e importance of color-
blind judicial proceedings is in James Forman, Jr., “Juries and Race in the Nineteenth
Century,” Yale Law Journal 113 (January 2004): 895–938; and Wayne K. Durrill,
“Political Legitimacy and Local Courts: ‘Politicks at Such a Rage’ in a Southern Com-
munity During Reconstruction,” Journal of Southern History 70 (August 2004):
577–602.
12. Stanton Weaver, Crockett, to Chauncey C. Morse, A.A.A.G., February 13, 1866,
AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17.
13. Carpenter, “Agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau,” 40; Endorsement of letter from
Chauncey C. Morse, A.A.A.G., to Byron Porter, Houston, January 26, 1866, AC, ES,
September 1865–March 1867, reel 2; Nora Estelle Owens, “Presidential Reconstruction
in Texas: A Case Study” (Ph.D., diss., Auburn University, 1983), 265; Endorsement of
letter from J. Albert Saylor, Hallettsville, to William H. Sinclair, A.A.G., May 21, 1866,
AC, ES, September 1865–March 1867, reel 1; Fred W. Reinhard, Crockett, to [Headquar-
ters], November 13, 1867, AC, LR, 1867–1869, reel 15; Donald G. Nieman, To Set the Law
in Motion: Th
e Freedmen’s Bureau and the Legal Rights of Blacks, 1865–1868 (Millwood:
KTO Press, 1979), 5; Howard, Autobiography, 2:223. For the importance of the Civil
Rights Act of 1866 and later Fourteenth Amendment, see Alfred Avins, “Th
e Right to
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Notes to pages 69–73
227
Be a Witness and the Fourteenth Amendment,” Missouri Law Review 31 (Fall 1966):
471–504.
14. I compiled the data for the courts from the Records of the Field Offi
ces (M1912),
not the Records of the Assistant Commissioner (M821). Where all off enses for the lat-
ter are on reel 32, those for the fi eld offi
ces are located in the categories of Register of
Complaints, Letters Sent, Register of Contracts, Register of Letters Received, and Let-
ters Sent and Registers of Letters Received with Endorsements. All the court cases
from the fi eld offi
ces are located from reel 12 to reel 28. Th
e advantage is the agents
compiled this information in real time and chronologically. For example, Greg
Cantrell found 1,390 in his study of Reconstruction violence, while Crouch used 1,524
cases. Rebecca Kosary had 2,214. Besides the aforementioned, a further reason for the
disparity between the total numbers in this study compared to others is those three
students looked exclusively at “criminal” (those considered violent) off enses, probably
dismissing everything else that did not meet such standards. (See Gregg Cantrell,
“Racial Violence and Reconstruction Politics in Texas, 1867–1868,” Southwestern His-
torical Quarterly 93 [January 1990]: 343; Crouch, “Spirit of Lawlessness,” 220; and
Rebecca Kosary, “To Degrade and Control: White Violence and the Maintenance of
Racial and Gender Boundaries in Reconstruction Texas, 1865–1868” [Ph.D. diss., Texas
A&M University, 2006], chapter 3 and Appendix B).
15. For the cases involving bestiality and black gun rights, see Case of James
Haynes (fm) vs. Fletcher Burnet (wm), July 11, 1867, Austin, SAC, ROC, June 1867–
December 1868, reel 12; and Case of Washington Th
omas (fm) vs. Mr. Symersman
(wm), July 6, 1868, Houston, SAC, ROC, December 1865–December 1868, reel 22.
16. Samuel Spencer (fm) vs. Primus Dickes, October 3, 1868, SAC, Gonzales, ROC,
October 1868, reel 21.
17. Abner Doubleday, Galveston, to J. T. Kirkman, A.A.A.G., March 1, 1867, AC,
ROC, December 1866–May 1867, reel 20; George C. Abbott, Hempstead, to E. M. Greg-
ory, November 23, 1865, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; William H. Sinclair, Inspector, to
Henry A. Ellis, A.A.A.G., October 7, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 8; Mortimer H.
Goddin, Livingston, to J. T. Kirkman, A.A.A.G., July 20, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel
5; William Garretson, Matagorda, to J. T. Kirkman, A.A.A.G., May 31, 1867, AC, ROC,
December 1866–May 1867, reel 20; Nieman, To Set the Law in Motion, 173; Richter,
Overreached on All Sides, 137; Sara Rapport, “Th
e Freedmen’s Bureau as a Legal Agent
for Black Men and Women in Georgia, 1865–1868,” Georgia Historical Quarterly 73
(Spring 1989): 26–29.
18. F. D. Inge, Leona, to Colonel, July 30, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 6; Abbott,
Freedmen’s Bureau in South Carolina, 105; Jacob C. DeGress, Houston, to Colonel,
December 6, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 5; Arthur H. Edey to J. B. Kiddoo, August
18, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 5; Philip Howard, Meridian, to [E. M.] Gregory, April
30, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 6; Albert Evans, Sherman, to Henry A. Ellis,
A.A.A.G., October 31, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 5; George C. Abbott, Hempstead,
to [E. M.] Gregory, October 31, 1865, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; Jacob C. DeGress,
Houston, to [Maj. Gen. Joseph Anthony Mower, Commander, District of Eastern
Texas], November 13, 1865, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 5; William Garretson, Matagorda,
to J. T. Kirkman, A.A.A.G., June 14, 1867, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 5); Eliza (fw) vs. John
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228
Notes to pages 73–75
Pulty (fm), June 14, 1867, Bryan, SAC, ROC, 1866–1868, reel 14; J. J. Reynolds to A.
Bledsoe, April 20, 1868, AC, LS, March 1867–May 1869, reel 1; J. P. Richardson,
A.A.A.G., to F. P. Wood, Brenham, March 18, 1868, AC, LS, March 1867–May 1869, reel
1; General Orders, No. 5, February 2, 1867, AC, IRB, October 186–April 1869, reel 19;
Charles Griffi
n to O. O. Howard, July 1, 1867, AC, LS, March 1867–May 1869, reel 1;
Endorsement of letter from N. H. Randlett, Courtney, to William H. Sinclair, A.A.G.,
August 8, 1866, AC, ES, April 1866–September 1867, reel 2; Nieman, To Set the Law in
Motion, 9.
19. Th
e numbers for black vs. white are: settlement (547), money (2,584), and con-
tract (189). Th
ose for white vs. black are: settlement (60), money (176), and contract
(251). Th
ose for black vs. black are: settlement (30), money (532), and contract (17).
20. Charles Haughn, Waco, to J. P. Richardson, A.A.A.G., April 4, 1868, AC, ROC,
March–April, 1868, reel 25; Nesbit B. Jenkins, Wharton, to J. P. Richardson, A.A.A.G.,
March 31, 1868, AC, ROC, March–April, 1868, reel 25; Case of Zillah Rodgers (fw) vs.
John Rodgers (wm), September 5, 1868, Austin, SAC, ROC, February 1867–December
1868, reel 12; John F. Stokes, Columbia, to W. L. Perry, May 21, 1867, SAC, Letters Sent
and Registers of Letters Received with Endorsements, April 1867–November 1868, reel
15 (hereaft er LSRE); Patrick F. Duggan, Columbia, to J. T. Kirkman, A.A.A.G., June 24,
1867, SAC, LSRE, April 1867–November 1868, reel 15. Case breakdowns are in the
records for the subdistricts of Liberty, August 1866 to December 1868, and Marshall,
November 1868 to December 1868: 74 for contract; 8 for stealing and loss of property;
15 fo
r assault and battery; and 9 cases classifi ed as other. For Marshall it was: 65 for
contract; 5 loss of property; 13 for assault and theft ; 4 threats; and 3 cases under other.
(See Liberty, SAC, ROC, August 1866–December 1868, reel 23 and Marshall, SAC,
ROC, February 1866–November 1867, reel 24.) For other courses in judicial matters,
see J. P. Richardson, ASAC, Austin, to J. T. Kirkman, A.A.A.G., March 31, 1867, SAC,
LS, October 1866–May 1867, reel 12; Henry Sweeney, Jeff erson, to Post Adjutant, Post of
Jeff erson, December 14, 1868, SAC, LS, October–December 1868, reel 23; A. H. Mayer,
Liberty, to Henry A. Ellis, A.A.A.G., September 30, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 7; A.
H. Mayer, Liberty, to Charles Garretson, A.A.A.G., October 1, 1867, AC, ROC, Septem-
ber–October, 1867, reel 22; George C. Abbott, Hempstead, to [E. M. Gregory], October
25, 1865, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17.
21. Owens, “Presidential Reconstruction,” 270; Max Woodhull, A.A.G., to E. M.
Gregory, November 24, 1865, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; Endorsement of letter from
H. W. Allen, Hempstead, to William H. Sinclair, A.A.G., June 3, 1866, AC, ES, April
1866–September 1867, reel 2; Endorsement of letter from H. W. Allen, Hempstead, to
William H. Sinclair, A.A.G., June 2, 1866, AC, ES, September 1865–March 1868, reel 2;
Hardin Hart, Greenville, to A. H. M. Taylor, A.A.A.G., May 31, 1866, AC, ROC,
December 1866–May 1867, reel 20; Jacob C. DeGress, Houston, to Henry A. Ellis,
A.A.A.G., November 19, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 5; Joint Committee, 39th Con-
gress, 1st Session, 146; Endorsement of letter from L. S. Barnes, Crockett, to William
H. Sinclair, A.A.G., June 21, 1866, AC, ES, April 1866–September 1867, reel 2. For agents
observing civil tribunals, see A. H. Mayer, Liberty, to J. B. Kiddoo, January 9, 1867, AC,
ROC, December 1866–May 1867, reel 20; George C. Abbott, Hempstead, to Chauncey
C. Morse, A.A.A.G., February 19, 1866, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; Endorsement of
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Notes to pages 75–78
229
letter from Isaac Johnson, La Grange, to William H. Sinclair, A.A.G., July 28, 1866, AC,
ES, April 1866–September 1867, reel 2; Charles W. Ramsdell, Reconstruction in Texas
(Austin: University of Texas Press, 1910), 76–77; and E. Merton Coulter, Georgia: A
Short History (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1947), 349–350.
22. William H. Sinclair, Inspector, to Henry A. Ellis, A.A.A.G., November 30, 1866,
AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; Samuel C. Sloan, Richmond, to William H. Sinclair,
A.A.G., June 30, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 8; Stanton Weaver, Crockett, to
Chauncey C. Morse, A.A.A.G., February 21, 1866, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; and
Stanton Weaver, Crockett, to Chauncey C. Morse, A.A.A.G., February 28, 1866, AC,
ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; Rapport, “Freedmen’s Bureau as a Legal Agent,” 46. Cases
involving J. Ernest Goodman are Colorado County District Court Records, Criminal
Cause File Nos. 570, 591, 603, and 611, Criminal Minute Book D., Colorado County
Courthouse, Colorado County, Texas, pp. 114, 126, 185, 226.
23. Jacob C. DeGress, Houston, to Henry A. Ellis, A.A.A.G., December 4, 1866, AC,
LR, 1866–1867, reel 5; Nieman, To Set the Law in Motion, 117, 136–137, 142–144; J. B. Kid-
doo to O. O. Howard, May 23, 1866, AC, LS, September 1865–March 1867, reel 1; Low,
“Freedmen’s Bureau and Civil Rights in Maryland,” 239; Endorsement of letter from
Edward Miller, Victoria, to S. H. Lathrop, A.A.A.G., December 6, 1866, AC, ES, April
1866–September 1867, reel 2.
24. Belz, A New Birth of Freedom, 158; Robert J. Kaczorowski, Th
e Politics of Judi-
cial Interpretation: Th
e Federal Courts, Department of Justice and Civil Rights, 1866–
1876 (New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1985), 27, 36, 117–119; Nieman, To Set the
Law in Motion, 105; Foner, Reconstruction, 149; Donald G. Nieman, “Th
e Freedmen’s
Bureau and the Mississippi Black Code,” Journal of Mississippi History 40 (May 1978):
92; Cohen- Lack, “Struggle for Sovereignty,” 81–82; David J. Flanigan, “Th
e Criminal
Law of Slavery and Freedom, 1800–1868” (Ph.D. diss., Rice University, 1973), 399–400;
Richardson, ed., Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 6:429–431,
434–438. On the belief about civil rights and federalism, see Robert J. Kaczorowski, “To
Begin the Nation Anew: Congress, Citizenship, and Civil Rights Aft er the Civil War,”
American Historical Review 92 (February 1987): 45–68; Charles Fairman, Reconstruc-
tion and Reunion, 1864–1868 (New York: Th
e Macmillan Company, 1971), 1228–1229;
Harold Hyman, A More Perfect Union: Th
e Impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction
on the Constitution (New York: Alfred K. Knopf, 1973); Michael Les Benedict, A Com-
promise of Principle: Congressional Republicans and Reconstruction (New York: W.W.
Norton & Company, 1974), 27, 41, 48, 56–69, 122–126, 147–149, 170; Michael Les Bene-
dict, “Preserving the Constitution: Th
e Conservative Basis of Radical Reconstruction,”
Journal of American History 61 (June 1974): 65–90; and Phillip S. Paludan, A Covenant
with Death: Th
e Constitution, Law, and Equality in the Civil War Era (Urbana: Univer-
sity of Illinois Press, 1975), 58, 261, 274–275.
25. William H. Sinclair, Inspector, to J. B. Kiddoo, December 23, 1866, AC, LR,
1866–1867, reel 8; J. B. Kiddoo to O. O. Howard June 26, 1866, AC, LS, September 1865–
March 1867, reel 1; J. B. Kiddoo to O. O. Howard, May 26, 1866, AC, LS, September
1865–March 1867, reel 1; A. P. Ketchum, A.A.A.G., to J. B. Kiddoo, June 7, 1866, M742C,
LS, January 1–December 19, 1866, reel 2; Telegram from O. O. Howard to J. B. Kiddoo,
July 10, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel 6.
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Notes to pages 78–79
26. L. S. Barnes, Crockett, to A.A.A.G., September 11, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867, reel
4; A. P. Ketchum, A.A.A.G., to J. B. Kiddoo, September 19, 1866, AC, LR, 1866–1867,
reel 6.
27. Anthony M. Bryant, Sherman, to J. T. Kirkman, A.A.A.G., June 30, 1867, AC,
ROC, June–August, 1867, reel 21; Nesbit B. Jenkins, Wharton, to Charles A. Vernou,
A.A.A.G., May 31, 1868, AC, ROC, May–July, 1868, reel 26; Craig, “Memoirs,” 79; Foner,
Reconstruction, 150; Oliver H. Swingley, Austin, to E. M. Gregory, November 1, 1865,
AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; Stanton Weaver, Crockett, to Chauncey C. Morse,
A.A.A.G., February 21, 1866, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; Endorsement of letter from
Isaac Johnson, La Grange, to William H. Sinclair, A.A.G., September 6, 1866, AC, ES,
April 1866–September 1867, reel 2; William S. McFeely, “Th
e Freedmen’s Bureau: A
Study in Betrayal” (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1966), 255; O. O. Howard to [Assistant
Commissioners], September 6, 1865, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; J. B. Kiddoo to O. O.
Howard, June 26, 18
66, M752C, LR, May–August, 1866, reel 36; J. Ernest Goodman,
Columbus, to William H. Sinclair, A.A.A.G., May 22, 1866, SAC, LS, April–July and
November 1866, reel 16; Oakes, “Failure of a Vision,” 66; Jacob C. DeGress, Houston, to
[E. M. Gregory], December 1, 1865, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; George C. Abbott,
Hempstead, to E. M. Gregory, October 31, 1865, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; Cohen-
Lack, “Struggle for Sovereignty,” 82; Cimbala and Miller, eds., Freedmen’s Bureau and
Reconstruction, 17–21; Endorsement of letter from Champ Carter, Sterling, to William
H. Sinclair, A.A.G., June 2, 1866, AC, ES, April 1866–September 1867, reel 2. Other
instances of agents confused about their judicial jurisdiction, see Endorsement of let-
ter from Samuel C. Sloan, Richmond, to William H. Sinclair, A.A.G., May 22, 1866,
AC; Endorsement of letter from J. Ernest Goodman, Columbus, to William H. Sinclair,
A.A.G., May 22, 1866, AC; Endorsement of letter from Samuel A. Craig, Brenham, to
William H. Sinclair, A.A.G., May 26, 1866, AC (all in ES, April 1866–September 1867,
reel 2). Works critical of Bureau courts are Harry August Volz III, “Th
e Administra-
tion of Justice by the Freedmen’s Bureau in Kentucky, South Carolina, and Virginia”
(Master Th
esis, University of Virginia, 1975), 52; Kaczorowski, Politics of Judicial Inter-
pretation, 43; Oakes, “Failure of a Vision,” 66–76; Rapport, “Freedmen’s Bureau as a
Legal Agent,” 46, 52–53; Barry A. Crouch, “Black Dreams and White Justice,” Prologue
6 (Winter 1974): 264; Neal and Kremm, “What Shall We Do With the Negro?,” 25; and
Nieman, To Set the Law in Motion, 146. Bureau men’s confusion caused by the numer-
ous, and at times contradictory, policies are Stanton Weaver, Crockett, to Chauncey C.
Morse, A.A.A.G., February 21, 1866, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; Endorsement of letter
from Isaac Johnson, La Grange, to William H. Sinclair, A.A.G., September 6, 1866, AC,
ES, April 1866–September 1867, reel 2; William S. McFeely, “Th
e Freedmen’s Bureau: A
Study in Betrayal” (Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1966), 255; O. O. Howard to [Assistant
Commissioners], September 6, 1865, AC, ULR, 1865–1866, reel 17; J. B. Kiddoo to O. O.
Howard, June 26, 1866, M752C, LR, May–August, 1866, reel 36; J. Ernest Goodman,
Columbus, to William H. Sinclair, A.A.A.G., May 22, 1866, SAC, LS, April–July and
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