Her mas and ph. D. At the university of virginia. She has created the history design lab that allows students to develop scholarly projects that range from digital humanities, exhibit design, oral history, podcast, historical fiction, and public history. Remember what i said about our speakers and their commitment to mentorship and to education. Shes the author of essays published in 2018 and 19 in the civil war and the transformation of american citizenship and new perspectives on the union war. As i was preparing this introduction, i read her work in civil war histories as part of a round table discussion. Her book mentioned in your printed program at the threshold of liberty, womens laslavery i now under contract with unc press. It examines how black women used the laws, geography and Community Networks at the Nations Capital to make claims to liberty during the civil war. Ladies and gentlemen, tamika nunley. [ applause ] thank you. Good afternoon and i should thank you extra because it is after lunch, late in the afternoon. And you are still here. And so thank you very much. Thank you so john coski and the staff at the American Civil War museum for the invitation to share my work and for organizing and hosting an exciting symposium. Its been a pleasure to get to know some of you all and some of the members of the museum. I want to kind of preface my talk saying sometimes work like mine is accused of being pessimistic. I want to say i didnt go into the archive looking for trouble. I found fascinating, interesting letters and claims and i thought that they were worth discussing and it kind of contextualizes and changes the kind of conversation that we have about the civil war and im good with that. Im okay with that. And so if you accuse me of beings a pessimist, ill say, okay, thats fine. Ill go ahead and proceed with my talk. My work on enslaved women during the civil war is largely concentrated in washington, d. C. And the sources reveal the ways frooed women respond today the war, but the sources show how decisions made in washington map onto the experiences of africanamerican women more broadly throughout the chesapeake. Today i offer a few vignettes, some of which appear in my forthcoming book and others which i examined more recently, actually, during a trip to these archives here in december. Each vignette reveals that africanamerican women as a whole did not respond to the conditions that wore brought. They envisioned lives and selves and expressed frustration when change did not come fast enough. What we see is a tapestry of perspectives that reveal the complexities of enslaved womens experience during the war. Most of the scholarship examines the reaction of enslaved women about whether or not they fled or remained in plantations prior to the war. I would argue, however, that this dichotomy between those who fled to the union army or remained where they were oversimplifies the complexity of enslaved womens experiences during the war. And so i think this is kind of important because the way that ive learned about the war and the role of africanamericans is that theres a war happening and then the emancipation proclamation happens and then somehow africanamericans in the Confederate States are freed. And its its sort of legislation kind of driving the narrative of emancipation and how we understand that. And that happens, but more things also happen. Even as the war shifted, conditions in favor of emancipation, the struggle to become free looked different for enslaved women depending on the region, the site of bondage, the governing bodies and the behavior of soldiers and civilians within the vicinity. As the war progressed, soldiers, officials and legislators helped usher in the process of emancipation. Refugee women took steps necessary to secure their freedom while prompting a social contract between themselves and the government. They made a series of negotiations with federal officials and in other instances they took action on their own. They expressed their own understandings of their rights. Furthermore, black women articulated the claims for a free person. And they transitioned from the status of enslaved, to frooeed women and to american citizen. It reflected longheld believes about liberty among black women during the war in their selfmaking black women reacted to the developments of war in a variety of ways and navigated the complex legal terrain that dictated the terms of bondage in washington, virginia and maryland. Historians have noted that the outcomes of the war were contingent and the navigation of the shifting policies of the government solidify this point. The displacement caused by the war shaped the ways that women travel to the Nations Capital and searched for loved ones and employment. Weve barely touched the surface. Those who became legally freed by wartime emancipation measures struggled to realize the rights to their own labor and found conditions in the capital precarious at best. The emancipation process in washington, d. C. , involved a series of critical policies instituted under martial law and enacted in congress i think theyre worth noting because it demonstrates that this these laws involve a process, right . The first confiscation act in 1861, the d. C. Emancipation act in 1962, the second confiscation act of 1862. The emancipation proclamation and the repeal of the fugitive slay law in 1864. All slaves eventually become free, right . This complicated sequence of policy changes had varying impacts on the lives of black women, particularly those arriving from neighboring slaveholding states. Nestled between the confederate territory in virginia and maryland, wartime policy in the district created Uncertain Terms of liberty that black women struggled to decode. In the spring of 1862, Congress Approved the terms of freeing 3,000 enslaved people in the Nations Capital. The abolishment set in motion the emancipation process making the violation of this emancipation act a felony and incentivizing compliance through compensation for each enslaved person free. Slave holders were offered a specific amount of money determined by the assessed value of each person which at times exceeded the 300. It disrupted the social fabric of the chesapeake. Legislators remained unsure as they looked at the prospects of emancipation. So vignette one, the board of commissioners. On may 29th, 1862, an enslaved girl submitted a petition for her freedom. The slave holder had applied from compensation from marias mother and father who resided with him in the district, he declared that maria was not freed by the act at all. He argued because maria had been hired out to a man just outside of the district, the new law did not apply to her. While scholars have argue that had the hiring out system has undermined slavery in urban areas, in this case, it preserved the institution by drawing upon its chesapeake origin origins. It was opined that, quote, all who were out of the district do not come within its provisions are consequently enslaved too. Because of the hiring out system, the owner received compensation for her parents but found a way to invalidate her own claims to freedom. In another case that appeared in the records of the board of commissioners on december 16th, 1862, emily wedge filed petitions on behalf of herself, her two children and her sister were were all enslaved on the property. Mccormick refused to take advantage of the compensation provision of the new law, but emily saw an opportunity. He reluctantly appeared before the clerk of the court. According to the court records, mccormick denied the constitutionality of the act and said that he would bide his time until it was declared unconstitutional, end quote. He was a citizen to rights to property. Just before his case was decided, mccormick reappeared before the court and for the first time formerly contended with emilys claims. In this case, emancipation threatened the Property Rights of slave holders and excluded white residents from any democratic processes that decided the fate of slavery in washington. The facts of emilys case revealed the geographic position of washington, d. C. , and the neighboring counties. Emily challenged the legal validity of her enslavement and forced mccormick to contend with his testimony. It permitted enslaved women to testify against whiete men and women for the first time. Regarding the case, evidence showed that mccormicks farm was located along the border and that just one day after the emancipation act became law, he instructed the slaves to reside on the maryland side of his property. According to the records, he built a small tentment for them, while his main living quarters remained in washington, along with the cow pen and other buildings. While he generally prohibited enslaved people from traveling to the district side of the property, it was proven that al sis w alice was supposed to drive cattle to that side of the property. They had seen the women and children in his home daily and that for approximate seven or eight weeks, they had resided in the district with an older man bearing the last name wedge who was identified as the father of emilys husband. They acknowledged her right to claim freedom under the emancipation act. How could slave women and girls appeal to the court or testify under slave oldesholders. It set forth the terms under which enslaved women claimed free status. The act stated, quote, in all judicial proceedings, there shall be no exclusion on any witness on account of color. This stipulation which permitted enslaved people to testify against white people was the feature of the supplemental act. And reason why i point this out is because we cant really understand the emancipation act of 1862 without understanding the supplemental act and how it helped complete that process of emancipation in d. C. Slave testimony would be critical in the efforts of black women and men to counter white arguments that they werent residents of the district. For the first time in the history of the Nations Capital, women could speak in their own defense. They could testify against white men and women in court. This amended version of the emancipation act offered a more expansive means to claim freedom. It clashed with existing laws in surrounding counties. Black women traveling from slaveholding states could be considered enslaved even as wartime emancipation took its course. The law stipulated that fugitives must be returned and ple penalties should be imposed upon officials who refuse to return them. While thousands of enslaved women made their way to the slates, they claimed freedom illegally even after local emancipation, the courts in washington, d. C. , enforced fugitive slave laws on behalf of owners residing in states that professed loyalty to the union. White Property Rights were not antithetical to the union. Concession was. Competing legal priorities made life complicated for women who hoped to claim freedom. They navigated wartime policy created in the interest of states loyal to the union and against the interest of those in the confederacy. The borders of the chesapeake could undermine or work in favor of wartime trance mothsformatio. Refugee womened who arrived in the capital converted various dimensions of uncertainty. They traveled to encampments supervised by military personnel. They were referred to as contraband camps. The first u. S. Colored troops trained in 1863. Freedmans village in arlington, virginia, housed 1500 former slaves in 100 family homes. The village was known for the Large Population of women, children and elders depicted as dependents of the government. It contrasted ideas about liberty and citizenship and refugees were regarded as a burden to the government and the military. Government officials envisioned the camp as a temporary community and hoped to make Employment Arrangements with white families. The communities, however, they cultivated gardens, earned wages, built homes, sewed clothing and built a school for children and a hospital. When offered a refuge from violence and exploitation, many people made plans to work and develop land for themselves and families. Residents in the village felt they had created Sustainable Living conditions that allowed them to experience the privileges of citizenship. Contrastingly, just across the potomac, camp barker appeared different than freedmans village and looked more like a tent city with higher mortality rates. In 1864 when officials decided to move residents of camp barker to freedmans village, only 120 agreed to move while the remaining 685 refused to set foot on the slaveholding territory. That gives you perspective on how they felt about the camp. They were charged 5 to 8 per month, black women, during the war found it difficult to earn a sufficient living and keep themselves and their families healthy. Many black children lost both parents during the war or were force today rely upon overcrowded overcrowded orphanages. In 1864 as officials evicted freed people from camp barker, one grandmother was forced to leave the premises as her grandson was dying beside her. The grandmother who had taken care of the grandson begged lee to stay until the child died but she was refused. Camp barker organized by the government served as an outpost not only of freedom, but also of frailty. For instance, a missionary who worked at camp barker observed that in 1864, quote, there is now some suffering but it is amongst the women who have small children. These can barely obtain the necessaries of life, end quote. The traumas of war imperilled black women to precarious situations. Like many wars, Women Associated with poverty and black women were also vulnerable to Sexual Violence as we learned with lizzy. Their treatment at times reflected the view shaped by a country that rendered black womens body as chatle. In the aftermath of wartime policies, refugees flocked to lines looking for ways to reclaim families and find work in sustainable communities built by freed men and women. Camps functioned as intermediaries of the government that provided assistance but also at times subjected refugee women to conditions similar to that of slavery. Contraband camps could be saturated with habits that reminded black women that for the moment, emancipation remained incomplete. The story of one black woman is illuminating. Upon her arrival at camp barker, johnson understood that she was supposed to work in the camp and, quote, earn my food and clothing, end, quot quote. Prior to her arrival, she worked as a chamber maid. After arriving at camp barker, i dont understand had become ill and unable to perform her responsibilities. When she asked for rations, a blanket, clothing, she was interrogated by mr. Nickels. Nickels could not understand why johnsons husband had not provided for her. But johnson pleaded, quote, im here to earn my board and the same clothes that others have, end quote. She offered to request money from her husband so she could pay for the needed items but nickels responded, you cant buy them from me. You cant buy anything, end quote. Nickels clearly despised johnson and resented what he perceived upon her dependence on the government. If her arrangements at the camp were problematic, nickels should have spoken to her husband about the matter so she could find work elsewhere. Nickels became angry and ordered johnson to a room where she was pinned down and hazard. She reported, quote, they fastened a rope around my two thumbs and raised me from the ground so my weight was suspended by my thumbs. They adjusted the rope and hung her by her wrist. One kicked me, another choked my throat, another stuffed dirty wool in my mouth. After a halfhour, she was released. More than 30 people filed testimonies regarding the abusive treatment of freed people at camp barker. Stories like those are survived reminders of the undercurrent of white contempt. This contempt for refugee women who migrated to the Nations Capital manifested itself in a variety of forms ranging from abuse in contraband camps to local mob violence in the city. The possibilities were not foreclosed by the existence of contraband camps or the legal transformations by the government. The fact that refugee women made it to lines did not garner support. So much of their experiences were informed by the temperament and attitudes of those in position to wheeled the power of the federal government. As johnsons story tells us, legislation alone could not get liberty for women. In 1864, an enslaved woman on the estate belonging to john kerry must have heard news from afar of the developments of the war. She now lived within the legal jurisdiction of the Confederate States of america and the court fixed her value at 800. This was no small figure in antebellum wartime terms. But in the csa, this amount was significant, if not inflated. Just as washington, d. C. Was the citadel of the union, richmond become the stronghold of the confederacy. She learned of the advances made by lees army of Northern Virginia, the strategic gains at the beginning of the war and the losses that smatters throughout in neighboring battles. Word of emancipation spread among enslaved women and they waited in the grip of bondage where the laws of the era remained. And the demands of labor were present in their day to day lives. In 1864, transformation seemed to unfold everywhere but in richmond. Much to john kerrys dismay, he set one of the buildings on his estate on fire. At a time when locals struggled to overcome increasingly depleted resources, the actions exacerbated existing tensions within the confederacy. Her testimony is absent in the historical record but we can infer a number of motivations. To begin, its possible that fanny was not the culprit. If she was, it was an accident. The scholarship confirms the persistence of intentional acts of arson committed by enslaved people particularly during times of war. While the court h we see fewe instances of leniency during the war. As a result fanny received a sentence of sail and transportation beyond the limits of the csa. The state penitentiary purchased fanny and she remained there for the duration of the war. Her experience was neither defined by flight or willingness to remain but revealed the ways in which enslaved women might find themselves confined in territory. Later that same year, the governor did commute the seasons of an enslaved woman accused of arson. She pled not guilty to setting ablaze the home of her owner. The governor commuted the sentence to sale and transportation outside the limits of csa. This is like prescriptive language. And she was purchased for 2,000 which is not completely surprising. By 1864 enslaved women learned ho