On February 8, 1862 Union troops, under the command of General Ambrose E. Burnside, captured Roanoke Island - a Confederate stronghold off the coast of North Carolina.

Once word reached the local slaves that Union troops had taken the island, many of them escaped from their plantations and made their way to the island, seeking their freedom. Burnside considered them "contraband of war" and granted them "freedmen status". Thus, a large and successful colony of freed blacks was established there.