
Charles City County, Virginia hosts a website Freedom’s Jubilee: An African American Journey. An excerpt from the section called “Fort Pocahontas: Black Troops Tested” states:
“At the war’s end Fort Pocahontas became a headquarters for the New Kent–Charles City subdistrict of the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Assistant Superintendant [sic] for the district approved labor contracts, observed criminal proceedings, issued marriage licenses, organized schools, registered voters, helped unite families and provided relief to destitute elderly freedmen. The Assistant Superintendant [sic] also sought (unsuccessfully) to promote temperance. The agent resided at the Wilson house which was located within the fort and used as officer’s quarters. The house pictured here was moved from Southampton County to the fort during the fort’s restoration because of its similarity to the Wilson house.”
For more information about Record Group 105, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (BRFAL):
African American Records: Freedmen’s Bureau — a description is on the National Archives website.
Records of the Assistant Commissioner for State of Virginia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1869 — a finding aid produced by the National Museum of African American History & Culture. The finding aid refers to National Archives Micropublication M1048 (67 rolls). The microfilm has been digitized and is available on several platforms.
Records of the Field Offices for the State of Virginia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1872 — the National Archives descriptive pamphlet that serves as a finding aid for the Micropublication M1913 (203 rolls). The microfilm’s been digitized and is available on several platforms.
Mapping the Freedmen’s Bureau — an interactive website that includes Freedmen’s Bureau offices as well as “the branches of the Freedman’s Savings Bank, Freedmen Schools, contraband camps, and even the location of battle sites where men who were in the US Colored Troops fought.”
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