Charlie Giles
From:
South Carolina
Project 1885-1
FOLKLORE
Spartanburg Dist. 4
May 31, 1937
Edited by:
Elmer Turnage
STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES
"I was Capt. Jack's body-guard in during de whole entire war. I means
Capt. Jack Giles, his own self. And I is pushing close to a hundred. Dey
used to make likker in de holler down on Dr. Bates' place deep in de
forest. De soldiers would drink by de barrels. Mr. Will Bates, Dr.
Bates' son, helped me out of skimage one time.
"Don't never go in no war, 'less you is gwine to give orders like my
marse Jack. Dat is, onless you is gwine to act as body-guard. Time of de
war, old man Sammy Harmon had a state still. He never sold no likker to
no private. De bluecoats, dey blockade Charleston and Savannah. Miss
Janie couldn't get no spices fer her cakes, neither could she get no
linen and other fine cloth fer her 'dornment. Couldn't nothing get by
dat blockade. So Mr. Sammy, he make de likker by de barrels. Dem dat had
wagins come and fotch it off, as many barrels as de mules could draw,
fer de soldiers. I drunk much as I wanted. De drum taps say, 'tram
lam-lam, following on de air. De sperrits lift me into a dance, like
dis, (he danced some) 'cept I was light on my foots den--atter I had
done drunk, anyhow.
"De sharp-shooters got atter me one day. Mr. Dewey, one of de rangers,
sent fer de cannon balls. Dese run de bluecoats.
"I went to Petersburg wid Capt. Douglas, dat Miss Janie's second
husband. Our train went dat fast, dat it took my breaf away. But de cars
goes much faster, gwine to Patter-a-rac now.
"All de picket-men had dogs. Lots of de soldiers had niggers wid dem. At
night in de camp when de Yankees would come spying around, de dogs would
bark. De niggers would holler. One Confederate officer had a speckledy
dog that could smell dem Yankees far off. When de Yankees got dare,
everything was ready. When us want information fer direction and time,
all us had to do was to look up through de pines fer it.
"One song I remembers is, 'would like to catch-a feller looking like
me'. Another was, 'I feel as happy as a big sun-flower.' (Charlie can
sing them both, and dance accompaniment.)
"At Petersburg, April 1863, de Yankees act like dey was gwine to blow
everything up. I crawl along de ground wid my Marster, and try to keep
him kivered as best as I could. Us reached Chica-hominy River and go
over to Petersburg. Den dey blow up Richmond. De river turn to blood
while I was looking at it. De cannons deafened me and I has been hard of
hearing ever since. Some de blue tails clumb de trees when us got atter
dem.
"Next time I'se gwine to tell you about deserters and refugees. Ain't
nobody got no business in automobiles 'cept lawyers, doctors, and
fools."
=Source:= Charlie Giles, Rt. 3, Box 274, Union, S.C.
Caldwell Sims, Union, S.C. 2/8/37.
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