| George Conrad was an enslaved person on a 900 acre farm in Kentucky. His father enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. In this excerpt, Mr. Conrad describes his father enlisting with the other males who were enslaved on the plantation. He also tells a tale of the enslaved hiding and protecting their enslaver when Union troops raided the plantation. |
Excerpt:
There were 14 colored men working for old Master Joe and 7 women. I think it was on the 13th of May, all 14 of these colored men, and my father, went to the Army. When old Master Joe come to wake them up the next morning–I remember he called real loud, Miles, Esau, George, Frank, Arch, on down the line, and my mother told him they’d all gone to the army. Old Master went to Cynthiana, Kentucky, where they had gone to enlist and begged the officer in charge to let him see all of his boys, but the officer said “No.” Some way or another he got a chance to see Arch, and Arch came back with him to help raise the crops.
. . . When my father went to the army old Master told us he was gone to fight for us n******’ freedom. My daddy was the only one that come back out of the 13 men that enlisted, and when my daddy came back old Master gave him a buggy and horse.
When the Yanks come, I never will forget one of them was named John Morgan. We carried old Master down to the barn and hid him in the hay. I felt so sorry for old Master they took all his hams, some of his whiskey, and all they could find, hogs, chickens, and just treated him something terrible.
| Interviewee Formerly enslaved person | Birth Year (Age) | Interviewer WPA Volunteer | Enslaver’s Name |
| George Conrad, Jr. | 1860 (77) | Unknown | Joe Conrad |
| Interview Location | Residence State | Birth Location |
| Oklahoma City, OK | Oklahoma | Harrison County, Kentucky |
| Themes & Keywords | Additional Tags: |
| Civil War | First person, Union troops, |
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