When Confederate slaves rowed to this Virginia fort, they unknowingly set a precedent for the Emancipation Proclamation

Three Slaves’ Midnight Flight That Transformed America

Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia holds the key to understanding how three enslaved men changed American history forever.

On May 23, 1861, Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory, and James Townsend rowed across Hampton Roads to escape their Confederate master who planned to move them away from their families.

When Major John Cary arrived the next day demanding their return under the Fugitive Slave Act, Union commander Benjamin Butler refused, calling them “contraband of war” since Virginia had seceded.

This decision opened Union lines to thousands of freedom seekers and started the path to emancipation. Here’s how one lawyer’s legal argument at this historic fort launched a revolution within the Civil War.

Three Men Learned They’d Be Shipped South Away From Their Families

Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory, and James Townsend got some bad news in May 1861. Their owner, Colonel Charles K. Mallory, planned to send them to North Carolina to build more war stuff for the Confederates. This meant they’d be split from their families back in Hampton, Virginia.

The men had been forced to build artillery batteries at Sewell’s Point, with cannons aimed right at Union-held Fort Monroe. Colonel Mallory wasn’t just any slave owner – he was a big shot Hampton judge and politician who had signed Virginia’s papers to leave the Union.

Virginia Officially Joined the Confederacy That Very Day

On May 23, 1861, Virginia voters made it official – they were now part of the Confederate States of America. General Benjamin Butler had sent Union troops to mess with the vote, but it happened anyway.

Fort Monroe stuck out like a sore thumb – a Union stronghold now surrounded by enemy territory. The timing couldn’t have been more important for what was about to happen.

Virginia no longer saw itself as part of the United States, and the three enslaved men were about to test what that meant.

Under Cover of Darkness, Three Men Made Their Break for Freedom

That night, Baker, Mallory, and Townsend slipped away from Sewell’s Point. They found a small boat and rowed across Hampton Roads toward the lights of Fort Monroe.

For enslaved people, being out at night without permission could mean severe punishment or death. They moved quietly through the dark waters, not sure what would happen when they reached the other side.

If caught by Confederate patrols or returned to Colonel Mallory, they faced whipping or worse.

Union Guards Spotted the Unexpected Visitors at the Fort

When they reached Fort Monroe’s outer walls, a picket guard spotted them and took them into custody. The men felt both relief and fear – they’d made it to Union territory, but what would happen next?

Fort Monroe was one of the few Union spots left in the South. The Fugitive Slave Act still required Union soldiers to return escaped slaves to their owners.

The men knew this but took the chance anyway, hoping the war might change how the law worked.

A Massachusetts Lawyer-Turned-General Heard Their Story

The next morning, May 24, Fort Monroe’s commander Major General Benjamin Butler met with Baker, Mallory, and Townsend. Butler had only been at the fort for two days.

He was a lawyer from Massachusetts with not much military experience.

Butler wasn’t even an abolitionist – he had backed Jefferson Davis at the 1860 Democratic Convention before the war broke out. The men told Butler about building Confederate gun placements aimed at his fort.

A Confederate Officer Showed Up Demanding His Boss’s "Property"

Later that same day, Major John Baytop Cary rode up to Fort Monroe under a white flag. Cary ran the Hampton Military Academy and led the Virginia Artillery company.

He came on behalf of Colonel Mallory to get his “property” back, citing the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. These three men were worth a lot to Mallory – about 10 percent of everything he owned.

Cary fully expected Butler to hand them over, as the law required.

Butler Turned the Confederacy’s Own Logic Against Them

Butler gave Cary an answer nobody saw coming: “I mean to take Virginia at her word, as declared in the ordinance of secession passed yesterday.” Since Virginia said it wasn’t part of the United States anymore, Butler argued, its citizens couldn’t use U. S.

laws like the Fugitive Slave Act. Plus, the men were building military stuff to use against the Union. Butler called them “contraband of war” – enemy property that could be seized.

He added that if Mallory swore loyalty to the Union, he could get his slaves back – something he knew would never happen.

Freedom News Traveled Fast Through Slave Communities

Word about Butler’s decision spread like wildfire. The very next day, eight more enslaved people showed up at Fort Monroe seeking protection.

The day after that, 47 more arrived. Within weeks, hundreds of people escaped to the fort.

The news jumped from plantation to plantation across southeastern Virginia through secret networks among enslaved communities.

Soon, throughout the South, enslaved people started calling the word “contraband” a code word for “freedom.”

Lincoln Had to Make a Quick Decision About Butler’s Move

Butler’s contraband policy forced President Lincoln to deal with slavery issues sooner than he wanted. Lincoln faced a tough choice: back Butler’s decision or order the men returned to slavery.

There wasn’t much middle ground. Lincoln ended up approving what Butler did, though he didn’t make a big public show of support.

Before this, Lincoln had actually scolded other officers who tried to free slaves, as he was still trying to keep slave-holding border states from joining the Confederacy.

Congress Made the Contraband Policy Official Law

On August 6, 1861, Congress passed the First Confiscation Act, making Butler’s contraband decision the law of the land.

The act said enslaved people used to help the Confederate war effort would be considered contraband, and owners lost all rights to them. The House passed it 60-48 and the Senate 24-11.

Lincoln signed it despite some worries about whether it was constitutional. Senator Lyman Trumbull from Illinois pushed the bill, while Ohio Congressman John A. Bingham wrote the final wording.

Half a Million People Found Freedom Through the "Contraband" Path

By the time the Civil War ended, around 500,000 formerly enslaved people had escaped to Union lines using the contraband route that Baker, Mallory, and Townsend pioneered.

Thousands of men from these contraband camps later joined the United States Colored Troops when Black recruitment began in 1863.

The contraband decision paved the way for the Emancipation Proclamation and eventually the Thirteenth Amendment.

Frank Baker, James Townsend, and Shepard Mallory helped write their people’s path to freedom alongside Lincoln himself.

Visiting Fort Monroe

Fort Monroe at 41 Bernard Road is where three enslaved men escaped and sparked the contraband decision that changed the Civil War. The park grounds are open daily 5 a.m. to midnight for free.

You need timed entry tickets for the Casemate Museum, which you pick up at 30 Ingalls Road. The museum runs Wednesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with self-guided tours covering military history from 1609 through 2011.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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