The State Use of Enslaved People: Exposing the Insipid Reach of Slavery in Louisiana

These enslaved men were expected to create, repair, and innovate upon state infrastructure projects, prior to the dissolution of the State Engineer’s office in 1860. With special reference to the State Engineer annual report, individuals achieve an understanding of the work these men were subject to “Capt. White, with twenty hands, arrived here on the 10th of January, after doing all the work in Bayou Cornie…and was immediately sent with thirty hands to Bayou Sorrel to cut all the leaning trees upon the banks of that bayou, which heavily obstructed navigation.” This type of work was extremely difficult and dangerous, oftentimes resulting in death or injury of the enslaved individual. In 1854, the State Force lost 10 men to drowning in a seven month period, as well as six more to water-borne disease, the price of which is sadistically calculated through a cost-analysis carried out by state engineer Louis Hebert in 1855 totalling a single slave to be worth $16 of state funds. 

Despite the selfless contributions by the enslaved members of the State Force, many in power in Baton Rouge felt that the use of the State Force was worthless for these infrastructure projects. In fact, many believed that the use of white laborers was not only better, but the quality and amount of work would surpass that of the “state hand”. This argument stemmed from the racist belief that blacks were mentally and physically inferior to their white masters. However, using the state’s cost analysis of 1855, the cost of utilizing slaves in comparison to paying for white labor found that, on an annual basis, providing state slaves with provisions compared to white laborers found a difference of $23,000 per year or $852,000 per year in today’s money, implying that state slaves were vastly cheaper to the white alternative. In a deeply racist quote, the state engineer of 1857 explains his defense of the use of state slaves “…they forget that one state slave is not worth fifty of their own slaves.” As well as this, the state engineer believed that State slaves could work in far less suitable climates as well as during the sick season yielding higher results than hired white labor.

The Possibility of Insurrection

 In 1860 following years of internal turmoil stemming from the Campté situation, the office of state engineer was dissolved and State Force slaves were sold off to various plantations in the surrounding regions of Baton Rouge. In the final state engineer annual report of 1860, the state engineer cites the state government’s inability to see the use of these slaves as necessary, and the growing danger of possible insurrections was too dangerous to continue utilizing these individuals. In a final act, the state engineer of 1860 implemented a plan to keep invalid slaves, or slaves not capable of hard work, on state capitol grounds with the task to upkeep the surrounding area . This system is still in place today at the state capitol in Baton Rouge using inmates. 

Their Legacy in Louisiana

The echoes of these men and their work can be seen still today along the banks of Lockport, Alexandria, Shreveport, and all the way to the spillways and bayous that inhabit Baton Rouge and the towns surrounding it. The State Force of Louisiana kept the state above water for decades for individuals who only wished to drown the existence of these men.