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"Freedom Began Here"
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History
Many former slaves, including Washington, found work with the Union army, as teamsters, cooks, and servants. Others continued their journey elsewhere. By late summer, when the Union force withdrew to campaign in more distant places, at least 10,000 former slaves had moved through Stafford County toward freedom, and an uncertain future.
”The soldier assured me that I was now a free man…I never would be a slave no more.”
- John Washington, a Fredericksburg slave