Description

In the November 1861 edition of The Atlantic Monthly, Private Edward L. Pierce wrote an article titled "The Contrabands at Fortress Monroe". He describes his interactions with the escaped slaves at Fortress Monroe, including their thoughts and feelings on their emancipation. Instead of including the full text of the article below, I have extracted a few excerpts on important themes that were present in Pierce's conversations with the self-liberated Black people in Hampton.

Note that for accuracy with the original article the transcription below may include offensive language and spells the words exactly as they appear, even when spelled incorrectly.