By: John M. Taylor and Norman Dasinger, Jr. (Blue and Gray Education Society)
Following the Union Army’s conquest of the Mississippi River Valley in 1863, thousands of formerly enslaved people and destitute white refugees fled plantations and farms in a desperate bid for survival. Many sought refuge in Natchez, Mississippi, hoping the Union occupiers would offer protection and security. Some estimates suggest the population of Natchez surged from 10,000 to as many as 120,000 during this time, overwhelming the city’s limited resources and making survival a daily struggle—especially for the newly freed.
A Natchez Democrat article dated June 17, 2022, described the situation: “As runaway slaves flocked to where the Union army was, they were seeking freedom behind Union lines. That meant thousands of former slaves flocked to Vicksburg, Natchez, Port Hudson, all along the Mississippi. The Union army had no policy at the time for how to deal with the thousands of formerly enslaved people who were arriving in droves. Natchez had a huge influx of self-emancipated enslaved persons, and the Union was not equipped to handle that, so they established refugee camps.”
Branded as “contrabands” (a term implying they were illegally held property), many of these individuals were confined to what is now known as the Devil’s Punchbowl—a deep, wooded ravine shaped like a natural bowl. By 1864, all “idle Negroes” were ordered into this camp. A decree published in the Weekly National Intelligencer on April 28, 1864, read:
"It is hereby ordered that after the 1st Day of April, 1864, no contraband shall be allowed to remain in the city of Natchez, who is not employed by some responsible White person. … All contrabands in the city in contravention of this order … will be removed to the contraband encampment."
A stereoscope photograph of the Devil's Punchbowl in Natchez, Mississippi, circa 1900
Norman C. Henry/New York Public Library Digital Collections
A WJTV News Channel 12 report from Jackson, Mississippi, described the Devil’s Punchbowl as “a place where, during the Civil War, authorities forced tens of thousands of freed slaves to live in concentration camps.
However, some historians claim that the term “concentration camp” may not be entirely accurate. In a June 17, 2023, journalist Marquise Francis noted, “As squalid as the conditions were for refugees in Natchez, this was not a concentration camp (with all that is implied by that term).”
According to the late Don Estes, former director of Natchez City Cemetery—and a source the author personally knew—“The camp was at the bottom of a hollow pit with trees on the bluffs above. … Over 20,000 freed slaves were killed in one year.” Though the true death toll remains uncertain, historian Ron Davis, professor emeritus at California State University, wrote in The Black Experience in Natchez that “The main refugee camp in Natchez contained as many as 4,000 refugees in the summer of 1863. … In the fall of 1863, 2,000 had already perished.”
The Natchez Democrat added, “The people in the contraband camps suffered disease because of the overcrowding and poor sanitation, as well as from drinking Mississippi River water … they had mass deaths—daily deaths.”
Although some Union soldiers expressed concern for the refugees, many did not. Researcher Paula Westbrook told WJTV, “The Union Army did not allow them to remove the bodies from the camp. They just gave ’em shovels and said bury ’em where they drop.”
To this day, the Devil’s Punchbowl remains a haunting symbol of this chapter in history. The ravine is known for producing some of the region’s most beautiful peaches—yet locals refuse to eat them, based on the sordid history of the area and recognition that the original “fertilizer” was from the deterioration of human flesh.
As past stories are retold and recent research emerges, The Natchez Democrat aptly observed: “The myth of the Devil’s Punchbowl mixes fact and fiction.”
