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Details of a slave auction…

Mentions in pre-Civil War newspapers of slave auctions [1] are not uncommon, and those which mention prices fetched for various slaves are somewhat more rare. But it is very difficult to find period articles which offers detail as to how an auction is conducted, how the slaves are examined, and comments on the slaves’ reaction to their sale.

The New York Tribune” issue of April 28, 1860 [2] includes an article titled: “The Negro Market In Savannah” which has such detail. It offers an interesting perspective on this  institution which seems so barbaric today, but which was an accepted part of business in the pre-war South. A snippet of the text is found below, with the text in it’s entirety, along with a report of a fugitive slave case, is found at: The Negro Market In Savannah [2]“. [3]