reached the plantation, the slaves
followed the progress with keen interest and when battles were fought
near Columbus, and firing of guns was heard, they cried joyfully--"It
ain't gonna be long now." Two of their master's sons fought in the
Confederate Army, but both returned home before the close of the war.
One day news came that the Yankee soldiers were soon to come, and Walton
began to hide all valuables. The slaves were sent to the cemetery to dig
very deep graves where all manner of food was stored. They were covered
like real graves and wooden slabs placed at either end. For three days
before the soldiers were expected, all the house servants were kept busy
preparing delicacies with which to tempt the Yankees and thus avoid
having their place destroyed. In spite of all this preparation, they
were caught unawares and when the "blue coats" were seen approaching,
the master and his two sons ran. The elder made his way to the woods;
the younger made away on "Black Eagle" a horse reputed to run almost a
mile a minute. Nearly everything on the place was destroyed by these
invaders. One bit of information has been given in every interview where
Northern soldiers visited a plantation, they found, before coming,
whether the Master was mean or kind and always treated him as he had
treated his slaves. Thus Mr. Walton was "given the works" as our modern
soldiers would say.

When the war ended the slaves were notified that they were free. Just
before Rhodus' family prepared to move, his mother was struck on the
head by a drunken guest visiting at the "big house." As soon as she
regained consciousness, the family ran off without communicating with an
elder sister who had been sold to a neighbor the previous year. A year
later, news of this sister reached them through a wagoner who recognized
the small boys as he passed them. He carried the news to the family's
new residence back to the lost sister and in a few weeks she arrived at
Cuthbert to make her home with her relatives.

For the past 9 years Rhodus has been unable to work as he is a victim of
a stroke on his left side; both sides have been ruptured, and his nerves
are bad. He attributes his long life to his faith in God.

[HW: Dist. 5
Ex-slave #111
(Ross)]

AN ACCOUNT Of SLAVERY RELATED BY WILLIAM WARD--EX-SLAVE
[Date Stamp: 10-8-1937]

In a small one-room apartment located on one of Atlanta's back streets
lives William Ward, an ex-slave, whose physical a