Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Confederate States of America. Congress A bill to provide for the employment of free negroes and slaves to work upon fortifications and perform other labor connected with the defences of the country.

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC08419 Author/Creator: Confederate States of America. Congress Place Written: s.l. Type: Printed document Date: 15 December 1864 Pagination: 6 p. : Height: 24 cm, Width: 14.5 cm Order a Copy

Senate Bill 129, passed by the Confederate Senate 13 December 1864. Ordered to be printed by the House of Representatives 15 December 1864. States that "The Congress of the Confederate States of American do enact, That all free male negroes, between the ages of eighteen and fifty years, shall be held liable to perform any labor or discharge any duties with the army ... such as working upon fortifications, producing and preparing materials of war, building and preparing roads and bridges ... " Includes guidelines for the impressment of slaves, placing the Secretary of War and the general commanding the trans-Mississippi department in charge of impressment procedures. Contains the name of James H. Nash, Confederate Secretary of State. Contains a Rebel Archives stamp. Possibly created in Richmond, Virginia.

Confederate States of America, 1860-1870
Nash, James H., fl. 1864

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources