Civil War Washington

To the Commissioners appointed under the act of Congress approved April 16, 1862, entitled "An act for the release of certain persons held to service or labor in the District of Columbia."

Your Petition of Sarah E. King, of Georgetown, D.C. respectfully shews​ that she is a person loyal to the United States, who, at the time of the passage of the said act of Congress, held a claim to the service and labor of certain persons of African descent, as her slaves for life, who, by said act, were discharged from said claim; that said persons are of the names, ages & description and values following, viz; Mary Chase, mulatto, aged about sixty four years, four feet nine inches in height, of the value of one hundred and fifty dollars; Rachel [Coquire?] , mulatto, aged about twenty eight years, about five feet in height, of the value of six hundred dollars; Selina [Coquire?] , mulatto, twenty four years of age, about five feet three inches in height, of the value of one thousand dollars; Mary [Coquire?] , mulatto aged seven years, about four feet high, of the   value of three hundred dollars; John [Coquire?] , bright mulatto, aged five years, about three feet high, of the value of three hundred dollars; and Annette [Coquire?] , bright mulatto, aged two years and five months, about two feet high, of the value of one hundred and fifty dollars; that your Petitioner acquired said claim by purchase from the administrators of her father, to whom said slaves had always belonged, and said claim, when discharged, was of the value of twenty five hundred dollars in money; that said Rachel is probably worth more than the amount above stated, as her value, but as she broke her arm when a child, your Petitioner states her value somewhat below its true amount considering the work she is capable of performing and the wages she has brought; and that with this exception, she knows of no defect, mental, moral or physical, tending to impair the value of said slaves.

Your Petitioner hereby declares that she bears true and faithful allegiance to the government of the United States   and that she has not borne arms against the United States during the present rebellion, nor in any way given aid or comfort thereto; that she has not brought said slaves into the District of Cola since the passage of said act, but held them therein, at said dates, as her slaves for life, nor does her claim to them originate in any transfer by anyone who has in any manner aided or sustained the present rebellion