Battle of Big Bethel

Union Gen. Benjamin F. Butler assumed command at Fort Monroe on Thursday morning, May 23, 1861. That night, three slaves belonging to Confederate Col. Charles Mallory came to the fort. The next day, Butler interviewed them and learned that they were about to be sent south for the purpose of aiding secession forces. He decided to detain them, put them to work, and give Mallory a receipt, treating them as property about to be used against the United States, a decision that became known as contrabands of war. On Saturday, May 25, Butler met Confederate Maj. John B. Cary, who asked about the men's return. Butler replied that in Maryland, a loyal state, escaped slaves were returned to their masters, and that Mallory could have them back if he took the oath of allegiance. Cary responded that Mallory was absent, and Butler kept the men. Secretary of War Simon Cameron endorsed Butler's policy on May 30. Dozens of slaves then fled daily to Freedom's Fortress from rural areas such as Big Bethel. The influx included able-bodied men and women as well as their children, raising military, political, and humanitarian issues. Butler established a Slab-Town camp in present-day Phoebus, seven miles southeast of here just outside Fort Monroe. After the Confederates burned Hampton in August, a larger Slabtown was created there, and the contrabands scavenged lumber and bricks from the ruins for houses.

Hampton, Virginia · United States