Senator Sprague ALS Re: Freeing the Wives & Children of Black Soldiers

2pp of a bifolium, measuring 5" x 8", Washington, D.C., dated January 28, 1864. From former Rhode Island governor and U.S. Senator, William Sprague IV, to William D. Ely Esq. Sprague writes about upcoming legislation regarding blacks in the military and the fate of their families. Writing in full:

"I can find nothing in the House bill that exempts cotton exported from the 2¢ per pound tax. We adjourn till Monday - Mr. Wilson withdrew his reso expelling Mr. Davis. On Monday a discussion upon a section of a Malitia [sic] bill freeing the wife & children of the slaves that enlist will occupy most if not all the day. Mr. Johnson of Md asks who will claim to be the wife &c. The slaves have any number of such appendages." With flattened mail folds and mounting residue on verso along the right edge. Large and bold signature.

The Militia Act of 1862 was enacted on July 17, 1862 in order to enable President Lincoln to enlist African-American soldiers. States that could not meet the quota for volunteers were authorized a militia draft and were allowed to enlist African-Americans as soldiers and laborers. By the end of the Civil War, approximately 200,000 African American troops would serve in the Union Army and Navy. Section 13 of the Act stated, "any man or boy of African descent who…shall render any such service as is provided for in this act, he, his mother and his wife and children, shall forever thereafter be free…"

William Sprague IV (1830-1915) served as the 27th Governor of Rhode Island from 1860 to 1863. He was elected at the age of twenty-nine, making him the youngest governor of a state at that time and earning him the nickname "boy governor". He participated in the First Battle of Bull Run as an aide to General Burnside, and during the battle had his horse shot out from under him. He continued as governor until 1863, when he was elected to the Senate. He served in this position until 1875.

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