Charleston, South Carolina "slave badge,” dated 1842. From the workshop of William M. Rouse, by city contract. This example was issued for a “Porter," a designation used to describe an enslaved person (usually male) engaged in the dangerous work of unloading and loading docked ships. The front is clearly struck CHARLESTON / 431 / PORTER / 1842.

Condition as shown, overall fine with a pleasing patina. The badge features correct clipped corners and a punched hole for adherence.

Charleston slave badges are sobering visual evidence of a system for hiring out enslaved men and women that was unique to that city between 1800-1865. During this period, the local government mandated that enslaved people wear or otherwise display badges like this when they were hired out by their enslavers (note the small hole at the top center of this example). The city issued the badges in return for a fee paid by slaveholders. The objects were then inscribed with an occupation, year of issue, and registration number. When worn, the badge gave its wearer some freedom of movement around Charleston. That said, the wages earned by a hired-out slave typically belonged to their owners.

Few objects are as profoundly impactful as a Charleston slave badge. This example, without any doubt, was worn by an enslaved person while they were hired out to work- likely for the financial benefit of their enslaver.

[African American History, Black Americana, Frederick Douglass, Abolition, Emancipation, Slavery, Slave, Abolitionist, John Brown, Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Union, Confederate]