Benjamin Frisby (b.
circa 1834 - d. 1901)
MSA SC 3520-10802
USCT Soldier, Queen Anne's County, Maryland
Biography:
Benjamin Frisby was born a slave around 1834 (30 years old when he enlisted) in Church Hill, Queen Anne's County, Maryland.1 As a slave, there are conflicting reports as to who was Frisby's owner. Benjamin Frisby recorded his owner as being Edward Beck in a pension affidavit.2 One affidavit from Joseph Bowyer noted that Mrs. Charlotte Ann Meredith was his slave owner.3 Frisby Hinson seemed to provide clarity when he testified that when Benjamin was a child "he belonged to the Becks the people to whom I belonged and we lived on the same farm - then Mr. Becks daughter married and he went off with her - she first married a Harrison then a Meredith - below Church Hill."4 From Hinson's testimony, Charlotte Ann appears to be Edward Beck's daughter and she was granted control of Benjamin Frisby. On the slave rolls for Queen Anne's County, Frisby's owner was "Richard Meredy."5 Richard F. Meredith resided in District 2 of Queen Anne's County and owned two slaves in 1860.6
Hinson also stated that he "became acquainted with Henrietta, Frisby's wife, when she was a girl and from then until she was married she did not live over 2 miles from where I lived and I knew her well."7 They were "married before the war," but it was several years before the war began.8 They were married at a ceremony that took place at Joshua Cosden's (Henrietta's slave owner) house.9 They did not have a house together before they enlisted, but their owners lived less than a mile apart, and "he would visit her every evening after supper, remaining over night."10 Henry Wilmer, whose step father was Henrietta's father, stated that Benjamin Frisby and Henrietta Thomas were married in Queen Anne's County, Maryland by a Methodist minister around 1851.11 Joseph Bowyer noted the marriage was "according to slave code, that is by consent of owners."12 Benjamin Frisby stated that they had seven children together, two of them living, but none under the age of sixteen.13
After being enslaved for a number of years, Richard F. Meredith, the husband of Charlotte Ann, manumitted Benjamin Frisby from slavery which was to "commence from the date of his enlistment as aforesaid in the 39th Regiment of Colored Troops."14 The manumission was not officially recognized until May 19, 1864 because it needed to be signed by Meredith with three witnesses present.15 Joshua Cosden was one of the witnesses to the manumission of Benjamin Frisby.16 Under the Act of 1864, Chapter 15, Section 4, "to the owner of every negro slave who shall agree to the enlistment of his slave as above, the sum of one hundred dollars shall be paid when such owner shall file with the proper authority a good and valid deed of manumission."17 Meredith, like many slaveowners, may have viewed this as their final opportunity to receive compensation for the loss of their slaves as the institution of slavery was rapidly deteriorating. Not only were slaveowners entitled to compensation, but free blacks and slaves also counted towards the state quota, which meant many slaveowners could have protected their family members from having to join the war.18 On August 11, 1864, Meredith received a bounty payment of $100.00 as compensation for the loss of his slave.19
With the Civil War looming, Benjamin Frisby was faced with the decision to remain a slave or fight in the war for his freedom. On March 31, 1864, he enlisted as a private in Company G of the 39th U.S. Colored Troops regiment.20 He was mustered into the service in Baltimore, Maryland by Col. S.M. Bowman and was credited to Queen Anne's County.21 During his wartime services, he contracted several ailments, which he suffered with during the remainder of his life. He suffered from "chronic rheumatism, disease of breast and heart, and shell wound of right leg received in service and line of duty."22 The chronic rheumatism came "by reason of exposure at Fort Harris in the winter of 1863 or 64."23 The gunshot wound came at the Battle of Petersburg in June of 1864.24 Daniel Sedgwick, who served in the same company and regiment, stated that Frisby was sent to the hospital after he was wounded in his right leg and he suffered from that wound until his death.25 A doctor stated that he also suffered from "varicose veins of the right leg, caused no doubt by a shell wound."26 He was sent to City Point Hospital in Virginia where he spent the majority of his time while in the army.27 On June 26, 1865, Benjamin Frisby was honorably discharged from the army while at Fort Monroe, Virginia.28
According to Becky Wooden, Henrietta told her that "when her husband Benjamin Frisby went into the army, he wrote to his father to come after Henrietta and the children and keep them at his house till he (Benjamin) got back from the war and he did bring them here to Baltimore and they lived with old man Perry Frisby (Benjamin's father) until he got home."29 From Wooden's testimony, it was clear that Benjamin had no desire to return to the Eastern Shore of Maryland and wanted to reside in Baltimore with his family. In 1870, Benjamin and Henrietta were residing in the sixteenth ward of Baltimore with their children: Charles, Adaline, and Benjamin.30 Ten years later, in 1880, Benjamin and Henrietta were still residing in the sixteenth ward of Baltimore on Bankard Alley.31 The household consisted of their children Benanna, Adeline, Sarah, and Charles W.32 At this time, Adeline's husband, George W. Coates, who was a sailor, was also living in the household with their son, George W.33
The Frisby family would reside in Baltimore for over 35 years at known residences, such as 406 West Hamburg Street and 653 Bankard Lane.34 They also resided at 657 Bankard Alley in 1890.35 Benjamin attempted to move around several times in an effort to help Henrietta who was suffering from insanity.36 While in Baltimore, Benjamin worked alongside James Benson who had known the Frisby's for "twenty years at least" in 1902.37 Benson stated that he and Benjamin worked together shucking oysters in an oyster house for nearly twenty years.38 On August 22, 1890, Benjamin commenced receiving a pension rate of $12.00 per month for the disabilities he sustained in the war.39
On April 8, 1901, Benjamin Frisby passed away from "cardiac disease and dropsy" while residing at 406 West Hamburg Street.40 He was buried at Sharp Street Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.41 John Thomas, an acquaintance of the Frisby's for over forty years, stated that Benjamin left his wife and children "about two hundred dollars" and that money was "all gone now."42 Charles Frisby was the only family member still taking care of Henrietta and she needed help as she was "entirely dependent upon me (Charles) for her support."43 A special examiner from the Pension Bureau recorded that Henrietta was in "the worst case of poverty I ever saw. He feet were wrapped in old rags and pieces of carpet, and her dirty, ragged skirt came only about to her knees."44 He continued by stating "she is suffering for the very necessaries of life."45 On April 10, 1901, with the help of numerous affidavits and special examinations, Henrietta was able to obtain a pension rate of $8.00 per month.46 By the time of her death on May 8, 1915, she was earning an increased pension rate of $12.00 per month.47
For a visual representation of Benjamin Frisby's journey from slavery to freedom, please click here. Users must have access to Google Earth in order to utilize this file, which includes landmarks(pins) in Frisby's life from circa 1822 to 1901. You may take the tour and investigate individual sites under the "Places" tab on the left of the screen, or you may navigate using the slider and cursor on the map itself.
Researched and Written by Tanner Sparks, 2013.
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