God and Man at Tuskegee

The Civil War was over. Rumors of some sort of drastic change had already drifted to the slaves on the rundown plantation in Franklin County Virginia. Still, none of the field hands or household slaves on the old estate were quite sure what to expect when word came from the master that, young and old, they were all to gather in front of the veranda of the “big house” to hear a message. One of the youngest slaves, a lad not yet in his teens, vividly remembered the scene years later:

In company with my mother, brother and sister I went to the master’s house .a stranger (a United States officer, I presume) made a little speech and then read a rather long paper—the Emancipation Proclamation.After the reading we were told that we were all free, and could go when and where we pleased. My mother, who was standing by my side, leaned over and kissed her children while tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She explained to us what it all meant, that this was the day for which she had been so long praying, but fearing that she would never live to see.

AB

About the Author

Aram Bakshian Jr.

Featured Tags

The Civil War was over. Rumors of some sort of drastic change had already drifted to the slaves on the rundown plantation in Franklin County Virginia. Still, none of the field hands or household slaves on the old estate were quite sure what to expect when word came from the master that, young and old, they were all to gather in front of the veranda of the “big house” to hear a message. One of the youngest slaves, a lad not yet in his teens, vividly remembered the scene years later:

In company with my mother, brother and sister I went to the master’s house .a stranger (a United States officer, I presume) made a little speech and then read a rather long paper—the Emancipation Proclamation.After the reading we were told that we were all free, and could go when and where we pleased. My mother, who was standing by my side, leaned over and kissed her children while tears of joy ran down her cheeks. She explained to us what it all meant, that this was the day for which she had been so long praying, but fearing that she would never live to see.