Description
Benjamin Butler decreed in 1861 that male slaves who fled to Union lines were to be considered ""contraband of war"" and wouldn't be returned to bondage. This image depicts a southern planter with a whip upraised saying, ""come back here, you black rascal,"" and a slave facing him replying ""can't come back nohow, massa; Dis chile's CONTRABAN'"". A number of slaves are likewise escaping towards the depiction of a fortress on the right hand side of the envelope that is labeled ""Fort Monroe"".
Image
Patriotic Envelope B&Amp;W Ephemera (Images)
Public domain; please credit Union College Civil War Era Patriotic Envelopes