Virginia’s Hidden Crown: The Untold Origins of Emancipation

E.N. SEALS
Jul 5
4 min read

When people think about the end of slavery in America, most jump straight to Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, or Juneteenth. But what if we told you that long before Texas became the symbol of delayed freedom, Virginia quietly made history that changed everything?

The truth is—Virginia holds the keys to the freedom story, and yet her impact is often left out of the national conversation. But here’s the reality: without Virginia, the path to Juneteenth may never have been possible.

Let’s talk about it.

🏰 Fort Monroe & The Contraband Decision

In May of 1861—just weeks into the Civil War—three enslaved men, Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory, and James Townsend, escaped a Confederate work site and sought refuge at Fort Monroe, a Union-held fort in Hampton, Virginia. They weren’t running toward the promise of freedom—they were running from the grip of enslavement.

Under existing law, these men would have been returned to their so-called “owners.” But Union General Benjamin Butler made a game-changing move. He declared the men “contraband of war”, arguing that because the South saw enslaved people as property, the Union could legally refuse to return them—just like you would confiscate weapons or supplies.

That single decision?It shifted the entire course of the war.

Suddenly, enslaved people across the South saw Union camps as gateways to freedom. Thousands followed—men, women, children—risking everything in hopes of refuge behind Union lines.

It wasn’t a proclamation from D.C.It was a decision made on Virginia soil that began to unravel the entire system of slavery.

🔓 How the System Began to Break

And here’s how that unraveling happened:

The more people escaped, the more the Union army had to respond. What began as a one-time military decision quickly became a political reality. Refugee camps sprang up around Union-occupied territories, especially in Virginia. Formerly enslaved families sought shelter and support, and Northern abolitionists, teachers, and missionaries followed—setting up schools, clinics, and churches inside these makeshift communities.

The result? Every single escape weakened the Confederate economy. Labor was leaving the fields, plantations were falling apart, and the South’s war machine began to slow.

Meanwhile, the Union was forced to confront an uncomfortable truth: You can’t fight a war for national unity while ignoring the freedom of the people helping you win it.

As formerly enslaved men and women flooded into Union camps, they changed the conversation—on the ground and in Washington. Their presence made it impossible to treat slavery as a side issue. They became the living evidence that freedom was not just a political idea—it was a moral obligation.

Eventually, this movement led to the Emancipation Proclamation itself—a decision that was pushed into action by what had already begun right here in Virginia.

🌳 The Emancipation Oak: Freedom Spoken, Freedom Heard

Just a short distance from Fort Monroe stands the Emancipation Oak, rooted on the campus of what would become Hampton University. Under this tree, in 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was read publicly for the first time in the South to a crowd of formerly enslaved people.

Can you imagine it?

Hearing—maybe for the first time in your life—that you were no longer considered property. That your children, your body, your name might finally be your own.

The oak still stands as a symbol of truth spoken aloud—and it started here.In Virginia.Not in Texas.Not in Pennsylvania.Right here.

⚔️ The Backbone of the Union: Black Troops From Virginia

By 1864, over 180,000 Black men had joined the Union Army—and many of them had either escaped from Virginia or trained here. In fact, the XXV Army Corps, the only all-Black Army corps in U.S. history, was headquartered at City Point, Virginia (present-day Hopewell). These troops were instrumental in the final victories of the Civil War—particularly at Petersburg and Richmond.

We’re not just talking about support roles.These were front-line fighters whose presence turned the tide of the war.

The war was no longer just about preserving the Union—it was about defining freedom.And Virginia’s soil? It bore the footprints of men who chose to fight for something greater than themselves.

🧬 No Juneteenth Without Virginia

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and delivered news of freedom to the last enslaved people in the Confederacy—two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation.

But how did those Union troops win that power?What made their presence strong enough to deliver that declaration?

It traces back to Virginia:

The Contraband Decision laid the groundwork for protecting runaway enslaved people
The Emancipation Oak made the message real in the South
The Black troops trained and deployed from Virginia helped win the final battles

In short?Virginia made freedom possible.

👑 The Hidden Crown, Now Revealed

At the National Juneteenth Heirs of Excellence Foundation, we believe in restoring what history tried to bury. We teach our girls and communities that legacy doesn’t just live in headlines or statues—it lives in the untold, the overlooked, the misnamed.

Virginia is not just the birthplace of American slavery.It is also the Blueprint and Birthplace of Emancipation.

It’s time we crowned her accordingly.

📲 Stay Connected

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@HeirsOfExcellence. 👑 @MissJuneteenthVA

Together, we’re building a generation of girls who lead with legacy.

Want to learn more or get involved? Visit our website, spread the word, or bring a young queen to one of our programs. The next chapter of her journey could start with just one click.

📚 Sources:

“Virginia Waterways and the Underground Railroad,” Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander, Ph.D.
National Park Service: Fort Monroe National Monument
Library of Virginia Archives
Hampton University Emancipation Oak Documentation
U.S. Army Center of Military History: XXV Corps
Smithsonian Magazine: “The Real Story Behind Juneteenth”