On 23 May 1861, three enslaved men, Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory, and James Townsend, sought freedom at Fort Monroe. A Virginia officer demanded their return, citing the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Union Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Butler refused, stating that this law did not apply to slaveholders in rebellion against the U.S. He asserted the right to confiscate slaves whose labor benefited the Confederacy, thus initiating the "contraband of war" policy. Thousands of freedom seekers followed, earning Fort Monroe the nickname "Freedom's Fortress." Across the South, hundreds of thousands of enslaved people would seek protection with Union forces, charting a path toward the end of slavery in the U.S.
