164:, will be sold on the 2d and 3d March next, at Savannah, by J. Bryan." It was advertised and announced from the beginning that there would be no division of families. The slaves were brought to the race track four days before the auction started, allowing buyers and inspectors to take a look at them. On the first sale day, there were about 200 buyers present. Fierce rains kept many potential buyers away, and the auction began two hours late. During the day of the sale, Joseph Bryan was in charge of feeding the slaves and keeping them in "good" condition. The slaves were kept in the horse barn stalls. All family members were put in the same stall, which had hardwood floors and nothing to sit on. The slaves were given small portions of rice, beans, and sometimes
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110:(1744–1822), owned hundreds of slaves who labored over rice and cotton crops, thus amassing for him the family's wealth. Butler was among the wealthiest and most powerful enslavers in the United States. Major Pearce was estranged from his son, so upon his death he left his estate to his two grandsons, Pierce Mease Butler and John A. Mease Butler.
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Somers, finding out later about the sales agreement in
Savannah about the families not being separated, returned the girl to Pate, demanding his money be refunded. An argument ensued, resulting in Somers being shot and killed. Ten days following Somers's death, his nephew killed Pate, and he himself was killed during the confrontation. The
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233:(who wrote under the pseudonym "Q. K. Philander Doesticks"), a popular journalist during the time, memorialized the event. Initially, Thomson traveled to Savannah, infiltrating the buyers by pretending to be interested in purchasing slaves. After the sale, he wrote a long and scathing article describing the auction in the New York
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Tom Pate, a
Vicksburg trader, bought a man, his wife, and his two sisters at the sale with the guarantee that they were not to be separated under the auction terms. Disregarding the agreement, Pate sold one sister to Pat Somers, a fellow trader, and the other sister to a private citizen in St. Louis.
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The slaves were taken to
Savannah by steamboat and train and housed in the racecourse stables. They huddled together, eating and sleeping on the floor. From February 26 until March 1, the slaves were inspected by prospective buyers. Customers from Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
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in the price a slave would sell for, but in this sale it was not a factor since almost all of these slaves were dark-skinned. Some slaves were skilled in crafts such as shoemaking, cooperage, blacksmithing, carpentry, and machinery. The skilled slaves were sold for more and were sought by the buyers
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Four hundred thirty-six people were advertised in the catalog, but only four hundred twenty-nine were sold. Those not sold were either ill or disabled. Most sold were rice and cotton field workers; others were skilled coopers, carpenters, shoemakers, blacksmiths, and cooks. The two-day sale netted
156:. The advertisements ran daily, except on Sundays, up until the last day of the sale. The text of some of the advertisements was, "For Sale, Long Cotton and Rice Negros. A gang of 460 negroes, accustomed to the culture of rice and provisions, among them are a number of good
121:. At first, the trustees sold Butler's Philadelphia mansion for $ 30,000; they sold other property, but the proceeds were insufficient to satisfy Butler's creditors. The only commodities of value that remained were the slaves he owned on his Georgia plantations.
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authorized the sale of approximately 436 men, women, children, and infants to be sold over the course of two days. The sale's proceeds went to satisfy Butler's significant debt, much from gambling. The auction was considered the largest single sale of
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198:, and machine operation. The buyers poked, pinched, and fondled the slaves, opening their mouths to inspect their teeth. Slaves were also examined for ruptures or defects on their bodies that might affect their productivity.
117:. His extravagant spending deepened his debt. Butler had also accrued a considerable amount of gambling debt over the years. To satisfy his financial obligations, Butler's estate was transferred to
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What became of the enslaved people on a
Georgia plantation? : great auction sale of enslaved people, at Savannah, Georgia, March 2d & 3d, 1859 : a sequel to Mrs. Kemble's journal
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Savannah was chosen for the auction due to its proximity to the Butler estate and its status as a large center for slave trading. Pierce Butler had the impending sale advertised in
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Mississippi and
Louisiana descended upon Savannah in hopes of getting good deals. It was known that the Butler plantations had slaves who were skilled in
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210: (equivalent to $ 209,571 in 2023). Prices for an individual ranged from $ 250 to $ 1,750 (equivalent to $ 8,478 and $ 59,344 in 2023).
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Two
Georgia historical markers are dedicated to the event. One is at 2053 Augusta Avenue in Savannah, Georgia, erected by the city and the
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and the
Confederate States' defeat, some returned to Butler Island to work for wages, and some bought land in the area.
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206: (equivalent to $ 10,303,891 in 2023). The highest bid for a family, a mother and her five grown children, was
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The enslaved people themselves were but very few that were even a shade removed from the original Congo blackness.
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574:. Southern Classics Series. Introduction by Michael Tadman. University of South Carolina Press. p. 234.
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Pierce Mease Butler frequently engaged in risky business speculation, resulting in financial loss in the
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737:"New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842–1866, March 09, 1859, Image 5"
656:"New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842–1866, March 09, 1859, Image 5"
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780:. Union League of Philadelphia. Pamphlets. Daniel Murray Pamphlet Collection (Library of Congress).
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until the 2022 discovery of an even larger auction of 600 slaves in
Charleston, South Carolina.
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in 2008. The other is at Butler
Plantation, erected by the Georgia Historical Society in 2019.
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826:"Unearthing the Weeping Time: Savannah's Ten Broeck Race Course and 1859 Slave Sale"
528:"Unearthing the Weeping Time: Savannah's Ten Broeck Race Course and 1859 Slave Sale"
306:"Unearthing the Weeping Time: Savannah's Ten Broeck Race Course and 1859 Slave Sale"
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969:"Afro-American Encyclopaedia; Or, the Thoughts, Doings, and Sayings of the Race"
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of enslaved
Americans of African descent held at Ten Broeck Race Course, near
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The Weeping Time: Memory And The Largest Slave Auction In American History
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The Weeping Time: Memory and The Largest Slave Auction In American History
394:"How a Grad Student Uncovered the Largest Known Slave Auction in the U.S."
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The Weeping Time: Memory and the Largest Slave Auction in American History
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Pierce Mease Butler, whose slaves were sold in the auction, and his wife,
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The Butlers of South Carolina and Philadelphia were owners of
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titled, "What Became of the Slaves on a Georgia Plantation."
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Humanities, National Endowment for the (March 9, 1859).
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Largest Slave Sale in Georgia History: The Weeping Time
735:
National Endowment for the Humanities (March 9, 1859).
351:(1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 3.
774:Doesticks, Q. K. Philander; Butler, Pierce (1863).
245:continued after this, with several further deaths.
695:"The Hidden History of Slavery That Surrounds Us"
282:List of largest slave sales in the United States
222:Pamphlet on the slave auction, published by the
1138:African-American history in Savannah, Georgia
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16:1859 record-setting slave auction in the US
1148:History of slavery in Georgia (U.S. state)
841:
824:Kwesi, DeGraft-Hanson (January 1, 2010).
810:. Cambridge University Press. p. 64.
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526:Kwesi, DeGraft-Hanson (January 1, 2010).
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304:Kwesi, DeGraft-Hanson (January 1, 2010).
55:, United States, on March 2 and 3, 1859.
515:. Cambridge University Press. p. 9.
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392:Hawes, Jennifer Berry (June 16, 2023).
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895:. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
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606:from the original on February 12, 2020
419:Berry, Steven W. (September 3, 2002).
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106:. The patriarch of the family, Major
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906:Monroe, Kristopher (July 10, 2014).
450:Monroe, Kristopher (July 10, 2014).
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693:Hassan, Adeel (February 29, 2020).
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248:After the slaves were freed by the
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259:Historical marker on Butler Island
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635:from the original on June 4, 2016
492:from the original on May 12, 2016
1158:Slave trade in the United States
893:Slavery and Freedom in Savannah
427:. University of Georgia Press.
146:The Savannah Daily Morning News
973:Documenting the American South
572:Slave Trading in the Old South
170:Skin color often played a role
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486:The African American Registry
224:American Anti-Slavery Society
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1128:1859 in Georgia (U.S. state)
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891:Harris, Leslie M. (2013).
265:Georgia Historical Society
168:to eat over the two days.
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938:"The Weeping Time Occurs"
482:"The Weeping Time Occurs"
250:Emancipation Proclamation
1143:Human commodity auctions
806:Bailey, Anne C. (2017).
511:Bailey, Anne C. (2017).
425:New Georgia Encyclopedia
345:Bailey, Anne C. (2017).
96:Butler Island Plantation
142:The Savannah Republican
741:New-York Daily Tribune
660:New-York Daily Tribune
277:1838 Jesuit slave sale
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70:slaves in U.S. history
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866:"Slave Auction, 1850"
629:"Slave Auction, 1850"
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133:Advertisement in the
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80:Further information:
27:Frances Kemble Butler
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214:Aftermath and legacy
173:during the auction.
1153:History of auctions
1109:32.08500; -81.13000
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135:Savannah Republican
82:Pierce Mease Butler
65:Pierce Mease Butler
41:Great Slave Auction
908:"The Weeping Time"
699:The New York Times
600:nationaljuneteenth
568:Bancroft, Frederic
452:"The Weeping Time"
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678:November 6,
610:November 4,
243:family feud
90:located on
57:Slaveholder
34: 1855
1122:Categories
1095:81°07′48″W
1092:32°05′06″N
398:ProPublica
288:References
184:shoemaking
76:Background
61:plantation
922:March 11,
852:1551-2754
749:2158-2661
707:0362-4331
668:2158-2661
596:"Founder"
570:(2023) .
554:1551-2754
466:March 11,
332:1551-2754
204:$ 303,850
196:carpentry
188:cooperage
166:cornbread
158:mechanics
47:) was an
1055:Archived
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404:June 19,
377:March 2,
371:Archived
271:See also
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1061:May 13,
1035:May 13,
1009:May 13,
983:May 12,
952:May 12,
876:May 12,
639:May 12,
496:May 12,
435:May 12,
235:Tribune
226:in 1859
208:$ 6,180
125:Auction
49:auction
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177:Slaves
98:) and
63:owner
1025:"GHS"
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848:ISSN
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576:ISBN
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
