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| Colonial Slave Letters Tell Story
of Paul Revere by Samia A
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l775 April 02
To My Dearest Friend Ann,
Today was a very hard day. In the morning I made johnnycakes for
my master’s family and got the children ready for school. I
cleaned the house and did the children’s laundry, and I had to make the
main meal by the afternoon for the master and his wife. I made
corn, chicken, and mutton. The children came home from school and I had
to make a different meal for the children. Today is Friday, so I
am making fish. Friday is my masters family day because it is
their favorite day to eat fish. My master’s wife always loves the
way I cook the fish.
Then I had to do some housework. This morning when I was cleaning the
house I overheard the master talking to his friend Paul Revere and he
said that the colonists are mad at King George III. One of the
reasons is that there are thousands of Lobsterbacks in Boston right
now. My master and his friend don’t want the Redcoats there. They
don't believe that the British soldiers should be in Boston, and
because of this they are ready to protest.
I have noticed that everyone seems upset with King George lll.
Another reason the colonists are mad is because King George lll is
making the colonists pay taxes. My master and Paul Revere work
together (they are both silversmiths) and they are both angry at the
British. My master is very worried about starting war. This
makes me feel the same way as he, worried because I don't a war to
start either.
Being from Senegal, I am not very happy here in Boston. I miss my
family, especially my sister and brothers. One of my
brother works in a ship building company here in Boston, but I rarely
get to see him. My sister is also a slave, so I get to see her
occasionally at the market. The other brother, who was working as
a lumber slave, got sick with yellow fever and died last year. We
miss him so much. The hardest part about being a slave is that I cant
spend time with my sister and brother. In Africa, we used to play
outside all day long. Our parents got captured and their captors
separated them from us. I don't even know if they are
alive. Hope you write back soon.
Love always,
Mary
l775 April 17
To My Dearest Friend Ann,
When I woke up I made my masters family breakfast. I woke up the
children to eat corn muffins for breakfast and to get them to dress for
school. After getting the children ready I started to clean the house
and I
overheard my master talking to a patriot about what happened to Paul
Revere during his ride. I heard my master talking to his friend and he
was really mad. That night what had happened was that Mr. Revere was
caught by the
British soldiers in Lexington. They got him and they got his
horse as Mr. Revere was trying to help his friend. He had to cross the
stone walls because they took his horse. That night Paul Revere
had to go and find John Hancock and Samuel Adams to tell them that the
British soldiers were coming. That night when Paul got
caught, my master helped put the lanterns 1 by the land and 2
by sea if the Redcoats were coming. His friends got to
Lexington and they fell a sleep, but Samuel Adams and John
Hancock woke up. Paul Revere told them that the British were
coming, and that they had to leave immediately.
Love always,
Mary
l775 April 25
To My Dearest Friend Ann,
This morning I cleaned the house and did the children's laundry. When I
was done I thought I should go to the market. My master gave me
five shillings to buy some vegetables. I saw one of the slaves
from another household. Even though I am not allowed to talk to
other slaves when I am working, I asked her if she knew what was going
on. She told me that there was a fight at Lexington and
Concord. She told me that there was gun fire and people were
killed. She told me that it was the beginning of a war. She knew
all this because her master came home and told his wife about it.
Their slave, my friend, overheard this information. I feel
worried about the war and what is going to happen.
That afternoon when I came from the market I was thinking about what
was going to happen. But I was thinking if the my master knows about
the war beginning. In the morning when I had breakfast and
while the family was eating someone came and talked to the master and
my masters face changed. Then I thought he learned about the war
beginning, then the man was gone. Then my master was talking to his
wife and his wife was worried and that time I was thinking that I
should going to the market and see Sarah. If she is going to be there
because I want to know if the war was going bad and how people were
killed. I thought I should just wait for another person to come and
talk to the master and come with other information.
love always,
Mary. |
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Historical References:
Broide,Marian. Projects About Colonial life. New york:
Marshall Cavendish corporation, 2004
Day Nancy. Colonial American Minnesota: Runestone Press, 2001
Hakim. From Colonies To Country. New Zork: Wendy Frost Frist edition
produced 2003.
Hanper, Douglas.www.Slave In The North. www.Slavenorth.com
apirl 6,2006
Swann,Wrinht Dianne. Footstep African American History:
Colonial Slavery. New Hampshire: Cobblestone Publishing Co,2002.
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Historical Terms
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Patriot
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Loyalist
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slave
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tax
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Lobsterback
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protest
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About the Historian
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Hi I am Samia,
and I like to play basketball and I like to read and help my mom. At
home I cook and clean, and take care of my baby
brothers. I like to draw. Sometimes I like to listen to music
and look
out of the
window. I like to tell stories with my sisters and brother or
hangout with my friends.
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