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The Confiscation Act of 1861 was an act permitting seizure of any slave being used by confederate military during the American Civil War. It was passed on August 6, 1861^[1]. The Confiscation Act allowed any property used by the Confederates during the American Civil War to be confiscated and included freeing any slaves who were forced to participate in the war by the Confederacy. Benjamin Butler had been the first Union general to declare slaves as contraband; some other Northern commanders followed this precedent, while officers from the border states were more likely to return escaped slaves to their masters. The Confiscation Act was an attempt to set a uniform policy throughout the army. Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Lincoln, President Ulysses S. Grant, General Jefferson Davis, President Robert E. Lee, General Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action... 1. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Lincoln, President Ulysses S. Grant, General Jefferson Davis, President Robert E. Lee, General Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action... Benjamin Franklin Butler Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as its governor. ... In this map:  Union states  Union territories  The border states  Kansas, which entered the Union as a free state after the Bleeding Kansas crisis  The Confederacy  Confederate claimed and sometimes held territories The term border states refers to five slave states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and western Virginia that...

The bill passed by a vote of sixty to forty-eight. Abraham Lincoln was initially reluctant to sign the act. Only personal lobbying by several powerful Senators caused him to sign it. Lincoln felt that, in light of the Confederacy's recent battlefield victories, the bill would have no practical effect and would be seen as a desperate move. He was also worried that it might be struck down as unconstitutional, which might set a precedent that could derail future attempts at emancipation. Lincoln gave Attorney General Edward Bates no instructions on enforcing the bill; as a result, local attorneys were rarely able to confiscate Confederate property. Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was an American politician who served as the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. ... In most common law jurisdictions, the Attorney General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions. ... Note: This article is about the American lawyer. ...

See Also

• Act Prohibiting the Return of Slaves
• Emancipation Proclamation

There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... The Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive decree by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln during that countrys Civil War, which declared the freedom of all slaves in those areas of the rebellious Confederate States of America that had not already returned to Union control. ...

References

1. ^ http://blueandgraytrail.com/year/186108