With Benjamin Butler’s contraband of war policy having received
the blessing of the Lincoln administration in late May 1861 it
is not surprising that slaves in locations other than around
Fortress Monroe, Virginia, began to seek sanctuary with Union
troops. This included slaves from the loyal border state of
Maryland for whom nearby Washington, D.C., became a magnet. On
June 12, 1861, Col. Alfred H. Terry, commander of the 2nd
Connecticut Infantry, encamped in the federal capital, sent the
following communication to Capt. Theodore Talbot in the Adjutant
General’s Office at the War Department. Sir: In accordance with
a verbal order from General Mansfield I have the honor to report
to you that on the 10th inst, six men of color representing
themselves to be fugitive slaves from Howard County in the State
of Maryland appeared in the Camp of my Regiment and still remain
upon my grounds. They also represent that their masters are
secessionists in sentiment and opinion and members of secret
military organizations h