Two unidentified escaped slaves wearing ragged clothes] / Photographed by McPherson & Oliver, Baton Rouge, La.
Photographer: McPherson & Oliver. Taken: Between 1861 and 1865]
Thousands of African slaves were able to flee and seek safety at a Union-held fort during the Civil War thanks to a legal loophole. The first "contraband camp"—a haphazard black community of self-emancipated people where residents frequently enlisted in the military—was established at Fortress Monroe in Virginia.
Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
How 3 Escaped Slaves Changed History Forever.
Source: National Park Service/ RBH