August 1861 News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

They don't come in the day before. 'cause if they'd come in the day before, virginia's not a confederate state, not a secessionist state. >> virginia claims she's no longer part of our union. i suppose the law no longer holds water. these men are to be considered contraband of war. >> butler understood that white southerners saw their slaves as property. for instance, they were being used to support the confederate war effort. their capture, their seizure, and their retention was well within the laws of war. >> please, make yourself comfortable. >> right this way, boys. >> congress approved of...

>> butler understood that white southerners saw their slaves as property. for instance, they were being used to support the confederate war effort. their capture, their seizure and their retention was well within the laws of war. >> please, make yourself comfortable. >> right this way, boys. >> congress approved of what butler had done. they liked that solution. in august 1861, they pass a confiscation act. from there on in escaped slaves then were called contrabands. >> does this mean that... that we're free? >> that's not my part to say. it is for the president. >> despite his rank, benjamin...