"Purty soon the war come an' dey was fightin' all around an' fust we went to Petersburg an' we left Petersburg when de Yankees started to shootin' shells in de city. An' we went to Pamplin in a box car to git out de way. An' ev'ybody was scared, 'cause you like to be kilt any minute by stray bullets. An' jes' before de shellin' of Petersburg dey was sellin' niggers fo' little or nothing hardly. I recollec' a friend of marsers, Julius Broadie, bought some niggers, but dey didn't stay slaves long 'cause the Yankees come an' set 'em free. While I was at Pamplin de Yankees an' Rebels was fightin' an' dey was wavin' de bloody flag an' a confederate soldier was upon a post an' dey was shootin' terribly. Guns was firin' ev'ywhere. All a sudden dey struck up Yankee Doodle Song, and soldier came 'long an' called to me, "How far is it to ole Rebels?" As I, Honey, was feared to tell him, so I said, "I don't know." He called me again. Scared to death I recolled gittin' behind de house an' pointed in de right direction. You see, if de Rebels knowed dat I told de soldier, dey would have kilt me. Dese was de Union men goin' after Lee's army which had don' bin [unclear: 'fore] dem to Appomattox. De colored regiment came up behind an' when dey saw de colored regiment dey put up de flag. (You 'member 'fe' dis red or bloody flag was up). How, do you know why dey raised [unclear: dat] white flag? Well, honey, dat white flag was a token dat Lee had surrendered. Glory! Glory! Yes, chile de niggers was free, an' when dey knowed dat dey was free dey began to sing:

Mary don't you cook no mo'
 You are free, you are free.
Rooster don't you crow no mo'
 You are free, you are free.
Ol' hen, don't you lay no mo eggs
 You free, you free, you free.

An' all de niggers rejoiced an' shouted all over de plantation 'cause dey was so glad dat dey was free at las'."