Educating the Freedmen During the Civil War: Letters from Beaufort and New Bern, North Carolina, 1863-1865
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EDUCATING THE FREEDMEN DURING THE CIVIL WAR: LETTERS FROM BEAUFORT AND NEW BERN, NORTH CAROLINA, 1863-1865 A Thesis by JACOB RYAN KAHLER Submitted to the Graduate School at Appalachian State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DEGREE of MASTER OF ARTS December 2019 Department of History EDUCATING THE FREEDMEN DURING THE CIVIL WAR: LETTERS FROM BEAUFORT AND NEW BERN, NORTH CAROLINA, 1863-1865 A Thesis by Jacob Kahler December 2019 APPROVED BY: Judkin Browning, Ph. D. Chairperson, Thesis Committee Andrea Burns, Ph. D Member, Thesis Committee Bruce E. Stewart, Ph. D. Member, Thesis Committee James Goff, Ph. D. Chairperson, Department of History Michael McKenzie, Ph.D. Dean, Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies Copyright by Jacob Ryan Kahler 2019 All Rights Reserved Abstract EDUCATING THE FREEDMEN DURING THE CIVIL WAR: LETTERS FROM BEAUFORT AND NEW BERN, NORTH CAROLINA, 1863-1865 Jacob Ryan Kahler: B.A., Appalachian State University M.A., Appalachian State University Chairperson: Judkin Browning This edited collection provides an insight on the lives of the American Missionary Association (AMA) agents, northern minister Horace James, and the recently freed slaves who lived in and around Beaufort and New Bern, North Carolina. These letters reflect the social, cultural, religious, and political developments in the region as the agents worked to provide education and religious opportunities to the freedmen who struggled to create and explore their new liberties as a freed culture. The letters contained in this collection reflect the personal feelings and thoughts of the AMA agents and a few freedmen during the turmoil of the Civil War. They reveal political and social tensions, as well as environmental conditions. Because of their work and influence, the agents and James helped develop the opportunity for African Americans to create their own cultures without direct interference from their former masters. iv Acknowledgments This project would not have been possible if it were not for the many people supporting and encouraging this work. I would like to begin by thanking my thesis committee: Dr. Judkin Browning, Dr. Andrea A. Burns, and Dr. Bruce E. Stewart for allowing me to pursue this project. I would like to thank Dr. Browning, my committee chair, for his suggestions, edits, and comments guiding me throughout the entire process. I thank Dr. Burns, for her encouragement and interest in this project. I also thank Dr. Stewart for his comments and suggestions during the writing process of my thesis. I also wish to thank Ryan Bean and his students at the Youth Ministry Christian Association Archives, located at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, for their help locating several archives and persons of interest for this thesis. I would also like to thank my countless number of colleagues and friends who supported me throughout this entire process. Specifically, special thanks go to Andrew Franklin—for his editing and suggestions, as well as sharing cookout on top of a trash can with me—and Howell Keiser for his edits and suggestions during the writing process. I would also like to thank the countless number of friends that Boone and Appalachian State have introduced me to and their continuous support and encouragement during my time writing and developing this thesis. Lastly, I would like to thank my family for their love and support. My mom and grandmother deserve for spending time working through these letters with me and double- checking my transcriptions. Without the help and support of you all this feat would not have been possible and for that I thank you. v Dedication I dedicate this book to my grandfather, Jimmy Patrick Wells Sr. (1939-2011). vi Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgments................................................................................................................v Dedication .......................................................................................................................... vi Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Editorial Method ................................................................................................................17 Chapter 1 ...........................................................................................................................18 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................51 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................98 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................133 Vita ...................................................................................................................................141 vii INTRODUCTION In early 1862, a strike force of 100 ships and 15,000 Union soldiers left Annapolis, Maryland, heading towards eastern North Carolina to capture several ports and establish a foothold in the heart of the Confederate States of America.1 Commanded by Brigadier General Ambrose Burnside, the operation earned the army the nickname “Burnside’s Expedition.” Promoted after his role in the First Battle of Bull Run, Burnside created the force in late 1861 and began to raid southern ports in early 1862. After taking Roanoke Island, New Bern, and Beaufort, the Union continued to hold them until after the war’s end, despite General George E. Pickett’s attempt to retake New Bern in 1864.2 After 1862, as most of the fighting took place elsewhere in the South, life for civilians under Union occupation drastically changed. Before the occupation, the civilians of eastern North Carolina supported secession and refused Lincoln’s call to service after the surrender of Fort Sumter. After the occupation of New Bern and Beaufort, civilians welcomed the occupying army with the new arrival of trade and economic opportunities, demonstrating they had flexible loyalties. Although the southern crowd that welcomed the Union Army reacted as Union sympathizers, these southerners were economically in favor of the side that paid them. However, when it came to their religious and political views, the southerners found ways to passively resist their occupiers. This tension often caused conflicts and clashes between the military and local civilians.3 1 “The Burnside Expedition, 1862” NCPedia, Accessed June 29, 2019. https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/burnside- expedition-1862. 2 Ibid. 3 Judkin Browning, Shifting Loyalties: The Union Occupation of North Carolina (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2014), 1-25. 1 There were buffers between both military and civilian resources. These buffers were the different organizations and groups that traveled from the north and established themselves in recaptured Union areas to aid the people and slaves of the region. One of these organizations was the American Missionary Association (AMA). The AMA, founded in 1846, focused on peaceful and “churchlike” resistance to slavery, opposing the institution for what they deemed as a “personal sin.” In the 1850s, the organization turned to fight for abolition and the eventual end of slavery in the United States.4 However, as the social, political, and ethical foundations of the country began to crumble, the AMA quickly established itself as a leading member in spearheading campaigns to help slaves and freedmen. In A Crusade of Brotherhood: A History of the American Missionary Association (1909), Augustus Field Beard attributes the creation of the AMA from the very founding of the United States government and the divided opinions between North and South over the question of slavery.5 Before the formation of the AMA, several other abolitionist groups already existed. As early as 1815, the Union Humane Society, the American Anti-Slavery Society, and the American and Foreign Antislavery Movement, began to petition the government to abolish slavery. As the sectional divide between north and south grew, more abolitionist groups continued to form. These combined forces met in 1833 and discussed the creation of a joint effort to fight against the institution of slavery. This society drew up their constitution to appease Congress and other personal opinions using guidelines and rules that ensured they could not be accused of anarchical behavior. Their constitution declared that the organization would petition for the removal of 4 “American Missionary Association” NCpedia. Accessed October 24, 2018. https://www.ncpedia.org/american- missionary-association. 5 Augustus Field Beard, A Crusade of Brotherhood: A History of the American Missionary Association (Boston: The Pilgrim Press, 1909). 2 slavery and the slave trade in the District of Columbia, while not encouraging and supporting slave uprisings. The society continued to petition and encourage the abolition of slavery in the country until the Society broke apart in 1840, after the creation of five hundred and twenty-seven societies with over twenty-five thousand members.6 In 1840, President Arthur Tappan, the former president of the American Antislavery Society, created the American and Foreign Antislavery Movement (AFAM). With the same morals and views as the previous society,