In 1863, Slabtown took shape in Yorktown to provide 12,000 slaves seeking freedom with the Union army a home in the midst of the Civil War.
Now, 150 years later, the town that was demolished in the 1970s, is being celebrated with an anniversary symposium and church homecoming.
“Right now we are focusing on the Civil War history because we are in the 150th anniversary years for the Civil War and most people are not familiar with Yorktown’s long Civil War history,” said Diane Depew, supervisory park ranger for Colonial National Historical Park.
The Union army occupied Yorktown early in the Civil War and began accepting slaves into the camp as contraband of war soon after President Abraham Lincoln first approved of the practice at Fort Monroe in May 1862. Though the contraband slaves remained free from their Southern owners, they were not considered freemen. The Emancipation Proclamation, issued Jan. 1, 1863 and aimed at Confederate states, did not declare their freedom. Union-controlled camps, loyal border states and any slaves in the North were not freed with the proclamation. Their freedom came with the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865.
Under Gen. Isaac Jones Wistar’s command at Yorktown, wood cabins were constructed along streets in the newly-established Slabtown. Shiloh Baptist Church, now located at 105 Goosley Road started in Slabtown 150 years ago, as well.
“They are a tangible living legacy of what occurred here during the Civil War,” Depew said.
In the 1970s, the National Park Service purchased the Slabtown property, which was still home to several residents at that time, and demolished it to make way for more of the 1781 battlefield where the British surrendered the Revolutionary War.
In honor of the 150th anniversary of both Slabtown and Shiloh Baptist Church, a Civil War symposium called “Contraband, Freedmen and Community” will be hosted from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the church’s community hall, 11053 George Washington Memorial Highway. Registration for the symposium costs $15 and optional box lunches cost $10. Registration information is available online or by calling 757-898-2410.
The symposium will feature speakers who will give an overview of African-American history relating to the Peninsula Campaign, taking a look at Slabtown and how it fit into the larger war. They will also discuss the African-American experience in the Union-controlled south.
Shiloh Baptist Church is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a homecoming event starting at 10 a.m. Sunday.
Depew said two waysides — interpretive signs with text and images — will be dedicated this weekend as part of the Shiloh Baptist Church homecoming event at 2 p.m. Sunday at the National Cemetery. One sign will be dedicated to the church and another to Slabtown. A wreath-laying ceremony and U.S. Colored Troops roll call will also take place.
A number of items which belonged to Wistar will be added to a display at the Yorktown Visitor’s Center this weekend, Depew said. His sword, epaulets and commission as brigadier general signed by Lincoln will be on display at the center, which is located at the eastern end of the Colonial Parkway.
New exhibits were opened last year in the Yorktown National Cemetery Lodge relating to last year’s 150 anniversary of the Siege of Yorktown.
Depew will be on Live and Local with Amanda Pearl on 92.3 The Tide FM today. Tune in on the radio or online by clicking “Live Stream” to catch the interview.
