Municipal Slavery
During the nineteenth century, the City of Savannah participated in the use of slave labor through the hiring-out system and owning slaves for work on municipal projects. Many slaves were rented or “hired-out” to others who paid the owner for the services of the enslaved person. Some slaves were able to hire themselves out and keep the wages.[1] In 1835 the City of Savannah paid Mary E. Long and the City Marshal multiple times for the services of an enslaved man named Adam.[2] The City used slave labor to repair roads, clear roads of weeds, trash or dead animals, and at different times to work on local fortification projects.
To regulate the lives of enslaved people and free people of color the Savannah City Council passed ordinances. One such ordinance regulated their ability to work in the city. To work within the City of Savannah, City Council required work badges for all enslaved people and free people of color. The badges were priced according to categories and the fee was paid to the Clerk of Council, who maintained a record for all badges sold. The badges were valid for one year.[3]
In the 1830s and again in the 1840s, City Council authorized purchases of enslaved men for City use in the Scavengers Department. The Scavengers Department removed debris from the city. Research suggests that different dwellings were created that might have been locations for the enslaved men to live, but this has not been confirmed. Two possible places are the City Pound and the Scavengers Lot. During the 1840s, the City Pound was moved and rebuilt with a dwelling attached. The new home of the Pound was a location behind the Old Cemetery at Perry Lane. The City Pound is no longer at this location, and today this area is a park at the corner of Abercorn Street and Perry Lane behind Colonial Cemetery.[4] The second possible location for the enslaved men was the Scavengers Lot at West Boundary Street. A map from 1888 shows the dwelling as well as the stables, sheds, and a chicken coop. Today this area is part of the overpass network of US Highway 17 that leads to the Talmadge Bridge.[5]
In May of 1861, the City purchased two men for the Water Works Department. The Mayor’s Annual Report lists the purchase as an “economical move." The superintendent of the Water Works, M. Desvergers, was recorded in the City Treasurer’s Cash Book Volume 16: 1861-1864 as the purchaser of the two men. A review of City Council Minutes several months before and several months after May 1861 did not produce a resolution corresponding to the purchase of the two men. No other information was found regarding the Water Works men.
"Water Works", May 28, 1861, 5600CT-410 City of Savannah-City Treasurer's Records, Cash Book, Volume 16, 1861-1864, 27.
A previous preliminary search of the City Deeds Collection provided one recorded deed for an enslaved person, which appears to be the last purchase of an enslaved person by the City. The deed, recorded on July 21, 1864, stated the City paid $4,500.00 for the enslaved man.On the 21st. Inflation rates from the time period indicate that the Confederate dollars that Sarah Cope received equaled $225 US dollars.[6]
Many of the Treasurer’s records lack the names for the enslaved people that the City owned or hired, making it difficult to fully document the history for these people. The Scavenger men are not found in the City Treasurer’s records after 1853, when the department was reorganized. Other than Mayor's Annual Report of 1861 and the Cash Book of 1861-1866 no other records regarding the men of the Water Works have been found. A search of the cemetery database was conducted using names that were found, but without last names and ages this search produced few results. There are men with the name Chance and Monday that could possibly be the enslaved men of the City Scavengers. Further research may provide more information.
[1] Whittington B. Johnson, Black Savannah 1788-1864, 95.
[2] "Scavengers Department", July 1835, 5600CT-410 City of Savannah-City Treasurer's Records, Cash Book 1835-1839,
20, 24.
[3] Charles S. Henry, compiled by, A Digest of all the Ordinances of the City of Savannah, Which Where[sic] of Force on the 1st
July 1854, 339-340.
[4] Official Proceedings of City Council, 19 September 1844, 18, City of Savannah, Clerk of Council’s Office, Savannah,
Georgia.; "Plan of City Pound Lot", 3121-008, City of Savannah, Engineering Department-Retrospective Maps Collection:
East/West Maps, Map #EW/E-232.
[5]"Scavenger Lot", 3121-008, City of Savannah, Engineering Department-Retrospective Maps Collection: East/West Maps, Map
#EW/W-233.
[6] Tim McMahon, “Confederate Inflation Rates: 1861-1865”, InflationData.com, April 3, 2013.
