Laura Steward, who was a slave in a Baptist preacher's family in Augusta told some interesting things about slave sales here: "Slaves were sold at the Augusta market, in spite of what white ladies say." She stated that there was a long house with porches on Ellis between 7th and 8th, where a garage now stands. In this building slaves were herded for market. "Dey would line 'em up like horses or cows," said Laura, "and look in de mouf at dey teef; den dey march 'em down togedder to market in crowds, first Tuesday sale day."
Old Mary used to live on the Roof plantation with her mother, while her father lived on a nearby plantation. She said her father tried for a long time to have his owner buy his wife and children, until finally, "One day Mr. Tom Perry sont his son-in-law to buy us in. You had to get up on what they called the block, but we just stood on some steps. The bidder stood on the ground and called out the prices. There was always a speculator at the sales. We wus bought all right and moved over to the Perry place. I had another young marster there. He had his own hands and didn't sell them at all. Wouldn't none of us been sold from the Roof place, except for my father beggin' Mr. Perry to buy us, so we wouldn't be separated."
Susannah Wyman of the Freeman plantation in South Carolina said, "Once de Marster tried to sell my brudder and anodder youngster fer a pair o' mules, and our Mistis said, 'No! You don' sell my chillun for no mules!' And he didn't sell us neider. They never sold anybody off our plantation. But people did sell women, old like I am now—or if they didn't have no chillun. The fus' spec-lator come along and wants to buy 'em, he kin have 'em. De Marster say, 'Bring me han's in. I want han's!'"
Eugene Smith, who used to belong to Mr. Steadman Clark of Augusta said, "I read in the papers where a lady said slaves were never sold here in Augusta at the old market, but I saw 'em selling slaves myself. They put 'em up on something like a table, bid 'em off just like you would do horses or cows. Dere wus two men. I kin recollect. I know one was call Mr. Tom Heckle. He used to buy slaves, speculatin'. The other was name Wilson. They would sell a mother from her children. That's why so many colored people married their sisters and brothers, not knowin' till they got to talking 'bout it. One would say: 'I remember my grandmother,' and another would say, 'that's my grandmother!' Then they'd find out they were sister and brother."
WAR MEMORIES
Most of the ex-slaves interviewed were too young to have taken any part in war activities, though many of them remembered that the best slaves were picked and sent from each plantation to help build breastworks for the defense of Waynesboro. On some places the Yankees were encamped and on others the southern soldiers were entertained.
"De Yankees come through de plantation on Sunday," said Hannah Murphy, a former slave on a Georgia plantation. "I'll never forgit dat! Dey wus singin' Dixie, 'I wisht I wus in Dixie, look away!' Dey wus all dress in blue. Dey sot de gin house afire, and den dey went in de lot and got all de mules and de horses and ca'y 'em wid 'em. Dey didn't bother de smoke house where de food wuz, and dey didn't tek no hogs. But dey did go to de long dairy and thowed out all de milk and cream and butter and stuff. Dey didn' bother us none. Some o' de cullard folks went wid de Yankees. De white folks had yeared dey wuz comin' and dey had lef'—after de Yankees all gone away, de white folks come back. De cullud folks stayed dere a while, but de owners of de place declaimed dey wuz free, and sont de people off. I know dat my mother and father and a lot o' people come heah to Augusta."
Old Tim, from a plantation in Virginia, remembers when Lee was fighting near Danville, and how frightened the negroes were at the sound of the cannon. "They cay'd the wounded by the 'bacco factory," he said, "on de way to de horspittle."
The northern troops came to the William Morris plantation in Burke County. Eliza Morris, a slave, who was her master's, "right hand bough" was entrusted with burying the family silver. "There was a battle over by Waynesboro," Eliza's daughter explained to us. "I hear my mother speak many times about how the Yankees come to our place." It seems that some of the other slaves were jealous of Eliza because of her being so favored by her master. "Some of the niggers told the soldiers that my mother had hidden the silver, but she wouldn' tell the hidin' place. The others were always jealous of my mother, and now they tried to made the Yankees shoot her because she wouldn' tell where the silver was hidden. My mother was a good cook and she fixed food for the Yankees camped on the place, and this softened the soldiers' hearts. They burned both the plantation houses, but they give my mother a horse and plenty of food to last for some time after they left."
"What did your mother do after the war?" we asked.