The Devil's Punchbowl was a refuge camp created in Natchez, Mississippi during the American Civil War to provide temporary housing and assistance to the freed slaves.

Description

In order to house the large numbers of formerly-enslaved African Americans, the Union Army created a refuge camp for newly freed enslaved Black persons at a location known as the Devil's Punchbowl, a natural pit surrounded by bluffs. Many of the formerly enslaved there died of starvation, smallpox, and other diseases.[1] It has been suggested by some that over 20,000 formerly enslaved people died here in one year.[2][3] However, the scale of the tragedy has been disputed by multiple historians, with history professor Jim Wiggins arguing the 20,000 estimate is baseless and inflated tenfold,[4] and author and activist Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley referring to the story as "concocted Confederate propaganda" aiming to cast the Union Army in a negative light.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "The Devil's Punchbowl (Mississippi), a story".
  2. ↑ Taite, Tionna (April 11, 2022). "The Devil's Punchbowl". Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Bernish, Claire (March 4, 2017). "The Devil's Punchbowl". Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  4. ↑ Francis, Marquise (2023-06-17). "The Devil's Punchbowl: Debunking the social media myth of a Civil War massacre". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  5. ↑ Griffey, Jan (2022-06-17). "Devil's Punchbowl: 'Concocted Confederate propaganda,' Boxley says". The Natchez Democrat. Retrieved 2023-06-18.


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