te House floor
one night and a Negro named Douglas remained in his presence. In the
beginning of the War the Negroes who enlisted in the Union Army were
given freedom, also the wives, and the children who were not married.

Another problem that was facing the North at this time was that the men
who were taken from the farm and factory to the army could not be
replaced by the slaves and production continued in the North as was
being done in the south. Not all Negroes who wanted to join the Union
forces were able to do so because of the strict watchfulness of their
masters. The slaves were made to fight in the southern army whether they
wanted to or not. This lessened the number of free Negroes in the
Northern army. As a result Lincoln decided to free all Negroes. That was
the decision he made the night he walked the White House floor. This was
the old darkey's story of the conditions that brought about the
Emancipation Proclamation. Freeing the Negroes was brought about during
the Civil War but it was not the reason that the war was fought, was the
unusual opinion of this Negro. "Uncle Billy's" father joined the Union
army at the Taylor Barracks, near Louisville, Ky., which was the Camp
Taylor during the World War. Uncle Billy's father and mother and their
children who were not married were given freedom. The old slave has kept
the papers that were drawn up for this act.

The old darkey explained that the Negro soldiers never fought in any
decisive battles. There must always be someone to clean and polish the
harness, care for the horses, dig ditches, and construct parapets. This
slave's father was at Memphis during the battle there.

The Slaughter family migrated to Jeffersonville in '65. Billy was then
seven years old. At that time there was only one depot here--a freight
and passenger depot at Court and Wall Streets. What is now known as
Eleventh St. was then a hickory grove--a paradise for squirrel hunters.
On the ridge beginning at 7th and Mechanic Sts. were persimmon trees.
This was a splendid hunting haven for the Negroes for their favorite
wild animal--the o'possum. The ridge is known today as 'Possum Ridge.
The section east of St. Anthony's Cemetery was covered in woods. Since
there were a number of Beechnuts, pigeons frequented this place and were
sought here. One could catch them faster than he could shoot them.

At this time there were two shipyards in Jeffersonville--Barmore's and
Howard's. Barmore's ship