Bond of Iron: Master and Slave at Buffalo Forge. By Charles B. Dew. 1994

Charles B. Dew’s book, Bond of Iron: Master and Slave at Buffalo Forge, is an effort to understand the complex business and social system existing at the ironworks in antebellum Virginia. His approach is to study key players on both sides of the slavery condition, and how they interacted among themselves and with the larger community of their times. It is, of course, difficult to reconstruct either the business or social conditions of that period. However, Dew has a remarkable set of records available which allows us to come as close as could reasonably be possible from this distance in history. Many of the business records from the Buffalo Forge operations—and its ancillary businesses—remain intact and include a remarkable amount of detail. These records include interactions that occur between the owners and their slaves as well as normal and extraordinary business transactions. Additionally, there is a large amount of personal material including diaries and letters as well as local court and governmental records that help to recreate the lives and circumstances of these people. Dew was also able to talk with many descendents of both the owners and the slaves who worked at Buffalo Forge, and tapped into the black oral tradition as a further source of information regarding life at the forge.

In reading Bond of Iron, one realizes that the facilities at Buffalo Forge—and its other activities— in fact comprise a multi-purpose complex consisting of industrial plant, business office, farming community, and neighborhood for the families of both master and slave. It was also fully integrated, with whites, free blacks and slave working side by side during much of the time of its operation, and with black family houses scattered around the complex rather than in one separate section. Buffalo Forge was also very much a self sustaining operation. They mined their own ore, operated their furnaces and forges, built their structures, farmed their food, cut their timber, supplied their fuel and power, and developed their own relationships. This does not mean that they were entirely free from outside needs or influences. Clearly they were not. But their self sufficiency appears to be somewhat comparable with that of the major plantation of the Old South period.

The most central figure in this story is William Weaver who was originally from Philadelphia. Weaver was also the great-grandson of the founder of German Baptist Piety Church better known as the “Dunkers,” who were rigidly against slavery. During his lifetime, Weaver moved away from both his northern and religious traditions to become a Virginia slaveholder in every sense of that term. He was a consummate businessman who addressed the problems of management and labor with tenacity and skill. During his time as the owner and manager of Buffalo Forge, he came to prefer slave labor over that of whites or free blacks. Although the white workers appeared to be more efficient in the production process, the slaves were more reliable and created fewer problems outside of work. He was never able to completely eliminate the use of white workers and was often required to hire slave labor from the available market; but he strove to maximize the use of his own chattel slaves to the greatest extent circumstances allowed. His heir in the Buffalo Forge business was a nephew named Daniel Brady who was also to become a central and important figure later in this story.

Dew also tells of life and work at Buffalo Forge through the eyes and experiences of several major slaves and their families.  These images come mostly from documentary sources maintained in the business records of the firm. From this material we see, not the image of a “shuffling sambo,” but rather a capable worker whose value to the success of the business is fully recognized by all concerned. That the slaves were in a subordinate position—and that many aspects of their lives were beyond their control—is true without question. But there were also many aspects of their lives that were within their control. Although they must work for their owners, they could also work for themselves on their “free time” both at the foundry and in the fields.  Often they would sell excess farm products to their owner, and the iron workers were compensated for what was referred to as “overwork.” Many of the slaves had savings accounts where they kept their earnings and made withdrawals to buy such things as furniture, clothing and other items beyond that of pure subsistence.

Charles Dew does not, in any way, justify the institution of slavery or its existence at Buffalo Forge. However, one gets the impression from his research that conditions were about as good at that location as they could be under such a system. There was occasional evidence of some of the worst aspects of slavery such as corporal punishment and the separation of families.  But on closer inspection we find that Weaver and Brady did not subscribe to either; and that the whippings which were recorded at Buffalo Forge were imposed by the county Slave Patrol. Also, the selling of family member occurred only once under Weaver/Brady management and in that case the couple was able to remain together though under different owners.  William Weaver was, however, willing to sell slaves who caused trouble or attempted to run away. Either by chance or for other reasons, this never seemed to occur within the family units located at Buffalo Forge.

The war and Reconstruction periods were relatively mild for the residents and workers at Buffalo Forge. They were somewhat isolated from most of the action, and it was several months after the surrender of Robert E. Lee before anything changed at the forge. It also seems to have been a rather civil transition as Daniel Brady worked with the former slaves and the Freedmen’s Bureau to create “just and reasonable” contracts for free labor to replace the slave system. Once the forge resumed operations it was to achieve a degree of prosperity for a number of years. Given the high degree of hostility against freed blacks that existed in much of Rockbridge County, Buffalo Forge was somewhat of a haven during the early years of Reconstruction.  Gradually, over time, some of the former slaves drifted away and, of coursed, others died. The company ultimately ended operations though much of the property remains intact. In both the records of the forge, and in the oral traditions of the black descendents, it appears that Daniel Brady was a fair and reasonable person who did a good job of managing the transition from slavery to freedom. His efforts, combined with those of his former slaves, allowed a certain stability to exist at Buffalo Forge during the reconstruction period.

Dew does not attempt to “white wash” the circumstances at Buffalo Forge at any time during its history. In reading his book, one is given pause many times to wonder “how could this have happened.” However, neither does he use his information to create an imaginary monster any greater than what legitimately existed. Slavery was a reality of life for several hundred years in America. It is clear that, no matter what its evils, there was an accommodation reached between owner and slave that allowed both to survive under its circumstances. It is very difficult for twenty-first century Americans to understand how such a condition could have existed. By presenting an honest and reasonable portrait of that life, during that time period, and at that location, he has brought us closer to an understanding than most available literature on the subject. I consider Bond of Iron to be a scholarly work of both integrity and frankness.

Gary J. Ohls

Bond of Iron.  Master and Slave at Buffalo Forge.  By Charles B. Dew.  (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1994.  Pp. 427.  ISBN 0-393-03616-2).

 Slavery encompassed more that just plantations and cotton. Throughout the South small manufacturing companies used mixes of slaves and free workers for their work force. One of the most interesting of these institutions was the iron works along the North River near Lexington, Virginia. The presence of abundant iron ore near the surface, of wood, charcoal, and coal to fuel and of water to cool the furnaces made feasible the production of crude pig iron.  However, the shortage of labor in the rural south necessitated the use of slaves in the iron works.

 The composition of the work force and labor relations was critical to the success of any commercial endeavor. A core of experienced ironworkers, most of whom were slaves, had to be complemented by white workers, subcontractors, and rented semiskilled slaves. At times of peak production, the owners employed over one hundred hired workers and seventy owned slaves. The owners traveled throughout the region renting excess slaves who could be used in the simple tasks of felling trees, digging ore, and laboring under the supervision of the experienced iron workers. The work was hard and slaves often complained to their masters who would then refuse to rent their valuable asset for the next year. The owners never satisfactorily resolved their labor shortages.

 In addition to the Buffalo forges, the owners maintained a complex of other iron forges, mines, wood lots, farms to produce food for the workers, a mercantile store to sell goods to the slaves, white workers and neighborhood, and transportation to move the ion to market, usually in Richmond. The ownership and management of these diverse enterprises needed the full cooperation of the family and of hired managers.

 The owners of this enterprise were William Weaver and a group of Pennsylvania investors whose Dunker religion staunchly opposed slavery. Nevertheless, the economic necessity of a stable skilled workforce made them reluctant slaveowners. Capital was a continuing problem.  As with any producer of a commodity, prices fluctuated from year to year. Costs remained high with the primitive facilities at the forge and the need for a pre-industrial large labor force.  Negro slaves rented for $25 a year excluding room and board.  Iron sold for $6-$8 a ton. The blast furnaces had to be stoked to a proper temperature and maintained at that level for prolonged periods.  The forges often cracked or needed repair.  As a consequence, iron production was intermittent and the finances of the complex of forges, farms, and mercantile operations always teetered on the edge of bankruptcy. The history of the economic operation of these iron works is one of continual financial impecunary, family squabbles, lawsuits, and acrimony.

 One of the focuses of the book is the slaves themselves. The extensive records and interviews with local descendants of the slave workers has allowed the author to construct an exhaustive study of the living conditions, accomadations and interactions between the slaves and their owners. Because of their skills, the Buffalo Forge slaves enjoyed an extraordinary amount of freedom. They could earn extra wages by working overtime or exceeding production goals. They used the excess income to purchase luxuries at the company store. They kept their families together and passed their skills down to their children.  Despite their enslavement, they negotiated a life similar to a feudal serf rather than a slave.

 The fortuitous survival of Weaver's meticulous records, the Freedman Bureau records, and a "home Journal" kept by a nephew documenting what each slave and worker was doing during each day allows an integrated look into a slave community's development. Slave-naming practices, accidents, epidemics, punishments, and the reaction to freedom are all chronicled in these records. Dew, a professor of southern history at Williams College, has assembled a readable compilation of the information and made a significant contribution to our knowledge of ante-bellum slave communities.
 

Texas Christian University

Watson Arnold