William Gaines (1824–1865) was a freed slave, minister, and community representative in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. He was one of the church leaders who met with the Secretary of War and Major General

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

in Savannah in April 1865, three months after the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

.Minutes
of an interview between the colored ministers and church officers at Savannah with the Secretary of War and Major General Sherman, Headquarters of Major General Sherman in the City of Savannah, Georgia January 12, 1865 at 8 p.m. available online at the Freedmen & Southern Society Project Gaines was born into slavery in

Wilkes County, Georgia Wilkes County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,593. The county seat is the city of Washington. Referred to as "Washington-Wilkes", the county seat and co ...

. He was owned by

Robert Toombs Robert Augustus Toombs (July 2, 1810 – December 15, 1885) was an American politician from Georgia, who was an important figure in the formation of the Confederacy. From a privileged background as a wealthy planter and slaveholder, Toomb ...

, who served in the U.S. Senate, and his brother Gabriel Toombs. Gaines was freed by the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

. Gaines was a preacher at the Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) Church (Andrew's Chapel). He later moved to the A.M.E. church with split off over the issue of slavery. As of 1865, he had ministered for 16 years and was 41 years old. Fellow A.M.E. church leader and bishop Wesley John Gaines was his brother. He was involved in the foundation of Jackson Chapel, and family members have continued to live in the area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaines, William 1824 births 1865 deaths 19th-century American slaves People from Wilkes County, Georgia