Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1904-12-17

.ooAtey <Ahu tIiS tTuS6 was never y1OlaG-
ed. They were their faithful guardians,
their sympathizing friends, and their
shrewd advisers guarding their proper
ty, enduring necessary denial with
cheerfulness, and identifying Them
selves with their masters fortunes with
the devotion not of slaves, but of clans.
men.
The devotion Of the body. servants to
their masters in the field is too we'll
known almost to need mention, and
what is said of them in this paper is
owing rather to the feeling that the
statement OF the fact is a debt due TO
the class from which these came than Co
thinking 1T necessary to enhgbten the
reader.
When the Southern men went into
the He'd there was always a contest
among the Negroes as to who should
accompany them. Usually, the choice
of the young men would be for some of
the younger men among the servants.
while the choice of the family would be
Tor some of the older and more staid
members of the household, who would
be prudent, and thus more likely to take
better care of their masters. And thus
there was much heart burning among
the younger Negroes, who were almost
as eager for adventure as their masters.
OF all the thousands of Negroes who
went out as servants with their masters.
have never heard of one who deserted
to the North, and / have known of
many who had abundant opportunity
to do so. Some were captured, but es-
iped, others apparently deserted, but
returned laden with spoIls.
Mr.. PAGE cites an instance:
My fathers body-servant, Ralph
Woodson, served with him throughout
the entire war. While at Petersburg.
where the armies we're within a mile of
eac h other, he was punished for getting
drunk and he ran away. But instead of
making for the Union lines which ecould
easily have done and surrendered to a
Union picket, he started for home sixty
miles away. He was, however arrested
as straggler or runaway, and my faith
er, hearing of him, sent and brought
him back to camp, where he remained
to the end.
And still another:
An even more notable instance
which has come to my knowledge was
that of Simon, the servant Of a friend of
mine. He disappeared from camp dur
ing the Spottsylvania campaign and
just when his master had given him up,
he reappeared with "a sack full of all
sorts CT things useful, for the mess.
which he declared "dem gent linens on
the other side had gin him" He had
Borrowed of the Egyptians.
He makes an Acknowledgement and
in his confusion leaves the impression
that a southerner was more careful, of
the safety of his Negro than he was of
his off -spring-a rather absurd conclu.
sion. In this, Mr.. PAGE attempts to
prove too much. But here is what he
says:
The letters and annals of the time are
full of references TO the singular, but
then well-known fact, that while the
people of the South gave their sons low
fully TO the cause, thew were most un-
willing to allow their Negroes to go.
The reason for this has heen mu,h mis-
apprehended. 1t mas been generally
supposed outside that it was because
they were afraid TO lose their properrv
Nothing could be more unfounded.
they were afraid their servants might
be hurt or suffer some harm.
Fathers who wrote their sons to be
always at the post of honor, would write
them explicit directions how to keep
their servants out of danger. The war
III some way was concerned with the
perpetuation Of slavery, and it was felt
that 1T was not just to expose slaves to
danger, when such was the case.
Something of this same feeling PLAYED
It's part in the decision not to enlist Ne
groes in the army of the Oonfederacy.
In the field they showed both cour-
age and sagacity, and many are the in
stances In which, when their masters
were wounded and left on the field, thew
hunted for them. The records of the
time are full of such instances.
1t should be remembered that these
were the Negroes of the "house-
servant" class who. as a rule, were bet.
ter treated than many Of the "poor
whites Of Dixie" Button help those
of the "corn-field Glass;
But why should Mr.. THOMAS NELSON
PAGE in the face of the tribute he has
paid us deny to us the fundamental
rights guaranteed by our laws?
If we protected the wives and chill
dren, and made light the burden of de-
feat. following the men to the battle
fields, and in the midst of carnage and
death brought back the dead to the
homestead, and nursed the wounded
back to health, why should we be de-
MED the right to vote and the right to
in holding office in this
great government of ours?
Why should the siren voice of the
tempter, TILLMAN and the wall of the
monster, VARDAMAN be permitted to
our cause by the withholding
from us in Mississippi, education and
in South Carolina, common law priv
lleges?
These questions demand an answer.
Why should the distinguished son of
old Virginia, Mr.. THOMAS NELSON
PAGE, a gentleman who has been nurs-
ed by Negro nanny, played with by
the Negro butler, who, no doubt many
a time placed the glass of Virginia