Plantation Police

“The Plantation Police, or Patrol, was an institution peculiar to the Slave States. It was a semi-military organization, raised and supported by the planters, but recognized by the old State authorities. Their principal duty was to visit the various plantations and patrol the roads at night, arresting all [African Americans] and others not having proper passes. The war, the President’s proclomation, and the actual possession of most of the State of Louisiana by the Federal authorities, rendered these patrols doubly rigorous. Some of the [African Americans] submitted reluctantly. The [African American] in the foreground is a speciman of this class. He seems to yield to the superior force of a tottering power, satisfied that his day is at hand; others show the obsequious, submissive stamp- the [African American] satisfied with his lot if he is clothed and fed."— Frank Leslie, 1896

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