This is the third part of Dora Miller’s Civil War diary entry for January 28, 1861. Here’s the previous entry for this date.
New Orleans Whites Celebrate Secession
On this Monday the city of New Orleans was in a festive mood. Just two days earlier, on January 26, the delegates to the Louisiana secession convention had voted 113 to 17 to take the state out of the Union, and white New Orleanians were overflowing with joy. In her diary Dora Miller wrote that “The city was very lively and noisy this evening with rockets and lights in honor of secession.” Many houses were festively lit so that to Dora it seemed like a “fairy scene.”
New Orleans Blacks Hold a Ball
Ironically, there was another celebration that night that had nothing to do with jubilation that Louisiana was seceding from the Union in order to preserve slavery. By its nature this affair would have been planned long before the secession convention reached its momentous conclusion. Dora described it as “a ball to-night in aristocratic colored society.”
This was indeed a high society event among the black population. Tickets to attend cost $5 each, and the ladies would all turn out in the very best clothing they could manage.
Assemblies such as this were allowed throughout the South as one means of keeping both enslaved and free blacks content with their circumstances. These gatherings were, however, strictly controlled by white authorities. Most cities handled them the way Memphis did, where blacks, even those who were free, could hold “negro balls or parties” only with a permit from the mayor and with the approval of the police.
The two female “servants” in the household, Phoebe and Chloe, were going to the ball. Dora and her friend Edith took the time to help them dress, and both seem to have treated the occasion as seriously as if Phoebe and Chloe had been white. Dora noted that “This is Chloe’s first introduction to New Orleans circles.” But the two servants’ true place in New Orleans society was made clear by Dora’s next sentence: “Chloe is a recent purchase from Georgia.”
All Blacks, Enslaved or Free, Required a Pass To Be Out Late
Phoebe’s husband, Henry Judson, was a free black man. He not only planned to attend the ball with his wife, but he was also generous enough to purchase a $5 ticket for his wife’s new friend, Chloe. But Henry had made a mistake that almost prevented him from being able to go out at all. Dora explains what happened this way:
Edith said, “run into your room, please, and write a pass for Henry. Put Mr. D.’s name to it.”
“Why, Henry is free,” I said.
“That makes no difference; all colored people must have a pass if out late. They choose a master for protection and always carry his pass. Henry chose Mr. D., but he‘s lost the pass he had.”
Interestingly, Mary Chesnut records a similar incident in her famous diary, A Diary From Dixie. It happened in Richmond, Virginia in 1863. Two of her household servants, Molly and Lawrence, had quarreled and Chesnut describes how Molly got her revenge:
At negro balls in Richmond, guests were required to carry “passes,” and, in changing his coat Lawrence forgot his pass. Next day Lawrence was missing, and Molly came to me laughing to tears. “Come and look,” said she. “Here is the fine gentleman tied between two black niggers and marched off to jail.” She laughed and jeered so she could not stand without holding on to the window. Lawrence disregarded her.
This little episode highlights some of the paradoxes of life in a slave-holding society. Both Dora and Edith seemed truly concerned to help Phoebe and Chloe have a good time at the ball. Yet, while Dora was pro-Union, Edith was all for secession. Apparently Edith could have a very human desire to help Phoebe and Chloe have an enjoyable evening, while not being at all concerned that if secession succeeded, they would spend their entire lives in bondage.
January 28, 1861, Monday (part 3)
The city was very lively and noisy this evening with rockets and lights in honor of secession. Mrs. F., in common with the neighbors, illuminated. We walked out to see the houses of others gleaming amid the dark shrubbery like a fairy scene. The perfect stillness added to the effect, while the moon rose slowly with calm splendor. We hastened home to dress for a soirée, but on the stairs Edith said, “G., first come and help me dress Phoebe and Chloe (the negro servants). There is a ball to-night in aristocratic colored society. This is Chloe’s first introduction to New Orleans circles, and Henry Judson, Phoebe’s husband, gave five dollars for a ticket for her.” Chloe is a recent purchase from Georgia. We superintended their very stylish toilets, and Edith said, “run into your room, please, and write a pass for Henry. Put Mr. D.’s name to it.” “Why, Henry is free,” I said. “That makes no difference; all colored people must have a pass if out late. They choose a master for protection and always carry his pass. Henry chose Mr. D., but he‘s lost the pass he had.”
Dora Miller’s Diary
Image credits:
Fireworks, William Warby via Wikimedia (CC BY 2.0)
“Creole women of color taking the air”, water color by Edouard Marquis, 1867
© 2018 Ronald E. Franklin