114
Sale of Slaves.
31. Thursday. With Marchant to his
theatre, where I loafed for half an hour in
his manager s room until he was ready
to accompany me to a Slave Auction, the
announcement of which I had seen in the
Mercury, printed on the other side of
a corner containing a
Sonnet addressed to
the honorable R. B.
Rhett, by a daughter
of the Republic of
South Carolina, which
commences thus:
[newspaper clipping]
AUCTION SALES.
{SALE POSTPONED TO THURSDAY, THE 31ST INST.}
A Valuable Bricklayer and Field Hands.
BY I. S. K. BENNETT.
Will be sold at the Mart, in Chalmers street, TO-MOR-
ROW, the 31st inst., at 11 o clock, the following NEGROS,
at the risk of the former purchaser, he having failed to
comply with terms.
ISAAC, aged about 20, a valuable Bricklayer.
PRINCE, aged about 24, a Mill and Field Hand.
MAY, aged about 27, a Mill and Field Hand.
Conditions cash. jan 25 January 30
[Gunn s diary continued]
Rejoicing in our freedom, it is meet &c!
The morning was a lovely one, the day sunny
but deliciously cool. Chalmers street runs
transversely from Meeting to the river side
or to East Bay. I had noticed before a sign
board with Slaves for Sale by R. M. Owings
on it, on the other side of the way from the
Auction Mart, which was next door to a buil-
ding occupied by a fire-company.
the public were informed that
business was to be done by the customary red
flag, besides which a post with a
large gilt star on its summit indicated the| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Fifteen: page one hundred and twenty-four |
| Description: | Regarding a slave auction held in Charleston. |
| Date: | 1861-01-31 |
| Subject: | Auctions; Bennett, I.S.K.; Charleston mercury.; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Isaac; May (slave); Owings, R.M.; Poems; Prince; Rhett, R.B.; Slavery; Slaves |
| Coverage (City/State): | [Charleston], South Carolina |
| Coverage (Street): | Chalmers Street; East Bay; Meeting |
| Scan Date: | 2010-05-11 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Fifteen |
| Description: | Describes Gunn's experience as a correspondent for ""The New York Evening Post"" in Charleston, South Carolina, in the aftermath of South Carolina's secession from the federal government, including a conflict between A.H. Colt and Mr. Woodward, a visit to Sullivan's Island, John Mitchel's tale of assisting with the lynching of an abolitionist, attending a celebration in honor of Benjamin Mordecai, Will Waud's arrival in Charleston, the scene in Charleston the day the ''Star of the West'' was fired upon by the Morris Island battery, pistol and rifle practice with various Charlestonians, a rumor in New York about his having been tarred and feathered in Charleston, a visit to the quarters of the ''Richland Rifles,'' witnessing a slave auction, and a visit to Colonel Bull's home. |
| Subject: | Boardinghouses; Books and reading; Civil War; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Journalism; Military; Publishers and publishing; Secession; Slavery; Slaves; Travel |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; Charleston, South Carolina |
| Note: | Thomas Butler Gunn was born February 15, 1826, in Banbury, England, and came to New York in 1849. During the Civil War he worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the New York Evening Post. He returned to England in 1863, and died in Birmingham in April 1903. The collection includes twenty-one volumes of his diaries, including newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, sketches, and various other items inserted by Gunn. Diary entries date from July 7, 1849, to April 7, 1863, and include his experiences with the New York publishing and literary world, his descriptions of boarding houses, his travels throughout the United States, and his experiences traveling with the Federal army as a Civil War correspondent. |
| Publisher: | Missouri History Museum |
| Rights: | Copyright 2010 Missouri History Museum. |
| Source: | Page images, transcriptions, and metadata of the Thomas Butler Gunn diaries have been provided by the Missouri History Museum. |
