Contraband Camp at Harpers Ferry: A Reenactment

By -
One chapter in history that I'd like to see more of in film is that of the contraband camps of the American Civil War. Below is a brief history lesson on "contraband" and the camps they lived in.

The effects of the proclamaition – freed Negroes coming into our lines at 
Newbern, North Carolina.' Harper's Weekly, Feb. 21, 1863.
"Contraband was a term commonly used in the United States military during the American Civil War to describe a new status for certain escaped slaves or those who affiliated with Union forces. The Army (and the United States Congress) determined that the US would not return escaped slaves who went to Union lines and classified them as contraband. They used many as laborers to support Union efforts and soon began to pay them wages. The former slaves set up camps near Union forces, and the Army helped support and educate both adults and children among the refugees. Thousands of men from these camps enlisted in the United States Colored Troops when recruitment started in 1863. At war's end, more than 100 contraband camps existed in the South, including the Freedmen's Colony of Roanoke Island, where 3500 former slaves worked to develop a self-sufficient community." (source)

A contraband camp, formerly used as a female seminary, circa 1863

With that said I have enjoyed the two behind the scene reenactment videos from my favorite black american history reenactor Cheyney McKnight aka Not Your Mommas History. These videos are from the Sons and Daughters of Ham Contraband Camp reenactments from 2016 and 2017. Enjoy!


From Cheyney: This past weekend the Sons and Daughters of Ham portrayed contraband at Harpers Ferry. These runaway slaves lived in Contraband Camps and worked as cooks, nurses, woodsmen, launderers, trench and fortification builders for the Federals during the Civil War. Everyone put their all into this weekend and it paid off. I saw amazing impressions from Liberty Rifles, Clinton Rifles and Saul Goode Sutler as usual.

The Sons and Daughters of Ham once again brought the Contraband Camp at Harpers Ferry to life. Documentation of Harpers Ferry Contraband Camp  http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/stereo.1s04358/

I would like to see stories of the escaped slaves that lived, learned, and loved in these camps. What were they doing before they lived in these camps? Where did they go afterwards? This period in time is ripe for the picking in terms of story telling possibilities.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Film News: Zendaya as Ellen Craft

By -
Image
In more Zendaya film news! Deadline recently mentioned in an article that Zendaya has signed on to play Ellen Craft in the adaptation of the book, Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom: Or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery. As of 2016 the project was in development at Alloy Entertainment and Alloy Features, with Suzanne Allain attached to script. The History : In 1848, William and Ellen Craft made an amazingly clever escape from slavery in Macon, Georgia. Ellen, the daughter of a biracial slave and her master used her light skin and features to disguise herself as a white male planter. With her husband William posing as her servant the Crafts traveled to freedom in plain sight. This will be the third period production that   Zendaya will be taking part of. She was first in the 2017 musical, The Greatest Showman . In the musical the actress played one of P. T. Barnum's circus acts; a trapeze artist. News also broke of her casting as Anita Hemmings
Read more

White Water (2015) - A Review

By -
Image
Water White is based on the 2011 children’s book which was co-authored by Michael Bandy and Eric Stein. The film is based on a childhood experience of author Bandy and tells the story of a boy in 1963 Alabama who is obsessed with drinking water from the “Whites Only” fountain. I was drawn to this movie premise because my grandfather told me about his experience as a child in 1950’s Georgia wanting to drink from the white fountain. Like Michael, my grandfather found that the water wasn’t all he thought it would be. The narrative style and tone of the film fit perfectly as it is from the point of view of a 7 year old little boy. Watching the shenanigans that Michael and his older cousin Red get into was hilarious. Amir and Amari O'Neil were perfectly cast as Michael. Although twins they played the character in the same way. I was not even aware that Michael was being played by twins until I looked up the trailer to write this review. I was also impressed by the actin
Read more

Looking Back at Bonanza: Enter Thomas Bowers (1964)

By -
Image
As a child I regularly watched syndicated television shows in historical settings like Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman with my mother. I remembered that some of the episodes featured black characters and dealt with race. I thought it'd be fun to rewatch these episodes and give my thoughts here. The first episode I dug up was the season 5 episode 30 of Bonanza, titled "Enter Thomas Bowers" which aired April 26, 1964. The episode starts with three women discussing a benefit concert for the local Native American tribe. One of the women proudly states that she has gotten the internationally famous singer Thomas Bowers to perform and that he is coming in on the next stagecoach. Only when Thomas Bowers (William Marshall) arrives, he's not exactly who she thought he'd be. Once she realizes that the singer is a black man the entire atmosphere changes.  I have to stop here is point out the irony of them not wanting a blac
Read more