Lots of mornings I would go out hours fore daylight and when it was cold my feet would 'most freeze. They all knew dey had to get up in de mornin'. De slaves all worked hard and late at night.
I heerd some say that the overseer would take dem to de barn. I remember Tom Lewis. Then his massa sold him to our massa he told him not to let the overseer whip him. The overseer said he would whip him. One day Tom did something wrong. The overseer ordered him to de barn. Tom took his shirt off to get ready for de whippin' and when de overseer raised de whip Tom gave him one lick wid his fist and broke de overseer's neck.
Den de massa sold Tom to a man by de name of Joseph Fletcher. He stayed with old man Fletcher til he died.
Fore de slaves were sold dey were put in a cell place til next day when dey would be sold. Uncle Marshall and Douglas were sold and I remember dem handcuffed but I never saw dem on de auction block.
I never knew nothin' bout de Bible til after I was free. I went to school bout three months. I was 19 or 20 years old den.
My uncle Bill heard dey were goin' to sell him and he run away. He went north and cum back after de surrender. He died in Bluemont, Virginny, bout four years ago.
After de days work dey would have banjo pickin', singin' and dancin'. Dey work all day Saturday and Saturday night those dat had wives to see would go to see dem. On Sunday de would sit around.
When Massa was shot my mother and dem was cryin'.
When Slaves were sick one of the mammies would look after dem and dey would call de doctor if she couldn't fix de sick.
I remember de big battle dey fought for four days on de plantation. That was de battle of Bull Run. I heard shootin' and saw soldiers shot down. It was one of de worst fights of de war. It was right between Blue Ridge and Bull Run mountain. De smoke from de shootin' was just like a fog. I saw horses and men runnin' to de fight and men shot off de horses. I heard de cannon roar and saw de locust tree cut off in de yard. Some of de bullets smashed de house. De apple tree where my massa was shot from was in de orchard not far from de house.