I Was Born a Slave: An Anthology of Classic Slave Narratives, Volume 1: 1772-1849

805 Pages·1999·5.694 MB·English

by  Yuval Taylor, Charles Johnson

818-CRP/Slave cvr~vol1_818-CRP/Slave cvr~vol1 2/9/11 12:56 PM Page 1
$21.00 T H E L I B R A RY O F B L A C K A M E R I C A THE LIBRARY OF T H E L I B R A RY O F B L A C K A M E R I C A
BLACK AMERICA
E
R “Some of the most incisive descriptions of slavery came from the
U
AT pens of those who experienced it firsthand. . . . This anthology of the I
R
E twenty best slave narratives will be of inestimable value to anyone
T
LI interested in American history.”—JAMES M. MCPHERSON W
/
Y
R
O “Mr. Taylor has brought together very conveniently a mass of rare
T
IS and fascinating material by slave authors, and his book will surely be a
H
N of enduring value. We should all be grateful to him.”—HUGH THOMAS s
A
C
I
R “In this outstanding collection, Yuval Taylor places before us slave nar- B
E
M ratives that captured the complexities of this very Peculiar Institution
A

N and created a powerful literary tradition. . . . No American’s education o
A
C can be called complete if these works are missing from his understand-
RI r
F ing. . . . On these pages you will find adventure, ingenious escapes,
A n
humor (yes, that is here too), and the full, ambiguous range of the
human spirit, its darkness and breathtaking triumphs. You will find, in

a word, our collective stories as Americans.”
a
—CHARLES JOHNSON, from his foreword

Over 120 autobiographies of ex-slaves were published as books or S
pamphlets between the mid-eighteenth and early twentieth cen- VOLUME ONE
l
turies; all subsequent African American literature is descended a I Was 1772–1849
from these seminal works. I Was Born a Slavecollects the twenty most sig-
v
nificant slave narratives and arranges them chronologically in two volumes James Albert
to form a mini-library of essential black writing. This unprecedented anthol- e Ukawsaw Gronniosaw
ogy presents the narratives unabridged, providing each one with helpful
Olaudah Equiano
introductions and annotations, to make up the most comprehensive volume
(Gustavus Vassa)
ever assembled on the lives and writings of the slaves.
An Anthology
Born a
of Classic Slave William Grimes
The narratives in this volume include tales of Africa, pirate ships, wild ani-
Narratives
mals, and witches; a slave who had ten owners, and another who led a rebel- Nat Turner
lion that killed fifty-five whites; the kidnapping of a white woman and her
Charles Ball
rescue by a slave; the nightmarish tortures of the infamous Mr. Gooch;
the tragicomic experiences of a pair of “white slaves”; and the story of the Moses Roper
“original Uncle Tom.”
Slave Frederick Douglass
YUVAL TAYLOR has been involved in publishing books on African
VOLUME ONE Lewis & Milton
American history and culture since 1989. He has a master’s degree in
1772–1849 Clarke
American Studies and is editor of Lawrence Hill Books, where he directs
C(bo. v1e9r1: 7J)a;c Forbe Ldearwicrkence the Library of Black America series. EDITED BY William Wells Brown
Douglass Series, The Slave, YUVAL TAYLOR
No. 1 (1938–39); casein Josiah Henson
tempera on gessoed hard-
board; 12 in. x 177⁄8in.;
Hampton University An Anthology of Classic Slave Narratives
Museum, Hampton, VA
Design: Joan Sommers
YUVAL TAYLOR
EDITED BY
Distributed by
Independent Publishers Group FOREWORD BY CHARLES JOHNSON
818-CRP/Slave cvr~vol1_818-CRP/Slave cvr~vol1 2/9/11 12:56 PM Page 1
$21.00 T H E L I B R A RY O F B L A C K A M E R I C A THE LIBRARY OF T H E L I B R A RY O F B L A C K A M E R I C A
BLACK AMERICA
E
R “Some of the most incisive descriptions of slavery came from the
U
AT pens of those who experienced it firsthand. . . . This anthology of the I
R
E twenty best slave narratives will be of inestimable value to anyone
T
LI interested in American history.”—JAMES M. MCPHERSON W
/
Y
R
O “Mr. Taylor has brought together very conveniently a mass of rare
T
IS and fascinating material by slave authors, and his book will surely be a
H
N of enduring value. We should all be grateful to him.”—HUGH THOMAS s
A
C
I
R “In this outstanding collection, Yuval Taylor places before us slave nar- B
E
M ratives that captured the complexities of this very Peculiar Institution
A

N and created a powerful literary tradition. . . . No American’s education o
A
C can be called complete if these works are missing from his understand-
RI r
F ing. . . . On these pages you will find adventure, ingenious escapes,
A n
humor (yes, that is here too), and the full, ambiguous range of the
human spirit, its darkness and breathtaking triumphs. You will find, in

a word, our collective stories as Americans.”
a
—CHARLES JOHNSON, from his foreword

Over 120 autobiographies of ex-slaves were published as books or S
pamphlets between the mid-eighteenth and early twentieth cen- VOLUME ONE
l
turies; all subsequent African American literature is descended a I Was 1772–1849
from these seminal works. I Was Born a Slavecollects the twenty most sig-
v
nificant slave narratives and arranges them chronologically in two volumes James Albert
to form a mini-library of essential black writing. This unprecedented anthol- e Ukawsaw Gronniosaw
ogy presents the narratives unabridged, providing each one with helpful
Olaudah Equiano
introductions and annotations, to make up the most comprehensive volume
(Gustavus Vassa)
ever assembled on the lives and writings of the slaves.
An Anthology
Born a
of Classic Slave William Grimes
The narratives in this volume include tales of Africa, pirate ships, wild ani-
Narratives
mals, and witches; a slave who had ten owners, and another who led a rebel- Nat Turner
lion that killed fifty-five whites; the kidnapping of a white woman and her
Charles Ball
rescue by a slave; the nightmarish tortures of the infamous Mr. Gooch;
the tragicomic experiences of a pair of “white slaves”; and the story of the Moses Roper
“original Uncle Tom.”
Slave Frederick Douglass
YUVAL TAYLOR has been involved in publishing books on African
VOLUME ONE Lewis & Milton
American history and culture since 1989. He has a master’s degree in
1772–1849 Clarke
American Studies and is editor of Lawrence Hill Books, where he directs
C(bo. v1e9r1: 7J)a;c Forbe Ldearwicrkence the Library of Black America series. EDITED BY William Wells Brown
Douglass Series, The Slave, YUVAL TAYLOR
No. 1 (1938–39); casein Josiah Henson
tempera on gessoed hard-
board; 12 in. x 177⁄8in.;
Hampton University An Anthology of Classic Slave Narratives
Museum, Hampton, VA
Design: Joan Sommers
YUVAL TAYLOR
EDITED BY
Distributed by
Independent Publishers Group FOREWORD BY CHARLES JOHNSON
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I WAS BORN A SLAVE
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I Was Born a Slave
AN ANTHOLOGY OF
CLASSIC SLAVE NARRATIVES
VOLUME ONE
1 7 7 0 – 1 8 4 9
EDITED BY
Yuval Taylor
FOREWORD BY
Charles Johnson
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
I was born a slave : an anthology of classic slave narratives / edited
by Yuval Taylor ; foreword by Charles Johnson.
p.    cm.
Contents: v. 1. 1772–1849— v. 2. 1849–1866.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-55652-334-3(cloth, v. 1) — ISBN 1-55652-335-1(cloth, v. 2) —
ISBN 1-55652-331-9(paper, v. 1) — ISBN 1-55652-332-7(paper, v. 2)
1. Slaves—United States—Biography.  2. Afro-Americans—Biography.  3. Slaves’
writings, American.  I. Taylor, Yuval.
E444.I18 1999
920(cid:1).009296073—dc21
[b] 98-42790
CIP
© 1999by Yuval Taylor
Foreword copyright © Charles Johnson, 1999
All rights reserved
First edition
Published by Lawrence Hill Books
An imprint of Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
814North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN  1-55652-334-3(cloth, vol. 1)
1-55652-335-1(cloth, vol. 2)
1-55652-331-9(paper, vol. 1)
1-55652-332-7(paper, vol. 2)
Printed in the United States of America
54321
FM-Slaves_FM-Slaves 2/21/11 4:50 PM Page v
In thinking of America, I sometimes find myself admiring her bright blue sky—her
grand old woods—her fertile fields—her beautiful rivers—her mighty lakes, and star-
crowned mountains. But my rapture is soon checked, my joy is soon turned to
mourning. When I remember that all is cursed with the infernal spirit of slavehold-
ing, robbery and wrong,—when I remember that with the waters of her noblest
rivers, the tears of my brethren are borne to the ocean, disregarded and forgotten,
and that her most fertile fields drink daily of the warm blood of my outraged sisters,
I am filled with unutterable loathing, and led to reproach myself that any thing could
fall from my lips in praise of such a land. America will not allow her children to love
her. She seems bent on compelling those who would be her warmest friends, to be
her worst enemies. May God give her repentance, before it is too late, is the ardent
prayer of my heart. I will continue to pray, labor and wait, believing that she cannot
always be insensible to the dictates of justice, or deaf to the voice of humanity.
Frederick Douglass,letter to William Lloyd Garrison, January 1, 1846
If it were not for the stripes on my back which were made while I was a slave, I would
in my will, leave my skin a legacy to the government, desiring that it might be taken
off and made into parchment, and then bind the constitution of glorious happy and
freeAmerica. Let the skin of an American slave, bind the charter of American Liberty.
William Grimes,Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave,1824
The author . . . sends out this history—presenting as it were his own body, with the
marks and scars of the tender mercies of slave drivers upon it . . .
Austin Steward,Twenty-Two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman,1857
Hot weather brings out snakes and slaveholders, and I like one class of the venomous
creatures as little as I do the other. What a comfort it is, to be free to say so!
HarrietJacobs,Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, 1861
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C O N T E N T S
volume one: 1770–1849
Foreword   ix
Introduction   xv
James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw
A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James
Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince 1
Olaudah Equiano (Gustavus Vassa)
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or
Gustavus Vassa, the African 29
William Grimes
Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave 181
Nat Turner
The Confessions of Nat Turner, the Leader of the Late Insurrection in
Southampton, Va. 235
Charles Ball
Slavery in the United States: A Narrative of the Life and Adventures
of Charles Ball, A Black Man, Who Lived Forty Years in Maryland,
South Carolina and Georgia as a Slave 259
Moses Roper
A Narrative of the Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from
American Slavery 487
Frederick Douglass
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave 523
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viii Contents
Lewis & Milton Clarke
Narratives of the Sufferings of Lewis and Milton Clarke, Sons of a
Soldier of the Revolution, During a Captivity of More than Twenty
Years Among the Slaveholders of Kentucky 601
William Wells Brown
Narrative of William W. Brown, a Fugitive Slave 673
Josiah Henson
The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of
Canada 719
Bibliography 757