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Only
two white soldiers were executed for rape or attempt on colored women.
Not to say that only white women were raped during the CW but if
complaint from white women were rare, complaint from blacks were
extremely rare...But rape of black women , mostly slaves (not protected
by laws against sexual agressions in the antebellum South) was not
unknown and probably more common that on white women according to the
historians interested by this aspect of the war. It's
possible to find some interesting Union reports in the Official records
about this subject :
"I found the prejudice of color and race here in full force,
and the general feeling of the army of occupation was unfriendly to
the blacks. It was manifested in various forms of personal insult and
abuse, in depredations on their plantations, stealing and destroying
their crops and domestic animals, and robbing them of their money.The
women were held as the legitimate prey of lust, and as they had been
taught it was a crime to resist a white man they had not learned to
dare to defend their chastity".
(Brigadier Gl Saxton, USA, Beaufort, SC, 30 december 1864 to E. Stanton,
OR SIII
volV p1028/29)
Like the
most part of mid XIXth century white men, a number of Union
soldiers don't respect colored women regarded like no
"respectable" and without morality due to their race.
"GENERAL: I feel surprised, after the precautions that have
been taken by yourself and officers, to find that many depredations
have been committed near this place, and certain things done that
would disgrace us even in the enemy's country, e.g., the robbing of
some negroes and abusing their women." (Gl
Howard, 10 january 1865, beaufort, SC, OR
SI, vol XLVII pt 2 p33).
- "Reports are made to me of the most disgraceful outrages on
the part of troops along the road within 10 or 12 miles of your
station. Not only is property taken without vouchers, as required by
law and my repeated orders, but property is wantonly destroyed, negro
women are debauched, and ladies insulted. Such acts are said to
have been committed at Mr. Clay's place, 10 miles west of you,
yesterday or the day before."
Gl Buell from
Huntsville, 12 august 1862. (OR
SI volXVI pt 2 p319)
- "When there is added to this the irregularities of the
soldiery--such as taking poultry, pigs, milk, butter, preserves,
potatoes, horses, and in fact everything they want; entering and
searching houses, and stealing in many cases; committing rapes on
the negroes and such like things--the effect has been to make a
great many Union men inveterate enemies, and if these things
continue much longer, our cause is ruined."
in a letter
from John T.K Hayward, unionist agent in Missouri to Simon Cameron, 13
august 1861 (OR
SI, volIII p459)
In North Carolina, a black man named John Allen, beaten and bleeding
from the head, rushed into camp begging for help. An officer heard the
row and came out of his tent to investigate the matter . He heard
Allen explain that a soldier had beaten him and his wife and was
attempting to rape his wife. A short distance from Allen's house
soldiers arrested an Illinois corporal A.C.Warner. During the trial
Allen was introduced like a witness but the judge advocat objected
that " this witness had not sufficient intelligence to comprehend
the nature of the oath" , jugdes concurred without questionning
Allen and the court dismissed all charges against Warner ! RG
153 NA MM3937
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