Refugees of the Civil War

Contrabands of the Civil War were fugitive slaves who escaped to Union lines. Since, the Union was not about to return the slaves to the Confederates in fear that they would use the slaves, the government decided to keep them. The Union set up contraband camps and tried to provide them with sufficient shelter and food but since the army was already lacking funds, they rationed harshly. Eventually, private organizations stepped in and provided supplies, supervision, and education.

When I saw this picture I immediately thought of the ghettos of South Africa. People live like this every day. The trash scattered in the foreground of the picture show how uncared for these people are. It describes their priorities, and since food and shelter are hard to come by, they are not about to worry about the trash littering their "home." The men sit slumping and I get the impression that they are bored out of their minds yet the way that the man to the right sits with hands outstretched show that he is ready for action and ready to take any opportunity offered to him. These men are not yet broken. The wall in the background to the right and the empty space in the back to the left give these men two choices - slavery or freedom. The empty space is minimal compared to the imposing wall and it leaves the viewer with the sense that although the contrabands are recieving some help from the Union, they still remain under some one else's control. The last thing that this photobrought to mind is that the slaves were the refugees of the Civil War and the contraband camps resemble the refugee camps of the wars of today. Money to provide shelter, healthcare, food, education, and supervision still run short today. The camps still resemble the above photo from 150 years ago.