Hi Candace,

I'm sure that others on this board can give you a better explanation, but a "contraband" is a slave who fled from slavery to the protection of the Union Army Camps during the Civil War. The Union Army refered to these refugees as contraband, I suppose in reference to their status a property. At some point during the war, some of the conntraband joined the war effort to fight for their own freedom. So it's possible that the complexion reference is not to skin color, but to their status as former slaves who fled to the Union Army and then joined the fight.

Good Luck,

Lee