I have no doubt a fraud of some kind has been committed. States he took Adam's ("express?) office, and protests he handed it to them to be forwarded. On (e)nquiring from him, he says he gave $100 to the 'wardmaster'. I have made inquiry concerning the matter of Peter Frazier's money. UPDATE: A transcription courtesy of Warren follows the images below. I have not transcribed this letter yet, although I invite anyone to do so by leaving a comment below. He was a signer of the letter demanding that African-American soldiers be buried with the other soldiers rather than at the Freedmen & Contraband cemetery. Here is a fascinating mystery involving Peter Frazer, who seems to have had $100 stolen from him. They are some of America's first civil rights heroes. Here's a transcription of that petition and a list of the signers. At least some of these men signed the petition described above seeking equal treatment after death. Here is the patient list, followed by a picture of it being exhibited at the Alexandria Black History Museum. Observations about events and conditions at L’Ouverture include reports by Chaplain Chauncey Leonard, letters from relief workers Julia Wilbur and Harriet Jacobs, and an account of the successful petition drive to ensure the deceased soldiers were buried as military men at Soldiers (now Alexandria National) Cemetery.Ĭhaplin Leonard is pictured at the far right in the main image. Buildings constructed during the war were dismantled by 1867.
The historic Slave Pen was used as a jail, and stands today at 1315 Duke Street, as the Freedom House Museum and the headquarters of the Urban League. This building, a private residence with an historic plaque, still stands at 219 S. Hospital administration used an existing residence as their headquarters. Long canvas tents allowed for ventilation and separation of patients. As depicted on the Quartermaster’s map, buildings included barracks, cookhouse and mess room, linen room, office, sutler’s store, deadhouse, and a dispensary. It was named for Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint L’Ouverture. Their introduction reads:īuilt in 1863, L’Ouverture opened in February 1864 for African American troops and contraband civilians and was outside the divisional structure of the other hospitals in Alexandria. The City of Alexandria has an excellent web page devoted to L'Ouverture Hospital. It is a fascinating story, however, as the persons pictured have been identified. It is not part of the OurHistoryMuseum collection. The main image depicts troops actually at L'Ouverture Hospital. The second is a letter written on behalf of a soldier describing some kind of fraud that the soldier had been a victim of. It was exhibited at the Alexandria Black History Museum. The first is a list of patients at the hospital.
OurHistoryMuseum has two items in its collection from L'Ouverture Hospital. It was located in the 1300 block between Duke and Prince streets, adjacent to the former site of the Franklin & Armfield slave dealers. L'Ouverture Hospital was open for several years and had some surprising civil rights activity. In fact, a hospital for so-called "colored troops" was set up in Alexandria, Virginia.
They were paid less and segregated from other troops. Despite their honorable service, they were not treated equally. If they could make it to Alexandria, they could make it to freedom.Įventually, 178,000 African-Americans would serve in the Civil War, and about half were formerly enslaved people. It's also the reason Alexandria became a safe haven for enslaved people. That's the primary reason that so much colonial architecture is preserved compared to more southern towns reduced to rubble during the war. In the first days of the Civil War, Alexandria, Virginia, was almost immediately seized by Union troops without a fight.