From Civilian To Refugee In One Easy War, Harper's Finds Them

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
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One of two Harper's images, depicting Southern families fleeing War. Harper's Weekly ( opinion only ) seems to have been fairly even handed, when representing civilian matters towards war's genesis- later, seem to have been so much more likely to write pointed, pro-Union captions, it is tough to ascertain civilian stories.
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No order here, as no order was to be found in a war noted for chaos, spilling to each side as neat lines of troops marched from home towns.

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So... it's extremely hard to ascertain who went where, and why, from Northern based papers. I'd have to guess it unlikely a slave holding family was required to flee through fearing Southern troops- banditi or otherwise. Perhaps, just seems odd. No sides in this thread- please do not begin one. Displaced by war, is the theme.


Few topics become as contentious, as quickly in who-did-what-to-whom arguments, as those stories ending with " And civilians were driven from their homes. " Goodness. It was an awful war. Civilians suffered mightily. Largely non-combatants and without protection or the wherewithal to sustain themselves in what amounted to hostile territory, our black population swelled those ranks.

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Still paging through, finding which Richmond refugees were here. Images were sent back to publishers as reporters encountered them. This is from NYPL- always a challenge tackling Harper's ( or Leslie's ), to find the story!

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Slightly ' better' image would be, well, willing refugees- if we may use the term. It was awful- we know the risks faced until reaching Union lines. ' Contraband ' camps could be pretty grudging- time limits made a lot extremely unstable places to live. But- Lincoln said " You're free to go ". So they did. One, large segment of ' displaced ' people who were supposed to be displaced by the war. Risks were greatest, rewards dicey, freedom- a new word.

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Here's another " Grand Skedaddle ", from Charleston, South Carolina- as Federal troops approach.

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All the way into 1865, women leaving Savannah, under orders if they refused Sherman's terms. Perhaps not the refugees living in caves, and it was their choice. Displaced by war? Yes. Savannah was no picnic by 1865- ravaged by Blockade and loss- must have felt desperate.

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" Quietly at home " in Savannah, in 1865 looked a little different than quietly at home in Boston, or Harrisburg, PA.

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Not as heart tugging as you'd think. The war is the west was a desperate, barbaric struggle - images tried to convey how desperate.


Which begs the question " Who were the war's refugees? " What a huge question? We had a lot. The thing is, following events as they transpired, through era media, the sheer scope of what does not seem to have been viewed as a' problem' is clearer. Arguing who-did-what-to-whom seems a little besides the point?

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Union general Nelson's " The women and children will leave this city without delay " caused panic- and created more refugees. Where did he think they would all go?

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Frank Leslie's war artists found some here.

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And they came and came and came and came, called ' contraband like it was a passport,- they displaced themselves. What could be worse than what was left?

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Anderson's little garrison sent wives and children away, from Ruffin's awful, finite yank on that cord, that awful, finite day- the beginning of so many ends. The first refugees? Maybe.

Will not beat the topic to death. There is article after article on refugees but we don't manage to see them later or have a clear idea what became of most. A few famous examples are so contentious you simply may not bring them up- which is a shame. Most frequently women and children, displaced by war, it'd be great History for all of us.

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1865, Virginians drawing rations from a Federal camp. Some civilians lived in camps themselves, not permanent homes. It was a very, very long war.
 
If it were but one image of flight, one race, gender or certain-age (child or granny) person being displaced, one might say the artist or media were spinning tales. No. This is cold hard facts, a reality for those of our ancestors who lived (or died) fleeing the destruction of brothers slaughtering brothers. These images proclaim that there are no winners in war, and the most vulnerable, the women and children, suffer the most when war is declared.
 
If it were but one image of flight, one race, gender or certain-age (child or granny) person being displaced, one might say the artist or media were spinning tales. No. This is cold hard facts, a reality for those of our ancestors who lived (or died) fleeing the destruction of brothers slaughtering brothers. These images proclaim that there are no winners in war, and the most vulnerable, the women and children, suffer the most when war is declared.


It really was? The word ' refugee ' seems, weirdly, to make eyes glaze over as uninteresting, perhaps?

The thing is, when I first became smitten with this section of history, had no clue how much sheer upheaval was suffered. None. Common sense should have told me- and did not, that you cannot hold an entire war on what, football fields while a civilian population may continue their lives unimpeded? Or that enslaved risking everything just to take their for themselves what everyone ( white ) took for granted would have to be refugees.... because it meant leaving.

Really was not blowing smoke or fog saying your book is valuable, you know. A bird's eye view of what it looks like when a war heads your way, as a civilian? Ha! History, and military history is wonderful- it requires a setting. We tend to see so many, many battles fought on pages, in books. Yes, incredibly sourced, documented; astonishingly clear moment by moment- but where did it transpire, in whose front yard and where were they?
 
I have long been amazed that African Americans knew of the Emancipation Proclamation - while living in a place that likely did not publish it or publicize it. If slavery was so benign, they why did slaves take advantage of it?

Thanks for your research - reading your work is so much better than TV!
 
Really very interesting. In many places there was simply no real pace to go. From Missouri, you had little choice. Texas maybe, the state largely escaped the war. North was Iowa, not much sympathy there. Illinois not much better, except for the southern part of the state. Kansas, nothing there at all for southerners. The people did not have much choice, so it was usually Texas. Thank you for the wartime images of people fleeing to an uncertain future. Not much of a hope, but better than no hope at all.
 
Spending some time ' in ' Beaufort, Fort Monroe and the Sea Islands, meaning looking for more information on the work of the Freedmans Association and other relief work. As refugees poured in to Union occupied areas, mobilizing help by way of re-settling and providing means by which they could reestablish themselves in a whole, new world also poured in. The call went out and help came. It's what we do, Americans answering the call to help.

Favorite stories center around the schools although clothing, food and medical care also formed the base from which refugees could build lives for themselves. It was making ' light ' come out of all the darkness out there and the kind of effort we can do incredibly well.

One of the schools for refugees, I think Beaufort.
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