The Great Slave Auction, Former slave auction site in Savannah, Georgia, US
The Great Slave Auction took place at the Ten Broeck Race Course near Savannah, where 436 enslaved individuals were sold over two days in March 1859. The site functioned as an auction ground where the enslaved people were examined and offered for purchase.
Pierce Mease Butler organized this auction to pay off his substantial gambling debts, making it the largest documented single slave sale in Georgia. The event occurred during a period when slavery was increasingly contested in American society.
A journalist documented this 1859 event under a pen name, leaving detailed records of how the enslaved people were treated and held. These accounts serve as one of the few firsthand descriptions of a major slave auction from that era.
Two historical markers commemorate this site, with one located in Savannah and another on Butler Island providing information about what occurred. Visitors can locate these markers to learn more about the event and its historical significance.
The enslaved people were confined in horse stalls at the race course where potential buyers could examine them like merchandise. This practice starkly reveals the dehumanizing nature of the slave trade.
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