Slave patrol facts for kids

Slave patrols were groups of armed men. They watched over and controlled enslaved people in the southern United States before the Civil War. People also called them patrollers, patterrollers, pattyrollers, or paddy rollers.

Their main job was to police enslaved people. This included catching those who tried to escape. They also patrolled rivers to stop escapes by boat. These patrols were designed to give white people power over Black people. They started in South Carolina in 1704. The idea then spread to other colonies. Slave patrols stopped being used after the Civil War ended.

Why Slave Patrols Started

Slave patrols first began in South Carolina in 1704. They continued for a long time, even after the American Revolution. As more Africans were enslaved, the number of enslaved people in South Carolina grew. This was especially true after the invention of the cotton gin. White colonizers became more afraid of slave uprisings.

Slave patrols were created when other ways of controlling enslaved people did not work. The biggest worry was keeping enslaved people on the plantations. This is where most enslaved people lived. At first, slave owners offered rewards like tobacco and money to white people who did not own slaves. They wanted them to help catch runaway slaves.

When this failed, slave patrols became official. New laws were made to get white people to control the actions and movement of enslaved people. Black people could be stopped, searched, and bothered. If enslaved people were found without a pass from their white "master," they were supposed to be returned. If caught, they faced harsh punishments. These included whippings or being sold away from their families.

Militias as Patrollers

Depiction of slave patrol. White patrollers examine slave passes of the enslaved blacks.

Slave owners worried that gatherings of enslaved people could lead to trading or stealing goods. They also feared these meetings could be used to plan revolts. In South Carolina and Virginia, patrols were chosen from state militias.

Some military schools, like The Citadel and the Virginia Military Institute, also helped. They trained cadets to be part of these patrols. Their goal was to keep order and stop any organized meetings that might lead to a rebellion.

Laws and Escapes

Laws like the Fugitive Slave Laws made slave patrols seem necessary. These laws were meant to reduce tension between the North and South. However, they led to the actual creation of slave patrols.

During the Civil War, a rule called Contraband helped enslaved people. It meant that Southern slaves who reached Union-controlled areas did not have to be returned. This limited the work of slave patrols.

The Underground Railroad was another way enslaved people escaped to Northern states. Some Black people also went further south to find freedom. They formed their own groups and escaped to Florida. There, they worked with Native Americans and the Spanish government. They were able to live free lives. Some formerly enslaved people even formed their own towns and military groups. They joined the Florida population as Seminoles.

White people formed slave patrols in Georgia to stop enslaved Black people from escaping to Florida. Free Black towns and trained Black military groups in Florida challenged white control. They also challenged the idea that white people should rule. Slave patrols were a way for white people to try and stop this freedom.

Slave patrols officially ended in 1865 when the Civil War finished. However, groups like the Ku Klux Klan continued to threaten Black communities afterward. Laws in South Carolina had already limited enslaved people's lives before patrols became common. These laws included curfews and rules against trading goods. They also created the Charleston town watch. These rules helped shape what we know as slave codes.

Patrollers' Jobs

Slave patrollers had specific jobs and benefits. They were different from slave owners or overseers. Patrollers often carried guns and whips. They used force to bring enslaved people back to their owners.

Enslaved Black people often found ways to challenge slave patrols. Sometimes, they even fought back. The American Civil War created more chances for enslaved people to resist patrols and escape.

At first, slave patrols mainly broke up slave meetings. These meetings often happened on holidays, where enslaved people might plan revolts. Over time, patrols became active all year. Their duties grew to include:

• Catching runaways.
• Checking passes for Black people traveling.
• Breaking up large gatherings of Black people.
• Searching slave homes randomly.
• Giving out quick punishments.
• Stopping rebellions when they happened.

Most slave patrollers were white citizens. Many came from working or middle-class families. In some Southern states, the militia or army acted as slave patrols. In others, slave patrols were created by colonial or state laws.

Patrols usually rode horses in groups of four or five. Sometimes, family members patrolled together. They often worked from sunrise to sunset. They changed their times and locations to make it harder for enslaved people to escape. They did not use special tools, mostly relying on whips and fear.

Some states required every white man to arrest any enslaved person found away from home without permission. In colonial South Carolina, not doing so meant a fine. Caught slaves were returned to their owners. Sometimes, white men even encouraged slaves to escape to collect rewards for catching them. In some areas, killing an enslaved person was not seen as a crime.

Patrol members received benefits. They were often free from public taxes and fees while serving. Some also received extra money.

However, patrollers had limits. For example, while whippings were allowed, they could not be too severe. If an enslaved person was too badly hurt, they could not work the next day. Because of this, slave owners might get angry at overly harsh patrollers.

When Slave Patrols Faded Away

The Civil War's Impact

The American Civil War, which lasted four years, directly threatened slavery. This also threatened slave patrols. In the first year of the war, slave patrols actually increased. People in the South expected slave revolts, so they appointed more patrols.

As the war continued, more and more white men were called to fight in the Confederate army. These men would have been slave patrollers if they had stayed home. Some young men who could not join the army, often for health reasons, took their places in the patrols. When slave owners joined the army, some enslaved people lost the small protection they had from harsh beatings.

After the Emancipation Proclamation, fewer white men were available for patrols. This was because many were called to the Southern militias in 1862 and 1863. Slave patrols simply did not have enough men to be as active. As the Union army moved into different areas, enslaved people had more chances to escape to Union-controlled land. Even enslaved people who seemed obedient would disappear at night, running towards the Union army to free themselves.

After the War: Reconstruction

After the war ended, white Southerners' fears of African Americans grew. This was partly due to Reconstruction governments, which some felt were unfair to the South. Even though slavery and patrols were legally over, the patrol system still continued in some ways.

Right after the war, informal patrols started up. Later, city and rural police groups, sometimes with help from Union army officers, brought back patrolling methods. During the Reconstruction period (1865–1877), old patrol tactics reappeared. These were enforced by Southern police officers and groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

See also

• Reverse Underground Railroad
• Slave catcher
• Underground Railroad
• Law enforcement in the United States