“A Slave Auction Described by Mr. Russell.”

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War Dated Newspaper, a complete and authentic issue of the Providence Daily Evening Press, June 15, 1861, 4pp., never bound. From an interior page, “A Slave Auction Described by Mr. Russell.” The English war correspondent Russell approached a slave auction in Alabama and reported in large part, “The crowd was small. .. The speaker stood on an empty deal packingcase. ... ‘N-i-n-e hunnerd and fifty dollars? Only nine h-hun nerd and fifty dollars offered for him.’ exclaimed the man, in the tone of injured dignity, remonstrance and surprise, which can be insinuated by all true auctioneers into the dryest numerical statements. ‘Will no one make any advance on nine hundred and fifty dollars?’ A man near me opened bis mouth, spat, and said, ‘twenty-five.’ ‘Only nine hundred and seventy-five dollars offered for him. Why, at's radaklous—only nine hundred and seventy-five dollars!’ Beside the orator auctioneer stood a stout young man of five-and-twenty years of age, with a bundle in his hand. He was a muscular fellow, broad-shouldered, narrow flanked, but rather small in stature; he had on a broad, greasy, old wide-awake, a blue jacket, a coarse cotton shirt, loose and rather ragged trowsers, and broken shoes. The expression of his face was heavy and sad, but it was by no means disagreeable, in spite of his thick lips, broad nostrils, and high cheek-bones. On his head was wool instead of hair. I am neither sentimentalist nor black republican, nor negro worshipper, but I confess the sight caused a strange thrill through my heart. I tried in vain to make myself familiar with the fact that I could, for the sum of $975, become as absolutely the owner of that mass of blood, bones, sinew, flesh, and brains, as of the horse which stood by my side. ...The negro was sold to one of the bystanders, and walked off with his bundle, God knows where. ‘Niggers is cheap,’was the only remark of the bystanders. ... Another auctioneer, a fat, flabby, perspiring, puffy man, was trying to sell a negro girl, who stood on the deal box beside him. She was dressed pretty much like a London servant-girl of the lower order out of place, except that her shoes were mere shreds of leather patches, and her bonnet would have scarce passed muster in the New Cut. She, too, had a little bundle in her hand, and looked out at the buyers from a pair of large sad eyes. ‘Niggers were cheap;’ still here was this young woman going for an upset price of $610, but no one would bid, and the auctioneer, after vain attempts to raise the price and excite competition, said, ‘Not sold to-day, Sally; you may get down.’ She stepped down and walked off down the main street. ...” Additionally, there is a report of catching a slave ship as well as several war reports. VG.William Howard Russell was considered the first modern war-correspondentst covering the American Civil War for the London Times. Union and Confederate officials competed for his attention to influence his reporting and thereby influence England. He actually wrote this on May 6, 1861 from Montgomery Alabama, the seat of the Confederacy at the time.

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