Slaves of Confederate General Thomas F. Drayton, American Civil War, South Carolina about 1862–1863, Henry P. Moore (American, 1835 - 1911)

This photograph, captured by Henry P. Moore at Hilton Head, South Carolina, portrays a substantial group of slaves on the seven-hundred-acre Fish Haul Plantation owned by Thomas Fenwick Drayton. Dedicated primarily to cotton production, the plantation housed fifty-two slaves who worked and resided there. Moore's documentation from this era provides insight into their living conditions and includes scenes of cotton processing, illustrating a moment when these individuals were transitioning to freedom under federal decree.