Mundane events reveal interesting details of Baptist life in the Confederate capital of Richmond, such as the following news account:
Bob, slave of Captain Jackson Warner, hired as nurse at the Baptist Female Institute, was taken in custody, on Saturday, and lodged in prison, by the Military police, for stealing a pocket-book containing $85 in bank notes. It appears that while Bob was taking a nap in the yard of the College somebody passed near him and dropped the money. While he was yet asleep, another servant came by, saw the pocket-book, awakened Bob, and asked him if he were not the owner. Bob unhesitatingly said yes, deeming it a very easy mode of raising the wind. Subsequent developments exhibited the true proprietor in the light of an anxious enquirer, and the finder telling what he knew, Bob was compelled to disgorge and go to prison.
African slaves not needed in the fields are often hired out to earn money for their owners. In some cases, such slaves are allowed a small cut of their earnings. It is unclear how many slaves worked as nurses at the Confederate hospital on the grounds of the Baptist Female Institute, but Bob is likely not the only one.
Imprisonment for slaves over minor offenses is not atypical, especially during the war years. In some instances, though, slaves who are members of Baptist churches and commit infractions are judged and convicted (or forgiven) by their congregation, rather than by civil courts.
Source: “Stealing Money,” Richmond Enquirer, July 21, 1862
