The Emancipation Proclamation freed only the slaves in disloyal states. While this immediately freed 20,000 or so, it left thousands more in bondage within the border states of Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky. Despite efforts by the Federal government to recruit black men into the army during the summer
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‘You Better Pray for the South to Win’ – The Slave Narrative of William M. Adams
William M. Adams was born enslaved to the Davis family in Texas. In an interview he gave in the late 1930s, he told of slave catchers, singing and dancing, and how white preachers told the slaves to pray that the South won the war. He also tells how the slaves
‘Children in Every Graveyard’ – Former Slave Laura Clark Talks About the Old Days
In this edition of our Voices of Slavery series, we hear from Laura Clark. Mrs. Clark was born enslaved in North Carolina. She never knew her father, who was sold when she was too young to remember him. Her mother, whom she can only recall in tears, was sold shortly
Isaac Green: ‘If a Slave was Scarred He Wouldn’t Bring as Much’
Isaac Green had been born a slave in 1856 at Greensboro, Georgia. He, his siblings and his mother were owned by Colonel Dick Willis. Col. Willis owned 150 slaves and ran a 3,000 acre plantation. who with his wife "Miss Sally" managed a plantation of 3,000 acres of
‘We’ll Make You Damn Niggers Wish You Wasn’t Free’ – Former Emmigrated Slaves Speak on the Ku Klux Klan throughout the South
After weeks of hearing from former slaves across the South, we've come to those who moved to new states following the war. By the 1930s, the time the interviews took place, they were living in Oklahoma, Ohio and Indiana. Formed in Tennessee in 1866, the Klan spread quickly to the
‘Yes Ma’am, They Done Some Devilment’ – Former Slaves Speak on the Ku Klux Klan in Arkansas (Part 3)
Once again, we'll hear tales of the Ku Klux Klan as told by former slaves living in Arkansas. As we work our way through the state, as in past weeks, we should take notice of how different many of these narratives are. Formed in Tennessee in 1866, the Klan spread
‘Weren’t Nothing But White Mens’ – Former Slaves Speak on the Ku Klux Klan in Arkansas (Part 2)
This week, we'll again hear tales of the Ku Klux Klan as told by former slaves living in Arkansas. Most interestingly, the narratives describe an overall different experience with the Klan than other states. Formed in Tennessee in 1866, the Klan spread quickly to the surrounding states, and then all
‘How They Died In Piles’ – Former Slaves Speak on the Ku Klux Klan in Arkansas (Part 1)
This week, we'll hear tales of the Ku Klux Klan as told by former slaves living in Arkansas. Most interestingly, the narratives describe an overall different experience with the Klan than other states. Formed in Tennessee in 1866, the Klan spread quickly to the surrounding states, and then all across
‘The Devil Took a Hand in the Mess’ – Former Slaves Speak on the Ku Klux Klan in South Carolina
Less than a year following the surrender of the Confederacy, six former Confederate officers gathered together in a second story law office in Pulaski, Tennessee. Forming the Ku Klux Klan, their intent was to "get up a club or society of some description." While their claimed intent was, at first,
Mollie Williams – ‘Pick Himself Out a Pair of Darkies’
Mollie Williams was eighty-three when she was interviewed in 1937. Though she was only eleven years old when abolition came, she recalled memories and songs from the days of slavery. Ms. Williams' story isn't too atypical for a former slave of her age. She attributes her young age to why