Across the Great Divide: Book 3 The Founding

The man smiled, but his eyes did not. Handing Luther a paper, he said, “What you can do is get out of Indiana. We don’t want your kind here. I’m the sheriff and part of the Superintendent Board for the Colored just formed here in Madison. Maybe you can’t read that, but it says that you came into this state illegally, in violation of the Indiana constitution. You’re an escaped slave from Kentucky. War or no war, slavery is still legal in Kentucky, and unless you have freedom papers or permission from the state of Indiana to be here, you need to git! Someone recognized your wagon—you were at the riots in Evansville. The sheriff there sent me a wire. You’re a troublemaker. You fired a gun at white men. You slaves are just a bunch of escaped monkeys, trying to overrun us. You have twenty-four hours to get out of the state, or I’ll be back with chains and ship you to your owner in Kentucky.”

Did you know about “June tee nth?”

Granger read aloud the contents of “General Order No. 3”, announcing the total emancipation of those held as slaves: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.

Did you know… John Kemp?

Why Republicans did not vote is easily explained, by taking a glance at the weekly mortuary report of the Secretary of the Board of Health, which shows three white men and ten colored came by their death, either by gunshot or other wounds, in one week in this city, during which such a state of anarchy mob-law existed that the ordinary police authorities were powerless and the streets at night were patrolled by bands of self-appointed men, armed with all kinds of dangerous weapons, during which time no colored man or known Republican dared show themselves on the streets after dark.”

Did you know… Charity Adams?

Lt. Colonel Charity Adams was the first female black officer in the Women’s Air Corps (WAC). Charity Adams ( 5 December 1918 – 13 January 2002) Charity Adams was born in Kittrell, North Carolina, just north of Durham and Raleigh, … Continued