PATROL SYSTEM

PATROL SYSTEM Best described as a legal vigilance committee or as an adaptation of the militia, the patrol system was em­ployed by many southern counties to regularly make "tours of duty," scouring the countryside for runaway slaves and re­turning them to their owners as well as inspecting slave quarters to determine whether weapons were being stored for a possible rebellion. In those counties which used the patrol system, many whites found it more convenient to pay the small fine for not serving as a patrolman rather than complying with their "civic duty."