Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

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Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Roanoke County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Requisition Records, 1862-1865. Local government records collection, Roanoke County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in shipments of court papers from Roanoke County.

Historical Information

Roanoke County was named for the Roanoke River. The name is an Indian word meaning shell money. The county was formed from Botetourt County in 1838, and part of Montgomery County was added later.

The General Assembly of Virginia passed a law as early as 1 July 1861 calling for the enrollment of free negroes to work in the public service. From 1862 to 1863, at the request of the president of the Confederate States, the General Assembly passed three more laws that requisitioned slaves to work on fortifications and other works of the public defense. Each county and city were alloted a certain number of slaves that had to be provided to the government under the requisition.

Scope and Content

Roanoke County (Va.) Free Negro and Slave Requisition Records, 1862-1865. The collection contains lists and correspondence documenting the requisition of Roanoke County slaves for labor on the defenses of Richmond during the Civil War. The lists document the name, age, owner, and estimated value of slaves eligible for requisition; also included are lists of slaves who were sent to Richmond from Roanoke County in December 1862 and from Big Lick and Salem Depot in January 1865. The collection also contains a list of free negroes selected for labor in the Confederate Service by the County Court 30 March 1864. Correspondence between the county court and authorities in Richmond consists of printed requisition orders from the Governor's office, a letter to the county clerk in response to a request for an exemption from an 1865 requisition order, and a letter from the quartermaster department documenting his supervision of 14 Roanoke County slaves in Richmond in December 1862.

Related Material

Additional Roanoke County Free Negro and Slave Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Roanoke County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• African Americans--Employment--Virginia--Roanoke County.
• Confederate States of America--Defenses.
• Free African Americans--Employment--Virginia--Roanoke County.
• Slaveholders--Virginia--Virginia--Roanoke County.

Geographical Names:

• Roanoke County (Va.)--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Correspondence---Virginia--Roanoke County.
• Free negro and slave records--Virginia--Roanoke County.
• Lists--Virginia--Roanoke County.
• Local government records--Virginia--Roanoke County.

Adjunct Descriptive Data