HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE SOUTHWEST,
Helena, Ark., July 31, 1862.
...I have given free papers to negroes who were mustered by their rebel masters to blockade my way to my supplies. These negro prisoners were the most efficient foes I had to encounter; they are now throwing down their axes and rushing in for free papers. It is creating a general stampede in this region of cotton and contempt for Yankees. The slaves are mutinous, but do not abuse their masters. Society is terribly mutilated, and masters and slaves are afraid of famine....
Maj. Gen. Samuel Curtis to Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck, July 31, 1862, in The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1891), series 1, vol. 13, pp. 524-525, [WEB]