. Lane states 
 that the enterprise failed after the freedmen had worked over two months ; they then 
 left Brooks and Glavis, having failed to pay them according to contract. The Freed¬ 
 men received for their labor a little clothing, such as coats, pants, shoes, &c., furnished 
 by Captain Glavis, and but little or no money. A similar contract was made by Glavis 
 and Brooks with Mr. Carr, who stated to us that Captain Glavi f paying the hands in 
 
 a little of everything, but chiefly in clothing.” „ 
 
 SELLING FREEDMEN’S CLOTHES. 
 
 We ascertained by the testimony of Messrs.'Barham & Ballard, Auctioneers at Golds¬ 
 boro’, that they had sold at auction for Chaplain Glavis forty blankets marked “ U. S.,” 
 and a quantity of clothing that had been sent to Goldsboro’ for gratuitous distribution 
 to the needy by a Freedmen’s Aid Society at or in the vicinity of Rochester, New 
 York. We learned also that he had disposed of a large amount of such clothing at 
 private sale. The Chaplain stated himself that he had received from such sales two 
 hundred and sixty dollars ($260, ^ though subsequently he asserted that the total cash 
 receipts of his office, from all sources, amounted to one hundred and twenty-six dol¬ 
 lars and fifty cents ($126.50.) He kept no books or even memoranda of moneys re¬ 
 ceived or expended. 
 
 THE WILMINGTON AGENTS. 
 
 On the 4th instant we arrived at Wilmington, the Headquarters of the Bureau for 
 the Southern District of North Carolina, of which Colonel Rutherford is the Superin¬ 
 tendent. The Colonel has been here but a short time, and is not yet fully acquainted 
 with the operations of the Bureau in his District. He was so unwell that he was 
 obliged to retire while we were engaged in examining his office, and we have not since 
 conferred with him. 
 
 Major J. C. Mann, Assistant Quartermaster and Financial Agent of the Southern 
 District, is engaged in the cultivation of a rice plantation a short distance from Wil¬ 
 mington, on which are employed fifty-five freedmen. The Major stated that while lie 
 would not object to making money, he engaged in this business to convince the South¬ 
 ern people that the negro would work. 
 
ONE WAY OF INDUCING INDUSTRY. 
 
 Major Cliarles I. Wickersham, Sul)-Agent of the Bureau, whose Headquarters are at 
 Wilmington, is also interested in the cultivation of a rice plantation within his Sub- 
 District, and he is to receive one-fourth of the crops from the same for compelling 
 the freedmen employed on said plantation to work faithfully. He explained the man¬ 
 ner in whch he compelled freedmen to comply with their contracts, by stating that he 
 put them to work with ball and chain on the streets of Wilmington. 
 
 EVILS OF THE SYSTEM. 
 
 Without attempting to discuss the propriety of officers of the Bureau in the military 
 service of the United States, who are paid by the Government for the performance of 
 their duties, engaging in private business, and employing freedmen for such purposes, 
 while controlling through their official positions that class of labor, we deem it our 
 duty to state some of the effects produced, both upon the officers themselves and upon 
 the planters with whom they come in competition, by such conduct. Major Wicker- 
 sham, in contracting to furnish forty labors to work on a rice plantation, becomes at 
 once interested against the laborers, whom he compels to labor, perhaps unjustly, 
 when unfairly dealt with by the person working them on the plantation: and, on their 
 refusing to work, he inflicts upon them unlawful, and, for a breach of contract, unheard 
 of punishment, putting them on chain-gangs, as if they were convicted criminals. 
 Colonel Whittlesey, or any other officer of less rank and influence in the Bureau, who 
 is engaged in working plantations rented for cash or on shares, becomes interested in 
 securing a low rate of wages and in making the most stringent labor regulations, to the 
 great detriment of the freedmen. They thereby give the sanction of the Government 
 to the establishment of wages far below what the labor is really worth. Officers of the 
 Quartermaster’s and Commissary Departments who are thus engaged are subjected to 
 the temptation of appropriating to their own use Quartermaster’s stores and rations to 
 supply and pay their own laborers. Complaints have been made to me by the planters 
 that these Agents of the Bureau use t|ie power of their positions to obtain and control 
 the best labor in the State. There is no doubt that some of the ill-feeling manifested 
 toward the Bureau on the part of the planters is attributable to this fact. 
 
 ARBITRARY POWER OF THE BUREAU. 
 
 The arbitrary power exercised by some of the Officers and Agents of the Bureau in 
 making arrests, imposing fines, and inflicting punishments, disregarding the local laws 
 and especially the statute of limitations, creates prejudice against the Government. 
 If the Officers were all honest and intelligent, with even limited legal information, it 
 might be safe to trust them with this extraordinary power : but in many instances the 
 Officers do not possess the slightest knowledge of law. At Goldsboro’, the Agent, 
 Captain Glavis, imposed a fine of $25 on one freedman for stabbing another so severely 
 as to endanger his life, and when interrogated by us relative to this case, he stated, 
 that he did not know enough about law to distinguish a civil from a criminal case. 
 
 THE RECOMMENDATION. 
 
 * '#■ # 
 
 We are satisfied that the recommendation which we made in reference to the with¬ 
 drawal of the Officers of the Bureau in Virginia, and the transference to the Officers 
 commanding the troops of such duties as it may still be necessary to perform in con¬ 
 nexion with the freedmen, is equally applicable to North Carolina. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servants. 
 
 JAS. B. STEED MAN, Ala,]. Gen. Volunteers. 
 
 J. S. FULLERTON, Bruy. Gen. Volunteers. 
 
 Augusta, Ga., Friday June 1, 1866. 
 
 Hon , E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War : 
 
 Sir: We have the honor to submit the following report of our inspection of the 
 operations of the Freedmen’s Bureau in the Military Departments of South Caroliua, 
 Georgia and Florida, and of the condition of the Freedinen’s Settlements, tbre Sea 
 Islands and Sea-coast, under General Sherman’s order : 
 
9 
 
 SOUTH CAROLINA. 
 
 We did not visit many of the Bureau Agents in this State, owing to the inaccessi¬ 
 bility of their stations ; but confined our inspection mainly to districts the headquar¬ 
 ters oi whiSh are at Columbia, Charleston, and Hamburg. The number of officers and 
 persons employed by and attached to the Bureau in South Carolina, are : 
 
 One Brigadier General, Assistant Commissioner of Bureau. 
 
 Staff of Assistant Commissioner —One Lieutenant Colonel, one Major, six Captains, 
 one Lieutenant, one Chaplain and Bureau Missionary. 
 
 On duty as Sub-Assistant Commissioners of the Bureau —One Colonel, two Lieutenant 
 Colonels, four Majors, seven Captains, six First Lieutenants, one Second Lieutenant. 
 
 On Staff Duty Elsewhere thorn at Bureau Headquarters —Three Lieutenants. 
 
 Medical Department— Three Surgeons, United States Voludteers, thirteen Assistant 
 Surgeons. 
 
 CITIZEN' EMPLOYEES. 
 
 Nine clerks, at average pay each per month. . $108 33 
 
 One rental agent, at monthly pay of. 75 00 
 
 One clerk, at monthly pay of. 50 00 
 
 One storekeeper, at monthly pay of.,. 85 00 
 
 One counsellor, at monthly pay of. 125 00 
 
 One superintendent of education, at monthly pay of. 150 00 
 
 One printer, at monthly pay of. 100 00 
 
 One contract surgeon, at monthly pay of. 100 00 
 
 Twenty-five laborers, at average pay per month... 10 20 
 
 In the above list of officers in the military service, on duty in the Bureau in South* 
 Carolina, brevet rank is omitted, in order that the pay of each may be determined by 
 the rank as there stated. 
 
 The number of Freedmen to whom rations have been issued in the Department of 
 South Carolina during each month since the first of December, 1865, is : 
 
 
 Men. 
 
 Women. 
 
 Children. 
 
 Total. 
 
 December... 
 
 . 2,430 
 
 3,612 
 
 2,325 
 
 8,367 
 
 January... 
 
 . 2,560 
 
 3,841 
 
 625 
 
 7,026 
 
 February.... 
 
 733 
 
 1,876 
 
 664 
 
 3,273 
 
 March. 
 
 . 816 
 
 2,120 
 
 1,012 
 
 3,948 
 
 April..... 
 
 804 
 
 1 742 
 
 1,141 
 
 3 777 
 
 The number of refugees to whom rations have 
 
 been issued, is : 
 
 / 
 
 
 Men. 
 
 Women. 
 
 Children. 
 
 Total. 
 
 December. 
 
 hr 
 
 . i 
 
 42 
 
 65 
 
 114 
 
 January.... 
 
 7 
 
 102 
 
 192 
 
 301 
 
 February. 
 
 30 
 
 189 
 
 247 
 
 466 
 
 March... 
 
 24 
 
 167 
 
 340 
 
 531 
 
 April. 
 
 48 
 
 267 
 
 431 
 
 746 
 
 It will be seen by reference to the above that Brevet Major General Scott, the present 
 Commissioner of the Bureau, upon entering upon the discharge of his duties, greatly 
 reduced the issue of rations to Freedmen. The supplies furnished consisted of pork 
 or bacon, fresh beef, flour or soft bread, hard bread, corn meal, beans, peas and homi¬ 
 ny, sugar, vinegar, candles, soap, salt, and pepper. The reduction of the issue of 
 rations by General Scott, since taking charge of the affairs of the Bureau ia South 
 Carolina, clearly indicates, in our judgment, that his predecessor, General Saxton, 
 issued a much larger number of rations than would have been required had he pur¬ 
 sued the wise policy, since inaugurated by General Scott, of employing proper means 
 to induce the Freedmen to labor, instead of encouraging them to depend on the Gov¬ 
 ernment for support. We think there will be no necessity for the issue after the 
 prerent season, if the policy of General Scott is carried out. 
 
 Faithful and efficient agents of the Bureau, who have confined themselves to their 
 legitimate functions, have been aided in the discharge of their duties by the citizens 
 of South Carolina, while incompetent and meddlesome agents, wherever located, have 
 aroused hitter feelings and encountered opposition from the white people. 
 
 A very wholesome and acceptable reform in the administration of the Bureau in this 
 Department, and one that will result in a considerable reduction of its expenses, 
 would be to discontinue the citizen agents and instruct the military officers on duty in 
 the State to perform such offices as may be required by the Bureau during its 
 existence. 
 
 / 
 
10 
 
 It is very apparent that such employes as “Bureau Missionary,” “ Bureau Counsel¬ 
 lor,” “ Bureau Printer,” and Bureau Storekeeper.” can he dispensed with without 
 detriment to either the Government or Freedmen. 
 
 COLUMBIA DISTRICT. 
 
 The first point in South Carolina where we commenced our investigation was at 
 Columbia. There we found Brevet Brig. Gen. Ely, Sub Assistant Commissioner of the 
 Bureau, who has charge of a district which embraces an indefinite number of counties. 
 
 We were unable to obtain from him a statement of the extent of territory over which 
 he presided, for the reason that he himself did not know the limits of his jurisdiction. 
 
 This officer is quite extensively engaged in the cultivation of plantations. His planting 
 interest in the vicinity of Columbia required so much of his time, that, in one instance 
 at least, he found that he had seriously neglected the proper duties of his office. Gen. 
 
 Ely stated that he was cultivating two plantations on Government account, leased by 
 himself, as Bureau agent, at a cash rent of $5,000 a year. On three other plantations 
 he stated that he had put freedmen to work and furnished them with Government 
 rations, which were paid for out of their crops. One of these plantations, he afterwards 
 said, had been rented by Wm. Shepley, of the 25th infantry, who had been a clerk in 
 his office. He CGen. Ely) had put the freedmen to work on the plantation while 
 Shepley was away at his home, and had promised to give them one-half of the crop. 
 
 A delegation of freedmen subsequently called on us and stated that in addition to 
 the two plantations which'General Ely was cultivating on Government account, he was 
 also planting on his own account the farms of Robert Joiner and A. M. Hunt. This 
 delegation further stated that twenty-nine colored persons, men, women, and children, 
 suffering from the small-pox, were crowded into one room, about twenty feet by twenty- 
 four in size, and placed on the bare floor, with no bedding, while their only covering 
 was the blankets they had brought with them. These poor creatures were left in this 
 condition several days, some of them delirious, with only one black woman to attend 
 them, and without any nourishment but meat and bread. A number of respectable 
 old colored people, attacked with the small-pox, were thus taken from their comfortable 
 homes and placed in this room to die of neglect. One of this delegation assured us 
 that he called to see General Ely on several different days to inform him of the suffering 
 condition of the freedmen in the small-pox hospital, and was told on each occasion 
 that the General could not be seen, as he was absent attending to his plantations? Th s 
 neglect of duty by General Ely was complained of in a letter written by Beverly Nash, 
 a. colored man, and published in a Charleston paper devoted to the interest of the 
 freedmen. After the publication of this letter, General Ely told Nash he did not like 
 to have such statements made about him, and wished the freedmen to get up somt 
 resolutions denying the truth of the allegations preferred, which they refused to do. 
 
 We examined a contract between a planter and freedman, which is on file in General 
 Ely’s office, and herewith forwarded. If this contract is to be regarded as evidence of 
 the condition of the freedmen under charge of General Ely, they are certainly very 
 little better off than they were while in slavery. The system of labor established by 
 this contract is at best a system of peonage, 
 
 CHARLESTON DISTRICT. 
 
 From Columbia we proceeded to Charleston, the headquarters of the Bureau for 
 South Carolina, where we met Brigadier General R. K. Scott, the Assistant Commis¬ 
 sioner. We found him to be an energetic and competent officer, laboring to correct 
 the mistakes and blunders of his predecessors. Although lie lias been on duty but a 
 short time, he has produced a marked change for the better in the administration of 
 affairs of the Bureau. We called at his office for the purpose of examining the records f 
 of the Bureau, but we were informed that all the books, papers, records, and documents 
 pertaining to the affairs of the freedmen from the establishment of the Bureau, and 
 all records relating to the administration of the Bureau in South Carolina from its 
 organzatiion to the time of General Scott’s assuming charge of affairs, had be carried 
 off by General Saxton, and that he had left only a file of his own general orders in the * 
 office. General Saxton gave as a reason for this proceeding that it was necessary for him 
 to have the books and records “to make him all right at Washington.” In the absence 
 of official documents we were unable to institute any close examination into the con¬ 
 duct of the officers of the Bureau who had been on duty in South Carolina previous 
 to General Scott’s administration, and we could only judge of their conduct by the 
 condition in which we found the freedmen in those places where the policy of General 
 Saxton had been fully carried out, and where its effects were still apparent. Reason¬ 
 ing from these data, we are convinced that the operation of the Bureau on the freedmen 
 
11 
 
 in respect to their habits and desposition to labor and support themselves, under the 
 administration of General Saxton, was exceedingly pernicious, especially on the Sea 
 Island, to which we will allude further in our account of the freedmen’s settlements 
 thereon, on the seaboard. 
 
 Chaplain M. trench, United btates colored troops, Bureau missionary and superin¬ 
 tendent of marriage relations, and Lieut. L. J. Lott, sub-assistant commissioner, having 
 charge of a freedmen’s camp at Charleston, are in partnership with Wm. Hanehan, of 
 Charleston, in cultivating a plantation on Edisto Island. They furnished $1,500 in 
 money to carry on the plantation, and are to receive half the net profit of the 
 undertaking. They purchase supplies in Charleston, and forward them to the planta¬ 
 tion. Chaplain French explained to us that, in making the agreement with Wm. 
 Hanehan, he was actuated solely by a desire to assist him to furnish labor for the 
 poor freedmen ; but with even an ordinary crop, he will not receive less than 250 or 
 300 per cent, on the money advanced. 
 
 When we called the attention of Gen. Scott to the planting operations of Gen. Ely, 
 Chaplain French, and Lieut. Lott, he evinced his disapproval of this action of these 
 officers. 
 
 Under the guidance of Gen. Scott, the condition of the freedmen in Charleston has 
 been very much improved, and the bad feeling which had grown up between the 
 whites and blacks under the former administration is gradually wearing away. Most 
 of the freedmen are now at work and receive good wages. 
 
 We visited the Edgefield Court-House, now the centre of the district of which 
 Lieutenant Colonel Devereaux has charge, the headquarters of which are at Hamburg, 
 on the Savannah river, opposite the city of Augusta, Ga. There have been a number 
 of brutal outrages committed in this district on the freedmen, by a band of outlaws, 
 who, through the apparent neglect of the agent of the Bureau, or the inability or the 
 unwillingness of the citizens to bring them to justice, have escaped punishment, and 
 are still at large. A number of intelligent and influential citizens in Edgefield, in con¬ 
 versation with us, strongly condemned the conduct of the villians who had murdered 
 unoffending freedmen. These citizens stated that the murders were committed by a 
 band of men from the States of Texas, Kentucky, and Tennessee, who had been in the 
 rebel army, and were prevented by their crimes from returning to their respective 
 homes, and who had taken to the road for a livelihood, and were stealing horses from 
 white people, and robbing and murdering colored men because they were defenceless. 
 We asked the citizens why they were not arrested by the civil authorities. Their re¬ 
 ply was that they were in doubt as to their authority to act—that the Freedmen’s 
 Bureau, with the military support, was the superior power, claiming exclusive 
 authority to arrest and punish persons committing outrages on freedmen, and that as 
 long as this state of things existed they were powerless to punish crimes of this 
 character. They evinced much indignation at what they termed the injustice of a por¬ 
 tion of the press in holding them accountable for crimes and barbarities which they said 
 were as revolting to them as to any other portion of the American people, while the 
 power to punish the perpetrators was withheld from them. They also assured us with 
 unanimity that hereafter, although their civil government was still partially paralyzed, 
 every effort would be made to punish all persons guilty of committing outrages on freed¬ 
 men. 
 
 We learned that six or seven freedmen had been murdered by the band of outlaws 
 referred to, during the months of March and April, and, although a month had elapsed 
 since the last of these crimes was committed, and action had been taken by General 
 Sickles, the investigation of the same was commenced by the Bureau agent only a few 
 days since, and is now progressing at Hamburg, thirty miles from the scene of the 
 murders. We earnestly hope that these murderers may be brought to justice. 
 
 SEA ISLANDS. 
 
 On the 13tli of May we left Charleston by steamer, and visited first the Sea Islands 
 on the coast of South Carolina, which have been, and still are, with the islands on the 
 coast of Georgia, under the exclusive control of the Bureau. There are on these 
 islands one hundred and forty-one valid possessory titles to land held by freedmen, 
 under the order of General Sherman. They encumber thirty-two plantations, situated 
 on James, Johns, Wadmalan, and Edisto islands. The number of freedmen now on 
 all the South Carolina islands is about thirty thousand. They form, however, but a 
 small proportion of the aggregate number who have occupied the islands since General 
 Sherman’s order was issued ; many of those who first came here remained on the island 
 but a short time, and then returned to their homes on the main land. Others who 
 made small crops gathered them in, and left to seek more profitable employment. A 
 
12 
 
 large majority of the freedmen who still remain on the islands are in destitute circum- 
 staneces. On Wadmalan and Edisto islands, many who are cultivating lands for them¬ 
 selves would be compelled to abandon their crops were it not for the provisions fur¬ 
 nished by the planters. Last season Government rations and clothing were furnished 
 to most of the freedmen, who were working on their own account, with the agreement 
 that they should afterward pay for these supplies furnished out of the proceeds of their 
 crops, but none of the outlays thus incurred have been repaid. We found, on inquiry, 
 that some of the freedmen raised good crops, and could easily have reimbursed the Gov¬ 
 ernment for the supplies provided for them, but most of them were swindled out of all 
 they made by a gang of white sharpers who, pretending to be their friends, gained per¬ 
 mission to come upon the islands and set up stores, provided with sweetmeats, cheap 
 jewelry, and worthless articles of dress, with which they plundered these poor creatures 
 of their hard earnings. The same class of persons who thus defrauded the freedmen 
 last year have made extensive preparations to secure this season’s crop by the same 
 means. We found a number of their stores on Edisto and Wadmalan islands, and will 
 mention one case where one of them is connected with a plantation as an example. This 
 store is on a farm rented and cultivated by a Mr. Underwood, of Boston, Massachusetts. 
 Accompanied by General Scott, we stopped on the plantation and investigated the con¬ 
 dition of the freedmen thereon working by the “task,” which is precisely the same 
 manner in which their former owners worked them. The price per task is fifty cents, 
 which, if paid in money or its equivalent, would be fair wages ; but, in lieu of money, 
 
 tickets were given them, on which was printed “ Good for -in provisions at our 
 
 store.” These tickets were taken up bv the storekeeper, with corn at $3 per bushel, 
 and other articles at similarly exorbitant prices. There was no meat in the shop. The 
 freed people gathered around us while we were there, and complained bitterly of their 
 treatment, stating that with the wages paid them they were unable to earn enough to 
 buy, at the prices charged, their necessary subsistence. If these freedmen were paid 
 in money for their labor they could escape the extortions of the shopkeeper, but with 
 the tickets issued to them they are compelled to pay the prices charged and take what¬ 
 ever the storekeeper sees fit to give them. Competition, which would greatly reduce 
 the price of provisions, is prevented, at least on this plantation, by military orders. 
 
 Mr. Tolls, on an adjacent plantation, was selling corn to t^.ese people at $2 per bushel, 
 and taking Underwood tickets in payment, but he was compelled to desist by special 
 order. 
 
 Major J. E. Edwards,.sub-assistant commissioner for the islands, stated that his at¬ 
 tention had been called to some difficulty among the freedmen on Underwood’s planta¬ 
 tion, which he had investigated and found the freedmen in fault. He, therefore, 
 required the freedmen to resume work, and notified them that if they did not do so he 
 would arrest them. An examination led us to a different conclusion from that arrived 
 at by Major Edwards. In our opinion the condition and treatment of the freedmen on 
 Underwood’s plantation fully justified them in refusing to work. 
 
 Near the plantation rented and worked by Mr. Underwood is one owned by Mr. Jen¬ 
 kins, on which an opposite mode of treatment is pursued. The freed people here were 
 working three days out of the week for wages—fifty cents a task, paid in corn at two 
 dollars per bushel, and bacon at twenty-five cents per pound—and during the remain¬ 
 der of the week they were allowed to cultivate for themselves as much as they could 
 manage, the land being given them by Mr. Jenkens free of rent. 
 
 On the Baynord plantation, on Edisto Island, the following circumstances were brought 
 to our knowledge : This farm was being cultivated by freedmen on their own account, 
 partly under their land grants, and partly without. On the 12th of May last, when 
 the crops had all been planted and the cotton was being hoed, a man from New York 
 named Holton came on the farm with a squad of colored soldiers under charge of a 
 sergeant, and compelled the freedmen to contract with him to cultivate the land for 
 his benefit. What the exact terms of this contract were none of the freedmen knew. • 
 
 Some believed that they were to get a third of the crop, while others stated that they 
 were to receive only one fourth, and were to pay $5 each month for the rent of their f 
 
 cabins. Mr. Holton was not on the plantation at the time of our visit, and we were 
 consequently unable to ascertain the true nature of the contract, no copy of it having 
 been left with the freedmen. We called the attention of the assistant commissioner to 
 the complaints of the freedmen on this plantation. 
 
 Chaplain French, Bureau missionary, and Rev. C. Brodwell, ('colored, J Edisto Island, 
 stated to us that a similar occurrence had taken place on the plantation rented by a 
 gentleman recently mustered out of the United States service, when the freedmen, after 
 planting their crops, had been dispossessed and forcibly compelled to sign a contract, 
 a squad of colored soldiers having been, used for that purpose. 
 
13 
 
 While on Edisto Island, we visited Mr. Edding’s plantation, which is being culti¬ 
 vated by freed men exclusively, working under the direction of one of their own num¬ 
 ber, a superintendent chosen by themselves. Here the people are apparently doing 
 well, and have a fair prospect of a good crop. This, however, is almost the only in¬ 
 stance we met with on any of the islands where the freedmen, cultivating exclusively 
 for themselves, without the direction of whites, were doing even tolerably well. 
 
 We visited other plantations besides those named above on Edisto and Wadmalan, 
 but mention these only as a fair index of the condition of things generally on those 
 islands. 
 
 There are no land grants under General Sherman’s order on Port Royal Island ; but- 
 the freed people hold and are cultivating a considerable portion of this island under 
 tax titles. Some of them made their third crop, last season on these lands ; but, not¬ 
 withstanding the advantage thus enjoyed, they are nearly all of them now in destitute 
 circumstances. Their present impoverished condition is attributed to the fact that their 
 crops were purchased by Beaufort storekeepers and others at merely nominal rates, in 
 most instances at less than at a fourth of their real value. These thrifty traders, 
 many of whom made their advent in Beaufort with the army, purchased the Sea Island 
 cotton of the freedmen at ten cents per pound in the seed, and have this season already 
 secured mortgages to a large proportion of the freedmen’s crop, in some instances even 
 on their lands. 
 
 GEORGIA. 
 
 SAVANNAH, GA., AND THE ISLANDS. 
 
 After visiting the South Carolina islands we proceeded to Savannah, Georgia, where 
 we were joined by Brevet Major General David Tilson, assistant commissioner of the 
 Bureau for Georgia. He accompanied us on our visit to the Sea Islands under his 
 charge. Our first investigation was on St. Catherine’s Island. There has been much 
 confusion and disorder here, occasioned by Rev. Tunis J. Campbell, a colored man 
 from Nova Scotia, who was located'on the island by General Saxton as an agent of the 
 Bureau. This man abolished allthe simple rules and regulations adopted by the 
 freedmen for their own guidance, and established instead a parody of the United States 
 Government, putting himself in the position of President, and assuming in addition 
 dictatorial powers. Under his administration the freedmen were armed, no white man 
 was allowed to land on the island, and every effort was made to stir up feelings of ani¬ 
 mosity against the white race. Among other powers assumed by Campbell, he issued 
 land grants, claiming to do so “ by virtue of the authority vested in him by the Presi¬ 
 dent of the United States and General Saxton,” and took especial care to bestow the 
 best allotments on himself and relations. 
 
 The oonduct of this man had a most prejudicial influence on the freedmen, and 
 placed them for a time entirely beyond the control of the assistant commissioner for 
 Georgia. On his first visit to the island General Tillson discovered that prompt inter¬ 
 vention was necessary for the interests of the freedmen themselves, as their lands 
 were being nncnltivated, and they were not far removed from absolute want. With 
 much difficulty he obtained a hearing from them, and succeeded in restoring order and 
 getting them to work, and abolishing the absurd form of government established by 
 Campbell. General Tillson ascertained that of the whole number of land grants on the 
 island, seventeen only were valid. These grants covered 515 acres, and were scattered 
 ail over the island. He consolidated them so as to occupy one section of the island 
 only, leaving the remainder fcr cultivation by the proper owners. There are at present 
 625 freedmen on this island ; of these 147 are working for Messrs. Winchester & Schuy¬ 
 ler, of New York, who have rented a part of the Ordbury plantation, and the remainder 
 are cnltivating land on their own account. The 147 freedmen working for Win¬ 
 chester k Schuyler have planted 350 acres of cotton and 115 of corn ; the 475 freed¬ 
 men working for themselves have planted 200 acres of cotton and 200 acres of corn. 
 
 From St. Catharine’s we went to Sapelo Island, which is cultivated exclusively by 
 Messrs. Dickson & McBride. The Freedmen here are working the land for two-thirds 
 of the crop, and, so far as we could perceive, were well treated and cared for, and will 
 
 make money if they oan be protected from the bad influence of a bad man named-, 
 
 who came among them last year with a permit from Captain Ketchum, Bureau Agent 
 under General Saxton, bought their cotton at ten cents per pound in the seed, and paid 
 them mainly in whiskey. This vicious man has exerted such an evil influence over 
 these Freedmen as to make them dissatisfied with an exceedingly liberal contract. 
 
 On St. Simon’s Island there are eighteen valid land grants encumbering four planta¬ 
 tions. There are between five and six hundred Freedmen on the Island, most of whom 
 are working for wages, are well led, and appear to be perfectly contented. On two of 
 
 U'.e rdanta^OTl 0 they 7-.-> ty") 
 
 .. 1 - 
 
 ■* f "1 ' , 
 
 or 
 
 con 
 
 rrp "orrjrp 1 by the 
 
14 - 
 
 Bureau Agent that these Freedmen relied confidently on being fairly dealt with by 
 their employers. Our visit to this Island satisfied us that the Freedmen there were 
 doing exceedingly well. 
 
 OGEECHEE RIVER SETTLEMENT. 
 
 This settlement, embracing originally several hundred freed people, the largest 
 colony on the coast under General Sherman’s order, was last year under the control of 
 Rev. Mr. Tiffany, an agent of the Bureau, appointed to that position by General Sax¬ 
 ton. If the records kept by General Saxton were within our reach, we could, without 
 doubt, obtain official information as to the workings of this settlement, but, in the 
 absence of the records, we can only report such facts as are within the knowledge of 
 General Tillson and other officers on duty in the Department. 
 
 On taking charge of this settlement, Mr. Tiffany hired twenty-five Freedmen as a 
 guard, armed with United States* muskets, and used them to prevent any white man 
 entering the settlement. Seven United States officers, who had not Mr. Tiffany’s pass, 
 were halted and refused the use of the Government boat to cross the Ogeechee river. 
 This guard of twenty-five men, who served the entire season, were to be paid out of 
 the proceeds of the Rice Crop raised by Freedmen of the settlement. Mr. Tiffany gave 
 them certificates for the amount due them, which certificates they still hold, but are 
 unable to get either rice or money. 
 
 All the freed people of this colony were supplied through the season with Govern¬ 
 ment rations, which were to be paid for out of their crops. We were informed by the 
 Bureau Officers of the Department that none of these rations have ever been repaid. 
 A very considerable crop of rice was made by the Freedmen, and Mr. Tiffany, the agent, 
 advertised sixty thousand bushels of it for sale. ' General Tillson, who had in the 
 interim assumed charge of the Bureau in Georgia, seeing the advertisement, ordered 
 the sale to be suspended, and notified Tiffany that only bonded officers were authorized 
 to sell Government property. What disposition was eventually made of the Rice Crop, 
 or who received the profits of it, we were unable to ascertain. Mr. Tiffany shortly 
 after this retired, whether voluntarily or otherwise, can only be determined by the 
 records, which are not within our reach. Most of the freed people of the settlement 
 became disheartened, and, voluntarily abandoning their land grants, are now working 
 under contract for the former owners of the land, or the persons who have rented 
 plantations from land owners. 
 
 We have mentioned these particular cases as indicating the condition of the Freed¬ 
 men occupying the Sea Islands and the Coast under General Sherman’s order. Our 
 personal observations, the evidence we have taken, and the inquiries we have been 
 obliged to make to supply the place of records, have convinced us that the condition 
 of the Freedmen of these settlements, while in charge of General Saxton, was such as to 
 give but little hope that, under the policy pursued by that officer, they would ever 
 become self-supporting, even with the fertile lands on which they are located placed at 
 their disposal free from rent and taxes. The failure of General Saxton’s administra¬ 
 tion resulted from a variety of causes, among which may be enumerated: 
 
 The unnecessary continuance of Government support to the Freedmen, which tended 
 to increase their natural improvidence and to encourage habits of idleness. 
 
 Keeping them under such guardianship and tutelage that they were disinclined to 
 make proper exertions for their own support or improvement. 
 
 Teaching them to distrust all white men but those who had immediate authority over 
 them, or who came among them with passes from the Bureau, thus preparing them to 
 fall an easy prey to the sharpers who afterwards obtained access to them under the 
 guise of friendship, taking advantage of their credulity, and fraudulently appropriat¬ 
 ing their crops. ' ^ 
 
 Their inexperience in providing for their own support, and in managing business for 
 themselves. 
 
 It is not in the power of Generals Tillson or Scott, until a crop has been raised under 
 tlieir respective administrations, to materially improve the condition of the freedmen 
 on the Sea Islands. Although these officers have effected salutary reforms in the con¬ 
 ditions of the blacks, and their disposition to labor, and have been instrumental in 
 removing from their minds many of the absurd ideas which had been instilled among 
 them, idleness, discord, and bitter prejudices against the white people still exist. The 
 extent to which they were deluded by the few white men who had intercourse with 
 them is almost incredible. Among the evidence taken in reference to their condition, 
 and which bears directly on this point, is the statement of a distinguished general 
 officer, who was in command of a district embracing part of the Islands, as follows : 
 
 “I assumed command in January, 1865, of a district in which the South Carolina 
 Sea Islands were included. They were then in a state of turmoil and confusion, 
 
 
15 
 
 •amounting to almost open rebellion. Armed patrols were maintained on the Island to 
 prevent any white man from landing. Several gentlemen from Pennsylvania who 
 attempted to land ("improperly, I must say) were arrested by the freedmen. I had 
 placed a guard on each wharf to prevent their being molested, but they chose to make 
 a landing on a part of the Island where no guard was stationed. The negroes had 
 been told and believed that a large force of rebel cavalry still occupied the woods on 
 the mainland. Utter lawlessness prevailed, and cattle-stealing raids on the mainland 
 by the negroes were of frequent occurence. I went over and broke up their military 
 bands, and told them the,war was over. I then went to work to organize a system of 
 labor. I found the 40-acre allotments under General Sherman’s order of most elastic- 
 dimensions. The largest I saw was 350 acres, and the smallest 312 acres. Many freed¬ 
 men who had land orders for John’s Island had settled on James Island, and certificates 
 for Edisto Island were plentiful on Wadmalan Island. Scarcely any attempt had been 
 made to cultivate the land. There were not more than two acres ‘listed out’ in any 
 one path on Edisto Island. I had to discontinue the issue of rations before I could get 
 them to work at all. I had nearly succeeded in getting them to work when the bill 
 securing their land titles passed Congress, and everything was again thrown into con¬ 
 fusion. Matters are now, however, getting straight again.” 
 
 An impartial comparison of the comparative condition of the freedmen on the South 
 Carolina Islands and those in Florida and Southwest Georgia clearly demonstrates that 
 the freed people who have remained on the plantations, and have been aided by the 
 advice of sensible and practical military and Bureau officers, are infinitely better off 
 than those who have been assisted with rations and clothing by the Government. 
 
 In our opinion, the most equitable solution of the question of the occupation of the 
 Sea Islands and the coast under Gen. Sherman’s order will be to surrender the lands 
 to the former owners, on the 1st day of January next, requiring the land owners to 
 pay to the freedmen the value in money of all improvements made by them while, occu¬ 
 pying the land—this to be determined by a commission appointed by the Government. 
 Of course we do not mean by this to interfere with any of the freedmen who may desire 
 to surrender the lands they are now occupying at any time before that date, by ar¬ 
 rangement between themselves and the owners of the land. Generals Tillson and 
 Scott both concur with us that this arrangement will give general satisfaction to both 
 the freedmen and landowners. Should the recommendation be adopted by the Gov¬ 
 ernment, we respectfully suggest that the order be issued before the 1st of September 
 next, so as to give both parties ample time to make arrangements for the next season’s 
 planting. 
 
 FLORIDA. 
 
 After completing our investigation of the Sea Islands, we went to Fernandina, Fla. 
 Here we found Captain Leddy, of the Volunteer Reserve Corps, on duty as agent of the 
 Bureau, having charge of a district embracing two counties, containing 1,000 freedmen. 
 These are generally at work lumbering and get from $20 to $26 per month as wages. 
 Captain Leddy is assisted by Major Sclirearer, formerly an officer of the 7th Ohio 
 infantry, who acts as an agent without pay, but is partially compensated by receiving 
 $5 fee for each contract drawn up and approved. Captain Leddy is a good, judicious 
 man, who, by friendly interference and good advice, has settled most of the difficulties 
 which have arisen in his district between the freedmen themselves, and between the 
 whites and freedmen, without litigation. 
 
 We next visited Jacksonville, the headquarters Of Captain Webster, who has charge 
 of several counties, in which freed people are generally at work and are liberally com¬ 
 pensated. 
 
 There had been at this place, a few days before our visit, much bad feeling between 
 he white and colored people, produced by irritating false reports circulated by vicious 
 ersons, but, through the efforts of the Governor of the State, the Department Com¬ 
 mandant, and the officers of the Bureau, harmony and mutual confidence had been 
 j restored. 
 
 We next visited Tallahassee, the headquarters of the Department Commandant and 
 the Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau for the State, from whom we obtained the 
 following statistics; 
 
 1 major, brevet colonel, assistant commissioner. 
 
 1 major, staff duty. 
 
 3 captains, staff duty. 
 
 5 captains, sub-assistant commissioners. 
 
 3 first lieutenants, sub-assistant commissioners. 
 
 5 second lieutenants, sub-assistant commissioners. 
 
16 
 
 6 citizens agents and subordinate commissioners, at average pay per month, $125- 
 
 1 assistant superintendent of education ; pay per month, $100. 
 
 1 contract surgeon ; pay per month, $100. 
 
 4 clerks : average pay per month, $88 50. 
 
 8 nurses for hospital and 1 messenger; average pay per month, $14 30. 
 
 In giving the rank of the officers on duty in the Bureau, the brevet rank is omitted, 
 in order that the rank may indicate the amount of pay drawn by each. 
 
 The number of rations issued by the officers of the Bureau, or by post commander, 
 on request of the assistant commissioner of the Bureau, in the State of Florida, since 
 the 1st of December, 1865, to the 1st of May, 1866, were 12.716, valued at $2,023,25. 
 The average monthly issue amounted to 2,543. Among the number who have been 
 receiving rations were the inmates of the Orphan Asylum, located at Fernandina, which 
 is under the charge of the National Freedmen’s Aid Association, and the inmates of the 
 Freedmen’s Hospital, at Magnolia, which is controlled by the Bureau. 
 
 The assistant commissioner stated that rations have been issued only to the inmates 
 of the Asylum and Hospital, and in some isolated cases, when the circumstances of the- 
 freedmen show actual destitution and inability to provide for themselves and families. 
 Some of the rations have been issued upon returns signed by me, by post commanders• 
 not connected with the Bureau, consequently I have not the data from which to report 
 the number, age, and the sex of those who have received rations 
 
 Brevet Col. T. W. Osborne, the assistant commissioner of the Bureau for Florida, is 
 an intelligent and just man, and an energetic and impartial officer. The most favorable 
 accounts were given ns by citizens, by the military and Bureau officers, and by the freed' 
 people, of the good condition of the freedmen in this department, as well as of the 
 encouraging prospects of the crops which they are cultivating. 
 
 After leaving Tallahassee, the next point at which we stopped was Monticello, where 
 there are several plantations, on which a large number of freedmen are employed 
 working for one-third of the crops. Both planters t and freedmen are satisfied, and all 
 bear testimony to the wisdom and justice of the administration of the Bureau by 
 Col. Osborne. 
 
 Throughout the entire State the military, the Bureau, and the civil authorities are 
 generally acting in harmony, which, in onr opinion, is the main reason why the freed¬ 
 men are more quiet, orderly, and thrifty here than they are in localities in which 
 there is antagonism between these, powers. The only exceptions to this state of 
 things in Florida is at Jacksonville, the cause of which has already been stated. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servants, 
 
 JAMES B. STEEDMAN, Major GeneraL 
 J. S. FULLERTON, Brevet Brig. Genetah 
 
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