My mother used to say that when she was about fourteen years old, (That was about the time that the stars fell, and the stars fell in 1833 [HW:*].  So she must have been born in 1819.  In 1833, she was sold for a fourteen year old girl.  That was the only time that she ever was sold.  That left her about eighty-three years old when she died in 1903.) She used to say that when she was about fourteen years old, and was living in North Carolina in Mecklinburg Co, in Henderson County, that the white folks called all the slaves up to the big house and kept them there a few days.  There wasn’t no trouble on my mother’s place, but they had heard that there was an uprising among the slaves, and they called all the Niggers up to the house.  They didn’t do nothin’ to them.  They just called them up to the house, and kept them there.  It all passed over soon.  I don’t know nothin’ else about it.

Confederate Army Negroes

I’ve “heered” old Brother Zachary who used to belong to Bethel Church tell about the surrender.  Brother Zachary is dead now.  He was a soldier In the Confederate army.  He fought all through the war and he used to tell lots of stories about it.

You know, Lee was a tall man, fine looking and dignified.  Grant was a little man and short.  Those two generals walked up to each other with a white flag in their hands.  And they talked and agreed just when they would fight.  And then they both went back to their armies, and they fought the awfulest battle you ever “heered” of.  The men lay dead in rows and rows and rows.  The dead men covered whole fields.  And General Lee said that there wasn’t any use doing any more fighting.  General Grant let all the rebels keep their guns.  He didn’t take nothin’ away from them.

I saw General Grant when he came to Little Rock.  There was an old white man who had never been to Little Rock in his life.  He said “I just had to come up here to see this great general that they are talking about.”

Occupations

We always worked in the field in slave time.  I don’t know nothin about share cropping because I always did days work.  I used to get four and five dollars a week for washing.  But now they wants the young folks and they don’t pay them five dollars for everything.  I can’t get a pension.  Why you reckon they won’t give me one.  They don’t understand that that little house I own doesn’t even keep itself up.  My daughter-in-law is good to me but she needs everything she makes.  I can’t get much to do now, and what little I gets, they don’t pay me much for.

I don’ remember nothin’ else.

Interviewer:  Miss Irene Robertson
Person interviewed:  Jennie Washington, DeValls Bluff, Arkansas
Age:  80