Lives on the Line

At Rural Plains, the labor of dozens of enslaved people, including Delphia, Charles, Hester, Daniel, Zekiel, and Tom, sustained the plantation's productivity for generations. At the outbreak of the Civil War, 37 Black men, women, and children were held there in bondage, housed by the Sheltons in eight simple wooden dwellings arranged partly in a horseshoe near the family's brick manor. These quarters sheltered enslaved servants, cooks, and other skilled people who lived within constant reach of their owners' demands. In late May 1864, the U.S. Army anchored its battle lines amid these slave cabins, and artillerymen used the little frame and log houses to help conceal caissons and ammunition wagons from the enemy. During the war, the nearness of Union soldiers gave some a chance to escape: Frank and Billy fled during the 1862 Seven Days Campaign, and Jo, the Shelton family's butler, escaped behind Union lines during the 1864 battle there. For those who could not leave, freedom did not come until Union victory ten months later.

Mechanicsville, Virginia · United States