Short-lived Sanctuary

During the Civil War, thousands of enslaved people fled to the Union lines at Harpers Ferry, and some found shelter in a temporary contraband camp near John Brown's Fort. Their freedom and safety remained precarious because any withdrawal of Union forces left them vulnerable to slave-catchers who captured people of color and sold them into slavery. After the Confederate capture of Harpers Ferry in 1862, Union Colonel William Trimble recalled seeing hundreds of men, women, and children, enslaved and free, driven past with bowed heads and sad faces that revealed their disappointed hopes. The Union Army classified people who fled slavery and sought shelter with the army as contrabands and created camps like this one to house them. One young boy pictured with Union troops at Harpers Ferry was among the thousands who sought employment and relative safety with the Union.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia · United States