(SLAVERY.) Alexander Leslie. Letter offering the return of Georgia's enslaved people to their owners by the evacuating British army. Autograph Letter Signed as Lieutenant General in the British Army, to Governor John Martin of Georgia. One page, 12½ x 8 inches, plus docketing on integral blank; minor wear at folds. Charleston, SC, 19 November 1782
This letter discusses the return of unnamed "property" by British-held Charleston. The docketing clarifies exactly what they are talking about: "Negroes belonging to the citizens of Georgia in South Carolina."
By late 1782, the fighting in the American Revolution was finished, but the two nations remained officially at war. The British maintained garrisons at Charleston, SC and in Manhattan, awaiting the final peace treaty. The author of this letter, General Alexander Leslie (1731-1794), was the British commander of the Charleston bastion, preparing for a final evacuation of 14,000 soldiers and Loyalist civilians which would be completed the following month. The British had offered freedom to those enslaved people who fled their revolutionary owners, and approximately 5,000 of them left for new homes in the evacuation. Also included in the evacuation were those enslaved by Loyalists, who received no such opportunity for freedom; they left for slavery in new lands. Finally, Charleston contained some enslaved people who had been captured from plantations in South Carolina and nearby Georgia to work on the British fortifications. The British had made no promises to these workers, and were willing to return them to their owners--grudgingly.
Georgia's governor had sent two negotiators to regain possession of their "property." In this letter, General Leslie explains that he had sent the negotiators away: "I cannot consent to receive these gentlemen, who are military officers, into this garrison, as commissioners on a civil negotiation." He then explains that the enslaved property of South Carolinians had already been settled: "At the desire of Governor Mathews, a treaty for delivering up the property in our possession belonging to the inhabitants of South Carolina had been instituted on the most liberal grounds of restoration, in conformity to the generous and benevolent principles which have influenced the conduct of the British government."
Apparently the South Carolina governor had no interest in arranging the return of the enslaved Georgians: "Governor Mathews, whose expectation appears to have been engaged by the prospect of some sinister advantage, having thought to discontinue the negotiation."
He then offers to continue negotiating directly with Georgia, but only with civilians: "If persons are appointed by you, not liable to the objection I am obliged to make . . . to them, shall be delivered up whatever property of the inhabitants of Georgia it shall be thought expedient to restore in the present situation of affairs."
