Black History Month - Letter from a former slave

Black History Month

Day 7

Photo Source: Letters of Note

I read recently about a letter that was written in Aug 1865, The letter from Jourdan Anderson, a freed man, was a reply to a letter from Mr. Anderson's former master, Col P.H. Anderson. In the original letter, the Col is asking his former slave to return to work for him.

It's quite an interesting letter. I posted a portion of the letter and a link below. To find out who has the last word, click on it and read the entire letter all the way to the end!

Dayton, Ohio,

August 7, 1865

To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

Sir: I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon, and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again, promising to do better for me than anybody else can. I have often felt uneasy about you. I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin's to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living. It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again, and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther, Green, and Lee. Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to shoot me if he ever got a chance.

Read the entire letter here