Held in Bondage

Held in Bondage. Slavery in the Shenandoah Valley. , "Arise! Arise! Weep no More." Lewis Miller drawing depicting shackled slaves being marched south from Staunton, A Slave Society, African Americans, both free and enslaved, have been part of the area's community since the 1720s. By the 19th century, slavery was deeply embedded in the Shenandoah Valley's grain economy as was seen at Montgomery Hall. In the decades before the Civil War, one person in five in Augusta County was African American and most were enslaved., Slave Hiring, The practice of hiring out the labor of enslaved people meant that even those who could not afford to purchase another human being could hire their labor for a day, week, or a year and, with just a few exceptions, that involved most of the White population. Because hiring out an enslaved person involved a private contract between a slave owner and another White person, it is hard to know exactly how many slaves were hired in or out within the community, but it was an extremely common practice., Cruel Realities, No matter how it manifests itself, a system that treated persons as legal and social "belongings" is inherently evil. To the enslaved, every day meant waking up to the reality that you could be separated from your family and sold., Street scenes in Staunton often included individuals being sold on the auction block, chained coffles of slaves heading toward brutal life on cotton plantations were marched south along area roads, and advertisements relating to the hiring and sale of the enslaved filled local newspapers., A Strong Culture, For the enslaved, maintaining a sense of dignity and self-respect while building a culture built upon the strength of the family was done in the face of unimaginable hardship. But anyone who looks around today will see the spirit of the African-American culture in buildings, landscapes, and the very soul of the Valley., (Captions):, Folk artist Lewis Miller captured this scene of shackled enslaved persons being marched south on a road just outside of Staunton. Miller, a Pennsylvania cabinet maker, traveled through our area to visit relatives in Christiansburg, Va., Lewis Miller also drew this scene depicting the harsh reality of human beings being sold at public auction. (Both drawings are from The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Richard M. Kain in memory of George Hay Kain.), In 1837, Peyton placed an advertisement in the local newspaper hoping to hire out the labor of a 17-year-old enslaved teenager that he owned., When John Howe Peyton died in 1847, his will directed that his slaves be sold or hired out. This partial estate settlement list shows the names and "value" of human beings that Peyton held in bondage.