Slave No More

Description:

Slave narratives are extremely rare, with only 55 post-Civil War narratives surviving. A mere handful are first-person accounts by slaves who ran away and freed themselves. Now two newly uncovered narratives join that exclusive group. Handed down through family and friends, they tell gripping stories of escape: Through a combination of intelligence, daring, and sheer luck, the men reached the protection of occupying Union troops. Historian Blight prefaces the narratives with each man's life history. Using genealogical information, Blight has reconstructed their childhoods as sons of white slaveholders, their service as cooks and camp hands during the Civil War, and their climb to black working-class stability in the North, where they reunited their families. In the stories of Wallace Turnage and John Washington, we find portals that offer a rich new answer to the question of how four million people moved from slavery to freedom.

subjects: African Americans,  Biography,  Fugitive slaves,  History,  Slave narratives,  Slaves,  United States Civil War, 1861-1865,  Working class,  Fugitive slaves, united states,  African americans, biography,  Working class, united states,  United states, history, civil war, 1861-1865, african americans,  Slaves, united states,  New York Times reviewed,  Sklave

People: John Washington (1838-1916?),  John Washington (1838-1918),  Wallace Turnage (1846-1916)

Places: Fredericksburg,  Green County,  North Carolina,  United States,  Virginia

Times: Civil War, 1861-1865