1864 Account of Captured Black Union Soldiers Returned to Slavery

In late 1864, the correspondent of a Georgia newspaper, the "Southern Confederacy" of Macon, described the situation and condition of the "first negro soldiers ever captured by the Army of Tennessee." The prisoners, all members of the 44th U.S. Colored Infantry, were surrendered at Dalton, Ga., on Oct. 13, 1864. Here's the story.
"Life on the Civil War Research Trail" is hosted by Ronald S. Coddington, Editor and Publisher of Military Images magazine. Learn more about our mission to showcase, interpret and preserve Civil War portrait photography at militaryimagesmagazine.com and shopmilitaryimages.com.
This episode is brought to you in part by Amelia Jeffers, auctioneers & appraisers, featuring the Lifetime American History & Civil War Collection of a Midwestern Couple on August 29, 2024. Visit ameliajeffers.com for details.
Image: National Archives
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[@vmhutch]

You are a great curator of the stories of individuals, regular people, experiencing the war. Thank you. Please keep them coming.

[@rickpaton7538]

My god. Just imagine what was going through Prior's mind during this time. Unfathomable. It needs to be a full on television series.

[@williamrossetter9430]

Thanks once again Ron for another amazing story of a recaptured slave. Your work fills the blanks in the pages of the Civil War. May we all learn from these stories and trust that the people in them a finally received their full justice.

[@rogersheddy6414]

Couldn't comment Except as a reply. "They had only received $6.00." Back pay was a common complaint among ALL civil war soldiers.

[@seminolewar]

It also shows how bad the south needed slave labor. The antebellum slave laws stated that any black man under arms was to be immediately put to death, and that didn't happen to this man and his captured comrades.

[@b4thebb]

They couldn't spare the time or the ammo. Hood was in a rush to destroy his army at Franklin, TN.

[@karlk9316]

The prompt, mass surrender by their commander may have been a major factor in the prevention of an angry slaughter.

[@brianniegemann4788]

Thank you Ron for bringing these old pictures to life for us. What a tough and courageous man Prior must have been. Smart, too. After escaping from slavery the first time, he decided that life as a soldier was better than what the average black man could expect. He probably also wanted to get some payback. Only to be captured and enslaved again! His second escape would have been even tougher and more frightening. There were thousands of unsung heroes in the Civil War; Prior was surely one of them.

[@tttyuhbbb9823]

Thank you, Ron! Great and informative as usual! 👍

[@wmschooley1234]

Be interesting to know if Hubbard Pryor ever got the opportunity to strike a blow for freedom between his escape into Chattanooga and his re-enslavement at Dalton.

[@robertrobert7924]

I am surprised that an entire Regiment of 600 men were surrendered by their Officers. Was it common place for units this large to be surrendered ad hoc by their Commanders?

[@lifeonthecivilwarresearchtrail]

There are examples of garrisons being surrendered. In this case, the garrison was an entire regiment, which is less common. Hope this helps!

[@oldgeezerproductions]

Consider how many Federal soldiers were surrendered at the Harpers Ferry garrison in September 1862 (almost 13,000). The largest single capture of Federal forces in the entire war.

[@richardstephens5570]

30,000 Confederates surrendered at Vicksburg.

[@robertrobert7924]

@@richardstephens5570 Was that because they were out of ammunition, food, and water? Imagine having to guard and feed that many POWs.

[@RMAli23]

It was shameful for those officers to surrender their men to the enemy knowing what would.happen to them. They got to be paroled in a few weeks; while their men went back into slavery.

[@richardstephens5570]

Shameful? When surrounded by a superior force, the only options are surrender or fight to the death. The surrender saved their lives.

[@yisroelkatz-xj6pq]

My question is why did the Confederates release the captured Union officers? Why didn't the Confederates send the Union officers to a POW prison?

[@oldgeezerproductions]

I assume that the Confederate forces had precious little to no provisions for a formal keeping of POWs or even the means to transport them to a prison location and so the privileged (because they were "White") officers were simply paroled. This parole of the White officers, solely on the receipt of their word, freed the Southern army of men who would otherwise be an unsustainable burden, whereas the Black soldiers could be kept as an asset and used to perform needed labor. The Black soldiers had no rights or expectations of parole and were thus kept for their value as laborers. It is indeed fortunate and the Southern military leaders showed a surprising degree of humanity in triaging the soldiers and assigning them to the kind of work suited to each of them rather than letting them die of neglect or executing them under the harsh "servile insurrection laws" then in effect. Humanity aside, I am sure the Southern military authorities in charge of these men were well aware that the Federal army and government would exact a terrible justice for any really egregious misuse of its uniformed soldiers, regardless of their racial status. Yes, and perhaps such treatment was part of the surrender agreements and promises.

[@yisroelkatz-xj6pq]

@@oldgeezerproductions Thank you for your very good answer! I agree with everything you said!

[@wolfpack4694]

“If in command, I will never surrender my men while they have the means to resist”. The Soldier Creed developed after the Korean War. Such a disgrace that the Commanding Officer of the Regiment surrendering these men to a certain Ill fate.

[@richardstephens5570]

Armies didn't fight to the death in the 19th century. Officers surrendered their soldiers in hopeless situations to save lives.

[@johncallahan2256]

Can you say what became of the union officer who brokered that deal?

[@cognomenunknown2144]

Ya fought all the way, Johnny Reb!!!!!!!

[@fokkerd3red618]

I know this war was a very long time ago, but my heart really goes out to all those enslaved people who joined the Army and then were captured by the confederates. These guys didn't get a break, no matter where they turned.

[@oldgeezerproductions]

I do not know the circumstances and I am perhaps foolish for saying this, but I just can't imagine a whole regiment being surrendered in mass without some kind of fight. Perhaps the situation was so incredibly bad, they had no other choice and to get the very best for officers AND the men, a surrender was deemed necessary. At any rate, I am further guessing that the terms of surrender that were agreed to and promised included parole of officers AND the humane treatment of men considered lawfully enlisted soldiers of the United States.

[@RichardDCook]

I wonder the same thing. Not knowing the circumstances, still I would wager that most of the men's hearts would be for fighting it out, for they surely knew the different fates in store for their white officers and themselves.

[@robertjackson1968]

@@RichardDCook ...Just checkout what happened at the surrender of Ft. Donleson....and based on my research, Confedrates slaughtered most of the USCT and there families along with many White Union soldiers...Thus the White officers of the 44th USCT wanted to avoid the same fate as their White comrades at FT. Donelson..thus exchanging their freedom for the enslavement of their men.