*From record of a conversation in 1884*
--_Francois L. Diard, Mobile, Alabama_
_A SLAVE INTERVIEWS A SLAVE_
George Washington extolling the virtues of a plain, homespun
suit--granite-jawed Andrew Jackson defying the British at
Pensacola--horror and massacre at Alabama's old Fort Mims--savages
skulking near the fort, their bronzed bodies glistening in the hot
August sunlight.
These were among memories of parchment-skinned Uncle Tony Morgan, who
was interviewed on Oct. 1, 1884 by Jim Thomas, another slave, and a
record of the conversation held in the files of a family in Old Mobile,
Alabama. Uncle Tony was 105 years old then.
The story is told by Thomas, former slave of the Diard family. Uncle
Tony was the slave of Mobile Judge H. Toulmin, grandfather of the later
Judge H.T. Toulmin, who was appointed a judge by President Jefferson.
According to Jim Thomas, Uncle Tony told him:
"Did I knowed Gen'l Andrew Jackson? Lord bless you honey, why, I knowed
him and remember Gen'l George Washington afore him."
Uncle Tony explained that he accompanied General Jackson when the
war-loving Tennessean marched from Mobile against Pensacola in 1814. He
said he was serving as a wagoner, and remembered distinctly that the
British surrendered on November 6. He recalled that, during the battle,
Jackson was standing talking with a group of officers when an enemy
shell exploded near him.
"Move away, general," the old Negro quoted one of the officers as
saying, "they'll kill you!"
And Jackson replied in a characteristic manner:
"Damn 'em--I'll have 'em all in hell tomorrow!"
Concerning George Washington, Uncle Tony told Jim Thomas that the great
American leader visited the town of Frankfort, Ky., and while there made
an address. He wore a home-spun suit, which he pointed out as an example
of what people might do in utilizing their products.
Frankfort was highly excited when Washington arrived in the city, and
Uncle Tony told of a tiny urchin exclaiming with bitter disappointment
in his voice:
"Why, Pa, he ain't nothing but a man!"
Uncle Tony's memory of what occurred at Fort Mims was vivid, according
to Jim Thomas. The older slave related that he was one of many Negroes
in the fort at the time. He said the defenders had been sleeping off a
night of dissipation the morning William Weatherford's warriors
attacked.
Men, women and children were butchered in the ensuing slaughter and the
buildings were fired. The massacre continued until noon, Uncle Tony
said, when the Indians retreated with scalps and several Negro prisoners
to their camping site, called the Holy Ground. Here, the half-starved
Negroes lived in constant dread that they would be butchered by
war-inflamed Creeks.
Uncle Tony also recalled carrying the mail from Fort Stoddert, in
Alabama, through the State and Mississippi. On several occasions he
barely escaped being scalped by Indians, he said.
The old Negro related further that his father was a wagoner under
Cornwallis when that general surrendered to Washington at Yorktown.
Concerning his age and birthplace, Uncle Tony told Thomas he was born in
Danville, Ky., about 1779. He went to Mobile in 1805 with Judge Toulmin.
At the time of the interview the old slave was extremely feeble and
lame, and walked with the aid of a cane. His skin was dried and
wrinkled, and cataracts on his eyes had totally deprived him of his
sight. Despite these handicaps, however, Thomas said the old man's mind
was exceptionally clear, and his recollection of events occurring almost
a century before were remarkable.