marchin'. I can see dey feets
now when dey flung dem up an' down, sayin', hep, hep. When dey was all
ready to go an' fight, de women folks fixed a big dinner. Aunt Charity
an' Pete cooked two or three days for Mis' Polly. De table was piled wid
chicken, ham, shoat, barbecue, young lam', an'all sorts of pies, cakes
an' things, but nobody eat nothin much. Mis' Polly an' de ladies got to
cryin.' De vittles got cold. I was so sad dat I got over in de corner
an' cried too. De men folks all had on dey new sojer clothes, an' dey
didn' eat nothin neither. Young Marse Jim went up an' put his arm 'roun'
Mis' Polly, his mammy, but dat made her cry harder. Marse Jim was a
cavalry. He rode a big hoss, an' my Uncle Dave went wid him to de fiel'
as his body guard. He had a hoss too so if Marse Jim's hoss got shot
dare would be another one for him to ride. Mis' Polly had another son
but he was too drunk to hold a gun. He stayed drunk.

De first cannon I heard skeered me near 'bout to death. We could hear
dem goin' boom, boom. I thought it was thunder, den Mis Polly say,
'Lissen, Sarah, hear dem cannons? Dey's killin' our mens.' Den she 'gun
to cry.

I run in de kitchen whare Aunt Charity was cookin an' tole her Mis'
Polly was cryin. She said: 'She ain't cryin' kaze de Yankees killin' de
mens; she's doin' all dat cryin' kaze she skeered we's goin' to be sot
free.' Den I got mad an' tole her Mis' Polly wuzn' like dat.

I 'members when Wheelers Cavalry come through. Dey was 'Federates but
dey was mean as de Yankees. Dey stold everything dey could find an'
killed a pile of niggers. Dey come 'roun' checkin'. Dey ax de niggahs if
dey wanted to be free. If dey say yes, den dey shot dem down, but if dey
say no, dey let dem alone. Dey took three of my uncles out in de woods
an' shot dey faces off.

I 'members de first time de Yankees come. Dey come gallupin' down de
road, jumpin' over de palin's, tromplin' down de rose bushes an' messin'
up de flower beds. Dey stomped all over de house, in de kitchen,
pantries, smoke house, an' everywhare, but dey didn' find much, kaze
near 'bout everything done been hid. I was settin' on de steps when a
big Yankee come up. He had on a cap an' his eyes was mean.

'Whare did dey hide do gol' an silver, Nigger?' he yelled at me.

I was skeered an my hands was ashy, but I tole him I didn' nothin' 'bout
nothin; dat if anybody done hid things dey hid it while I was sleep.

'Go ax dat ole white headed devil,'