Garrett Information

[L Verge]

Betty Ownsbey recently found the latest archeological research from Garrett's farm online (2015). In the historical background section, I learned some new things.

With all the drama surrounding the capture and death of JWB, I never remember reading anything about the slaves owned by the Garretts. This report includes the following:

According to a footnote in the testimony
given by Major Ruggles, a Confederate officer
traveling with Booth, the Garrett farm, known
as Locust Hill, “was in the style at that time in
vogue among Southern planters. It was a large,
wooden framed building, with broad porches
on every side. It stood on a hill, from which
sloped in every direction broad rolling fields;
fair in their verdure as ever greeted the eye of
man” (Ingraham 1890). The Garrett house was
located on a long lane secured by two gates
(Figure 6). At the time when Booth traveled
up the lane flanked by orchards, Richard H.
Garrett was a 59-year old planter and father or
a large family at Locust Hill. While it is
unknown how many of the Garrett slaves
remained on the farm, records indicate that in
April 1856 Richard Garrett owned 13 slaves
older than 16 years of age and another 12 that
were at least 12 years of age. In 1860,
Garrett’s slave force consisted of 28 slaves
(Caroline County Personal Property Tax
Records 1856-1863). In an oral history
conducted with Steven Garrett, grandson of
Richard Garrett, Steven recalled “that [the]
present highway 301 flanks the house and
some sections of the road took out some of the
old slave quarters” (Lilley 1978: 11).
According to Steven, “We had one [slave
quarter] out there in the yard and one [slave
quarter] down on the hill there” (Lilley 1978:
11).

Pretty significant holdings in 1860, for a family of middle-class means.

The report also contains the inventory of the contents of the Garretts' barn that were destroyed by the ensuing fire. We knew that the Garretts (like many of their inland neighbors) stored household belongings for folks in Port Royal whose homes were being used as target practice by Union ships on the Rappahannck River. I am having problems with cut and paste for this list. I will send to Roger to see if he can post it.