Manifest of enslaved people transported from Charleston, SC to Wilmington, NC

Capt. Treat Finn Peck, American, 1801 - 1878 · December 22, 1859

This manifest is for the movement of 118 enslaved individuals from Charleston, South Carolina to Wilmington, North Carolina on the Steamer Cecile run by Capt. F. Peck. The journey is documented as paid for by Drane & Singletary, the business partnership of Harry M. Drane and Robert L. Singletary, who are also listed as the “owners or shippers” of the enslaved individuals. At the time, Drane and Singletary were contracted to build the Charleston and Savannah Railroad, the first railroad in the South built almost exclusively by slave labor. Of the individuals listed on this manifest, all but two are male and most are between the ages of 18 and 40. This is consistent with the railroad work being conducted by Drane & Singletary as they would need young men to do a majority of the work with possibly just a few women conducting the cleaning and cooking. The forced labor of Black enslaved workers enabled the project to be completed in roughly 18 months.