Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-04-25
Something About Negro contrabands.

Something About Negro Contrabands.
We who in war times made long
marches through the south remember
nothing more clearly than the negro
Coz traband"-the negro who seeing
"Marse Linkum's sogers" for the first
time, marched away with them for
liberty.
1t is yet wonder to me how the
negroes in the heart of the south
ever came to know anything about
Marse Linkum' and his sogers," es
pecially anything good about him
The poor fellows could not read the
papers, and if they could have done
so they would have found nothing in
them to give them a good opinion Of
the invading army of Yankees. And
all they heard from the white people
was intended to make every negro
as afraid of a Yankee soldier as lie
was Of the ''bOgy man" Yet for all
this the colored folks everywhere
, went all bat wild with joy at the
sight of the stars and stripes and an
army in blue. They had definite no
tions concerning President Lincoln
and his feeling toward them, and we
heard over and over again as we
marched along, de Lawd bless Marse
Linkum. bress Marse Iinkum!"
We had always with us an army Of
these people who, seeing us, left all
to follow Us. Many started off with
out an extra garment Or a blanket
just sacrificed everything for a chance
somehow, somewhere to be free.
will refer to my diary of events on
what was known as the Meridian
Expedition" 1t was a march from
near Vicksburg straight east across
the state of Mississippi to Meridian
and back. The distance covered was
a little more than 400 miles. We
started February 3, 1864, and were
gone just a month
On our way out, even before reach
ing Jackson we had been joined by
hundreds of negroes who seemed to
think that to go with US meant to be
free There We're bright young darby
boys, bashfuI 16-year-Old girls, stout,
middle aged men and women and de-
crepit old people almost ready for the
freedom of the grave; there were
mothers with half a dozen children
stepladdered between babyhOOd and
eight or ten years of age; there were
crippled people being helped along
the road by hose anxious to take this
chance for liberty, but who would not
leave the grandfather or grandmother
behind to die alone, We saw more
than one mother carrying two chill
dren while one or more besides chung
to her skirts
One day we overlook a queer con
veyanCe 1t was a riCkety, two
wheeled old cart with rough rails for
to a single yoke on an old OK On the
cart was a loose frame intended for a
box. In this, sitting amidst pile Of
dirty old rags, there was a little
white-haired, shriveled-up negro. With
both hands he was grasping one of
his legs just below the knee and hold
ing it up to ease il from the Earring
motion of the cart; and we noticed
that his foot had lately been cut off
The bone at the stump seemed nearly
bare. 1t was a wretched sight, not
soon to be forgotten, yet in one sense
ludicrOus.
The cart was in the road and we
had to march around it, The boys
shouted, in full chorus, ''Haw. Buck!
Gee, Buck" and Whoa, Buck" until
poor old Buck was confused. So he
stopped and stood gazing in stupid
wonder on the passing crowd. In
charge af this queer old gO-cart there
were three buXom negro girls One
was en- the nigh" side, another on
the off" while the other was behind,
ready either to push or lend hand in
caring for the poor, aching stump of
the old mans leg on the cart. The
girls bashfuIly grinned and giggled at
the jokes of the passing men, but
gave now and then an anxious glance
at the old man in the cart; and tried.
by punching the old OK in the ribs, to
get a move upon their part of the
procession.
These poor people were 'goin' wild
Marse Linkum's sogers to be free. -
What became of them we never
knew. I do not know, in fact, that
the old OK ever started from that
spot 1t is certain that they found
little of romance in that manner of
going to be free. and I doubt not they
suffered more in their ill-advised es-
capade than they ever lid in bond
age.
These cOlored folks left their mas.
tiers and went with us with little
thought Of what they should eat OF
drink, Or wherewithal they should be
clothed; they took with them only the
simple faith that somehow, some
where "Marse Lipkum" could and
would make it all right, and blessed
be the memory of Marse Linkum!
He did do all in his power to make
things right. Had he been able t
prevent it, not a black man would
have suffered any hardship not com
mon TO free men. "Marse Linkum'
could not reach out from his great
heart and take away the burden from