Harper's Weekly Text
May 7, 1864, pp. 294 (2) – 295 (3)
Synopsis
One
night, a misshapen black man boards a naval sloop with information
that a Confederate ship is going to run the blockade the next
night. The naval men question the black man and discover that he
and his family, all free, live on a small island in the Altamaha
River. The Confederate sailors plan on having a celebration
before their ship leaves, so the black man and the naval officers
set up a trap. The next night, the naval officers surprise the
Confederates and, after a brief struggle, overpower them. The
black man then asks if the naval officers will take him, his
brother, and a runaway slave girl north with them. The black man
loves the runaway girl, who fled her master’s lewd designs, even
though he knows she loves his brother, not him. The naval
officers agree to help them, and one, a doctor, marvels at the
black man’s selflessness in aiding his rival and the object of his
unrequited love. |
History:
"The Slavery Question"
December 7, 1861,
p. 770 (2)
Military Background:
"In Dixie"
April 4, 1863,
p. 219 (4)
Illustrations:
"The Last Men at Beaufort, S.C."
November 30, 1861,
p. 768 (3-4)
"’Work Over’: Scenes Among the Beaufort Contrabands"
December 21, 1861,
p. 801 (1-4)
"Arrival
of a Federal Column at a Planter’s House in Dixie"
April 4, 1863,
p. 220 (1-4)
Commentary:
"The Old Story"
August 1, 1863,
p. 482
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