Mary - Journeytohistory

_36 From Slavery to FreedomRobert Snllills.'malls, a slave pilot inCluuleston, became a CivilWar hero when he sailed withhis fnmily out of the harboraboard n Confederate sterUllcr.T1Ie Plalltel', of whieh he hadt~ll\cn comrol. lind delivel'cd itto the nion squad"on thatwas bloekinil the harbol', Afterthe Civil War. Snwl1s servedfivc t rl1lS in the United StatesHouse of Rcpl'esentatives as amember frol1l South Carolina,( ehollllwrg CenterjorRcscarcll in Black Culture,New }orh Publi' Ubl'(ll'Y)RuDI::RT S>['\LL~.'AI'TAI:'> 01' "I'lH: Gl":'>·1I0AT "1'1..\:\";":1:,"involved vastly more strenuous work than what they were accustomed to doingfor their owners, if they chose to work at all. With master and slave opposed toimpressment, there was little chance for its success.Even without impressment Confederate and state governments were ableto secure the services of thousands of slaves who performed many importanttasks. Most of the cooks in the Confederate army were slaves, and the governmentrecognized their value to the morale and physical fitness of the soldiersby designating four cooks for each company and providing that each oneshould receive $15 a month as well as clothing. Blacks were also slave teamsters,mechanics, hospital attendants, ambulance drivers, and common laborers.Much of the work in the construction of fortifications was done by slaves.As Union armies invaded the South, tearing up railroads and wrecking bridges,gangs of slave and free black workers repaired them. Blacks were also extensivelyemployed in the manufacture of powder and arms. Of 400 workers at thenaval arsenal in Selma, Alabama, 310 were black in 1865.