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Slave patrols

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@ New Georgia Encyclopedia

Hadden, Sally E

Description

Beginning in 1757 Georgia's colonial assembly required white landowners and residents to serve as slave patrols. Asserting that slave insurrections must be prevented, the legislature stipulated in "An Act for Establishing and Regulating of Patrols" that groups "not exceeding seven" would work in districts twelve miles square. The statute, modeled on South Carolina's earlier patrol law, ordered white adults to ride the roads at night, stopping all slaves they encountered and making them prove that they were engaged in lawful activities. Patrollers required slaves to produce a pass, which stated their owner's name as well as where and when they were allowed to be away from the plantation and for how long. Patrols operated in Georgia until slavery was abolished at the end of the Civil War (1861-65).
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New Georgia Encyclopedia

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia

Keywords

  1. Colonial Period, Ca. 1600 1775
  2. Georgia
  3. Guard Duty
  4. History
  5. Slaver
  6. Slavery
  7. Slaves
  8. Social Conditions
  9. Southern States

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