This was supposed to be a somewhat straight forward assignment, find at least three slave pens in the metro D.C. area and report on your finds. Using resources like the Library of Congress, City of Alexandria Library system, George Mason University, the Federal Historic Preservation Society, the Alexandria Archaeology Department, the National Black Historical Foundation, the Duke University Reference Library, more search engines than I care to remember, and a fellow pilot named Steve Collins, I was able to locate two slave pens. I have collected four thesis, two Dissertations, and the entire Civil War collection of photographs by the Library of Congress in digital format. I found two slave pens in the metropolitan Washington area. I have found conflicting information on reasons why there are so few here and even in the United States. Most of the information that I have collected points to the monopolistic business tactics of the slave traders that bought and sold Negro slaves in the U.S..…
