Slavery and Southern Railroads

Some of the first, longest and most ambitious railroads in the nation were built in the South beginning in the late 1820s. By 1860 the South's railroad network was one of the most extensive in the world, and nearly all of it had been constructed with slave labor. Moreover, railroad companies became some of the largest slaveholders in the South.

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1848 | Annual report Proceedings of the First Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company This collection of reports given at the first annual meeting of the stockholders of the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company in 1848 includes extensive information about the financial status of the railroad. Whit'l P. Tunstall, president of the company, also presents an extensive argument for Virginia's railroad development, predicated on the successes of railroads in other states. May 6, 1850 | Letter Letter from Claudius Crozet to the President and Directors of the Blue Ridge Railroad Co., May 6, 1850 Claudius Crozet keeps the Board informed of the project's progress on the Blue Ridge and measures that progress in numbers of "hands" employed and the amount of rock and earth moved. 1850 | Annual report Annual Report to the President and Directors of the Board of Public Works, 1850 When proposed and the first efforts made in 1850, the Blue Ridge Tunnel was to be the longest tunnel in North America. Claudius Crozet, as chief engineer, warns his Board of Public Works against comparing its progress with other tunnels. The condition of the rock and the scale of the project were different and unprecedented, respectively. Crozet tries to educate the Board on the nature of the project. November 15, 1850 | Letter Letter from Claudius Crozet to Governor John B. Lloyd, November 15, 1850 The Kelly contract dispute occupied the first year of Claudius Crozet's project to build the Blue Ridge Tunnel. This letter from Kelly to the Governor of Virginia explains the contractor's view of his contract and his disagreement with Claudius Crozet, the chief engineer. Kelly claims his contract was to include the building of some parts of the project, while Crozet let these to another contractor at a much lower price. November 15, 1850 | Letter Letter from Claudius Crozet to the President and Directors of Public Works, November 15, 1850 Claudius Crozet reports on his disagreement with the Tunnel's general contractor. January 15, 1851 | Letter Quarterly Report In one of the first reports to the Board, Claudius Crozet explains the dangerous conditions in the construction and advises against using sink shafts on the project. Crozet refers to Col. Randolph, probably Thomas Jefferson Randolph, grandson of Thomas Jefferson and contractor of slaves to the project. 1852 | Book Uncle Tom's Cabin An excerpt from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. August 2, 1853 | Letter Letter from Claudius Crozet to the Board of Public Works Reporting the Condition of Work, August 2, 1853 Claudius Crozet explains what he thinks prompted the strike among the Tunnel workers in April 1853 for $1.50 a day wages. December 6, 1853 | Letter Letter from Claudius Crozet to the Board of Public Works, Reporting the Progress of Work for November, 1853 Claudius Crozet reports on labor costs and the national labor market as it affects the Blue Ridge Tunnel project. He encourages the Board to consider a mixed labor force of white and enslaved black workers as a means to keep both in check. December 23, 1853 | Contract Contract for Negro Slaves, December 23, 1853 In December 1853, George A. Farrow and David Hansbrough signed a contract with the Blue Ridge Railroad to provide fifty slaves to assist in the construction of the Blue Ridge railroad tunnel. January 4, 1854 | Letter Claudius Crozet's Monthly Report for December, 1853 In his report Claudius Crozet explains the high costs of white labor and the difficulties of securing enslaved labor. April 20, 1854 | Letter Letter from John Wood Jr. to Colonel Claudius Crozet, April 20, 1854 When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the slaveholders retained legal counsel to negotiate a settlement with the Board of Public Works. October 27, 1854 | Letter Thomas W. Wood's Affidavit, October 27, 1854 When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the Board of Public Works attorneys sought sworn affidavits from white men who knew the enslaved men to determine their value for compensation to the slaveholders. The legal process regularized and the practice of industrial slavery on the railroads. October 27, 1854 | Letter William P. Jarman's Affidavit, October 27, 1854 When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the Board of Public Works attorneys sought sworn affidavits from white men who knew the enslaved men to determine their value for compensation to the slaveholders. The legal process regularized and the practice of industrial slavery on the railroads. October 28, 1854 | Letter William M. Sclater's Affidavit, October 28, 1854 When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the Board of Public Works attorneys sought sworn affidavits from white men who knew the enslaved men to determine their value for compensation to the slaveholders. The legal process regularized and the practice of industrial slavery on the railroads. November 1, 1854 | Letter Attorney General W.P. Bocark's Opinion Regarding the Bureau of Public Works' Liability for Slaves Killed on Blue Ridge Railroad, November 1, 1854 When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, slaveholders held the Virginia Board of Public Works, which had hired slaves through contractors, liable for the losses. Affidavits were taken on the value of the slaves, their character and history. The Attorney General of Virginia, W. P. Bocock, ruled that whether the slaves were killed on the Virginia Central Rail Road Co. or the Blue Ridge project was immaterial, and that the Board of Public Works was liable for reasonable compensation to the slaveholders. November 1, 1854 | Letter William M. Sclater's Proposal to the Board of Public Works, November 1, 1854 When labor shortages slowed the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, Claudius Crozet solicited proposals from local contracting agents to supply slave labor. November 5, 1854 | Letter Letter from Claudius Crozet to the Virginia Board of Public Works, November 5, 1854 Claudius Crozet comments on the problems with white labor on the Tunnel project, and the possibilities for increasing the use of black slaves. December 1, 1854 | Letter Letter from Claudius Crozet Reporting the Condition of Work Under his Charge, December 1, 1854 Commenting on the unreliablity of Irish labor, Claudius Crozet recommends to the Board of Public Works that they hire black enslaved labor instead. December 28, 1854 | Letter Letter from Claudius Crozet to the Virginia Board of Public Works, December 28, 1854 In one of his regular reports to the Board of Public Works, Claudius Crozet comments on the use of enslaved labor and the use of "time" that its employment enables. Because slaves were worked longer hours, often in gangs, and not paid by the hour, unlike whites, they could be transferred from one task to the next until their annual hire was renegotiated with the slaveholder. 10, 1854 | Letter Samuel G. White’s Affidavit, October 27, 1854 When two slaves were killed on the Blue Ridge Tunnel project, the Board of Public Works attorneys sought sworn affidavits from white men who knew the enslaved men to determine their value for compensation to the slaveholders. The legal process regularized and the practice of industrial slavery on the railroads. November 23, 1855 | Contract Receipt for Purchase of a Slave This 1855 receipt describes the purchase of a young female slave and her two children. December 1, 1856 | Annual report The Mountain Top Track This December 1, 1856 report details the high maintenance costs for track running through the Blue Ridge mountains. February 20, 1858 | Contract Receipt for Purchase of a Slave This receipt and letter describes the terms of sale for a slave in 1858. March 5, 1860 | Contract Receipt for Sale of Slaves to the Mississippi Central Railroad Company, March 5, 1860 This March 5, 1860 receipt lists the names, ages, and purchase price of 21 slaves sold to the Mississippi Central Railroad. March 5, 1860 | Contract Receipt for Sale of Slaves to the Mississippi Central Railroad Company, March 5, 1860 (#2) This March 5, 1860 receipt lists the names, ages, and purchase price of 31 slaves "sold & delivered" to the Mississippi Central Railroad. September 11, 1865 | Annual report Circular to the Bondholders and Creditors of the Southern Railroad Company, of the State of Mississippi This September 11, 1865 circular reports on the condition and financial status of the Southern Railroad Company after the Civil War. 1867 | Annual report Report on the Condition and Prospects of the Southern Railroad of Mississippi This report details the financial and material state of the Southern Railroad Company in 1867.		The Slavery and Southern Railroads View will be coming soon.