Just as a legal quibble, because I'm that kind of person :-), I'd say she might not know about legal ownership, or might not care about making a precise distinction among slaves HE owned, slaves SHE owned, or slaves owned by her family ... if all of them were part of the same household. No reason why it would particularly matter to any of them, unless a sale or a will were immediately planned.
Who owns "my" van? The loan is in my name, the title is in my husband's name, it was purchased in a community property state ... doesn't matter, really, unless there's a death, divorce, sale, or default.
if what you say is truthful, rather than your usual self-serving, arrogant, pro-damnyankee propaganda, why are there NO TAX RECORDS of slave ownership in his county of residence in either the General's or his wife's name????
their complete Personal Property Tax returns are in the records, but alas for you & the other damnyankee propagandists there are NO SLAVES listed for ANY year.
the Commonwealth of Virginia ALWAYS taxed slaves as personal property each year, as did each of the counties, chartered cities & the several independent towns/townships. (FYI, chartered cities,towns & townships in VA are NOT a portion or political subdivision of the county in which the independent city/township is located.)
the short answer is that the concept/construct of "the general's slaves" are a PACK of LIES, dreamed up by the usual clique of southHATERS, liars & wishful thinkers. nothing more, nothing less.
free dixie,sw