From the WPA Slave
Narratives:
Henry Warfield Age 90
Henry Warfield who claims to be ninety years old says that "Negroes were used
by the Confederates long before they were used by the Union forces. Even
before the war they were used in all kinds of rough work and a large number of
these fought by the side of their masters or made it possible for the master
to fight."
Henry claims to have been at the battle of Fort Hill and he describes the
times as being terrible. He says, "Yes, I was right dere when Grant cut dat
ditch river canal right thru to one battleground and we couldn't do a thing
about it."
Henry's mind is rather blank as to what happened on the actual day but he
says, "There was lots of blood, plenty of noise, big fires, and crowds of
strange faces that he had not seen before."
Henry says his "eatings were scarce in those days prior to July 4, 1862. We et
mule meat, saltless pone bread, and drunk coffee made of oak and hickory bark
without sugar. Often we et raw meat, hogs, calves, or anything that we could
plunder and get and raw meat makes men mean. I have seen men after eating raw
meat pick up little children and shove dem gin a tree and bust em into. We
used to plunder and take things from men, but de Southern soldiers wouldn't
harm a chicken belonging to a 'widow woman' but would often steal things and
take to her.
"Times were harder then than now," said Henry, "but I was young and didn't
mind. Hit was fun fur me then to go with my marster and get a whole lot of
plunder fur de boys to eat.
"The people were not sad when the capture of the city took place as mothers
who had sons still in the army know that the war continued their sons would
either be wounded or slaughtered so they were glad to get over the worst day
of all. The slaves were glad to have the guns cease firing as they didn't know
yet what it meant to their freedom," said Henry.
Henry was born in Copiah County and was the slave of a planter called Wilson,
who brought him to Learned and sold him on the block when he was the age of
twelve years old. Henry pictures himself standing on a large oak block and
hearing the auctioneer cry, "What do I hear you bid fur this slave? A strong
well built slave, clean white teeth, shoulders like a good ox, healthy, clean
habits, a bargain, ladies and gentlemen. What do I hear, gentlemen? A fine
slave going fur what, sixty dollars? Who will say seventy? Seventy-five."
Going, going, gone, and Henry was sold.
Henry was bought by a small farmer named Matt Gray of Hinds County near Cherry
Grove, and when he was taken to the home of his new master he preferred every
kind of chore from cooking to pulling a plow in the fields. He says he has
been hitched to wagons and plows like a mule and had to pull heavy loads. But
he left the plow in the fields and went with his master to war at the age of
sixteen. When he left, his mistress bade him stick to his master's side. At
first they went to Atlanta, Georgia and then to Montgomery, Alabama, then
finally back to Vicksburg, Mississippi and it was at this point that his
master was wounded and Henry carries a scar on his left ankle where a shell
grazed him standing by his master's side. It was to him that a broken master
turned for help after the war and altho' he was free he did not fail him.
Henry says that on "Every plantation during slavery the Negroes had church on
Sunday and it was fur this cause a Negro leader or Preacher came forward, each
place had its own exhorter, as the law required a white man to be present at
every Negro meeting, an overseer passed by every now and then and looked in to
see what was being done. De people had religion in dem days. We uster speak
wid unknown tongues and we practiced signs until light shown in darkness. De
whole quarters would be so happy 'til us ud have to work hard de next day to
feel right. No maam, I didn't go back to de plow any more after de war. I
worked alright but my spirit was broken. When a man is a soldier he ain't fit
fur nothing else."
Henry cannot read or write but he can figure and it would be hard to fool him
on figures. He says he kept account of whut wages he and his wife made after
the war. He didn't always get the money but at least he knew whut he owned and
whut was owed to him. "I larned to count with pine-burrs. Every time I'd make
a dollar I'd go put a pine-burr in a large hole and every time I'd spend one
I'd take one out. I ain't got none left in de hole now. I got to takem em out
faster dan I could put dem in."
"My marster was reasonably good to me cause I was young and didn't think so
then, but I was never stripped and beaten and I got enough to eat, clothes to
wear, and a Doctor and medicine when I was sick. When I got free I couldn't
buy it.
The tales told in slavery time are unequaled. They told tales of animals and
dey doings. One story goes like dis:
"Once upon a time ole Brer Guinea was sitting on the bridge wid his head
tucked under his wing when along came old Brer Rabbit who said, 'Brer Guinea
where is yo head?'
"Brer Guinea said, 'Oh! I left it home so my wife could pick de boogers out of
it. You don't suppose I'se gwine stay home all day in order to git boogers
picked out of my head.'"
"'You mean to tell me you let your wife cut your head off and you ain't
dead.'"
"'You see me don't you," said Brer Guinea.'"
"So ole Brer Rabbit hopped on home and told his wife, 'Cut my head off and
pick de boogers out of it while I go down and swap a few wid de boys.' His
wife didn't want to do it but ole Brer Rabbit was allus mighty persistent so
at last his wife tuk de ax, hauled off and cut his head off and dat was de
last of ole Brer Rabbit."
"Once upon a time dere was an ole Negro woman dat hated fur de white folks to
ax her where she'd been. So one morning she got up real early and went off
before any white folks got up. When she was coming back she met a white woman
who said, 'Aunty, where are you going?'"
"The old woman said, 'Laud, chile I ain't gwine nowhere. I'se done been where
I was gwine.'" "Some folks is like dat. Dat is why some Negroes gits so quiet
in front of white folks and den dere is a crowd dat talks too much. Dey is
called running-off-at-de-mouth Negroes."
"Yes, just seventy-five years ago on this same Fourth of July the cry went up
dat Grant is tuc Vicksburg but he sho God tuc a big piece of woods on a big
hill and he show found mo dead men dan live ones and dey sho didn't find much
to eat and he found plenty flies and bugs in de place. Hit was said dat de
North and South hated each other so den dat a fly dat was on a Southern
soldier ud wear gray in his back and dem on a Northern soldier ud wear blue
(green) and one wouldn't light on de yother. Dem was pernacious times. I tell
you'll don't know nothing."
Henry Warfield and his old wife live together at 2200 Grove Street, Vicksburg.
He varies his tale according to his mood but I have tried to put it down just
as he told it to me.
Interviewer: Unknown
Transcribed by Ann Allen Geoghegan
Mississippi Narratives
Prepared by
The Federal Writer’s Project of
The Works Progress Administration
For the State of Mississippi
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"If you teach them where they come from, they won't need as much help finding where they are going!" Cordelia Carothers " Aunt Dee" Geoghegan (1894-1987)
Project Manager: Ann
Allen Geoghegan State Coordinator Assistant State Coordinators and
Transcriptionists: Ann Allen Geoghegan, Debbie Leftwich, and Rose Diamond and Linda Durr Rudd Banner designed by: Melissa McCoy-Bell Unknown worker photograph provided by L. Stephen Bell Photography, and family photo albums of Karen Schweikle, Lucy Gray and Jens Burkhart. Copyright © 2005-2008 by MSGenWeb Project. All rights reserved. |
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