Calico Girl

by Jerdine Nolen

  “I was with her and the midwife in the cabin when Callista was born. Sara had talked all along about what the baby’s name would be if it were a girl; she loved that she could name her daughter for a cluster of stars,” Catherine said, mustering a slight smile.

  “When it became clear that—” Catherine’s voice broke. She collected herself and continued her story.

  “When Sara died, I made her wishes known and I named the baby. Hampton was in no shape. He was lost to his grief and his joy—so odd to have so much of both, and all at once.

  “I had wanted to send for the doctor, or to take her with me into the house, but Henry would not have it. And when he finally agreed and the doctor arrived . . .” Her words trailed off again. “It made me so sad for us to lose her.

  “I’m glad Hampton found favor with you,” she said. “I was satisfied that you were a good choice. I could see that in your kindheartedness you would make a good mother to Callie. You had a good temperament and fine dressmaking skills. But there would be nothing I could do should my husband decide to send you away. I told Hampton as much.

  “You are a good woman. I know why he loves you and why he married you. But I did warn him about what could have happened. There was nothing I could do about Joseph. I am so very sorry. I have made inquiries, but unless there is a miracle, I fear he is lost to us for good. Everything is so tangled up in this war business.”

  Catherine stopped abruptly. There was surprise in her face, as if she had not intended to reveal so much, but it gave her relief as well. Ruth did not know how to pin this together in her mind. There had been so much in Catherine’s words, and Ruth was unsure of what to make of it all. Finally, her mistress spoke again, worry etched in the lines of her face.

  “He’s gone . . . ?”

  It was less a question, but Ruth still managed to answer.

  “Yes.”

  Slave laws were the law of the land. What General Benjamin Butler did in declaring slaves to be contraband was to give the North a legally defined term. Refusing to return the escaped slaves to the Virginia slave owners initiated the process that would later lead to emancipation.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Hampton Wilcomb

  May 24, 1861

  Daybreak, two days earlier

  Hampton loved the coolness of the forest just before sunrise. Slaves often had to use this secret road to get to the river. He used it also, but especially in these uncertain times. Sometimes he would use this path to leave the plantation at night for a swim or to catch fish.

  There were times when he would take Callie and Joseph fishing at night, the way his father did when he was a boy. His father had tried to teach him how to catch fish using only his bare hands. His father had said it was a skill to be mastered, but Hampton never felt he would master it. He preferred a fishing pole. But still, he tried. He’d grab hold of a fish, but it would wriggle and wiggle out of his hands. It was Joseph who became the best fish catcher.

  Hampton or any slave in his or her right mind never would have walked out in the open in broad daylight anyway. It wasn’t safe. Even though so few white men were left behind, they were always on the lookout to pick up a slave—to turn him in for a reward or, even worse now, to ship him off to the battlefield.

  Hampton arrived at the fort in good time. He had not thought how he would inquire about Shep, or Frank, or James. He decided to watch awhile before asking around. It was still early, and the world was quiet. He resolved to swim across the river to reach the fort so he would not be noticed.

  The cold of the water made him more alert, helping him focus on what was to come next. He needed to confirm all of what Raleigh had said before he could act. He hid himself very well in a thicket of brush.

  Before too long, a Confederate officer rode up to the fort. Hampton did not recognize the man right away, but from the way he was dressed, he appeared to be a major at least. No doubt this business was important, likely something to do with his three friends. All of a sudden the gate to the Fortress opened and the General of the Fort rode out on horseback.

  The two officers regarded each other.

  Neither man would dismount, keeping a proper distance from the other, speaking calmly and in gentlemanly tones to one another. Hampton listened intently as the two men talked. The rebel officer spoke first.

  “I am Major John Cary. I am in charge of Colonel Mallory’s property,” he said. “I have come here as we have been led to believe that three Negroes, property belonging to Colonel Mallory, have escaped within your lines and are being held here.”

  Major Cary studied the man in blue as he answered back slowly.

  “I am Major General Benjamin F. Butler. And it is true. We hold three such persons here.”

  “And what is your intention for Colonel Mallory’s slaves?”

  “My intention is that they will remain here at the Fort,” Butler said. “Under our protection.”

  “What about your constitutional obligation to return slave property? And adherence to the laws of the land?” the major asked.

  The general smiled.

  “Constitutional obligation? Adherence to what law? Of whose land?”

  The rebel officer seemed confused.

  “It is now my understanding that Virginia no longer adheres to the laws of these United States. You have now seceded from the Union. You are now a foreign country, are you not?”

  The general continued slowly.

  “Since these three men tell me they were engaged in the construction of artillery batteries for your foreign government, I shall claim them and hold these Negroes as contraband of war.”

  It is just as Raleigh explained, Hampton thought.

  If the general would not send back Colonel Mallory’s three slaves, citing Virginia now as a foreign country, then the law no longer stood in Virginia. Virginia had voted to secede, or split from the Union, and was no longer subject to the laws of the Union, the United States.

  Hearing this, Hampton abruptly stirred, almost giving himself away. If Hampton’s mind had not been made up, it was certainly made up now.

  He wanted to run home, gather up his family, and return to the fort immediately. Still, he kept to his hiding place behind the shrubs, trying to prevent his excitement from giving him away.

  Hiding there in the bushes reminded him of his childhood with his sisters. The three of them together. Hide and Seek was a favorite game they played. The two girls would hide in places so that they could be easily found. But Hampton always found the best spots where he could stay hidden for hours. He would often grow tired of waiting to be found, and Edward Wilcomb would often find his boy snoozing in a tree, too high for anyone to climb to reach him.

  As a child, he spent many a day in hiding, learning about the secrets of the Wilcomb family and their slaves. Many of the questions he had about his mother and why he could not see her were finally answered.

  Catherine always said Hampton had the habit of showing up in places and getting an earful of news. He certainly got an earful today.

  When he awoke, the fort was teeming with activity. When things settled down, he would head back home. He could hardly wait to get back to Ruth and take his family with him to the fort.

  Hampton did not know how long he had been asleep. He stood up to stretch his legs and felt a churning in his stomach. He realized he had not eaten anything since yesterday, but he did not mind. Soon enough he would be home.

  As he stood at the river’s edge, the sun seemed brighter and the air fresher. Hampton turned to go on back home to Ruth to share with her what he had learned. He knew when he explained everything she would understand that leaving Belle Hill Farm was exactly the right thing to do.

  Something caught his eye. He watched a young soldier on a raft on the river. The soldier seemed to be more of a boy than a soldier. He watched the young fellow for a while. The young man was having trouble turning the raft. It appeared his oar had gotten tangled in some brambles on the river’s bottom. Hampton
tried to motion to the soldier to slow down, that his raft was about to turn over.

  Then, to make matters worse, just before the fellow went under the water, he hit his head on the side of the raft. Though he wanted to spring into action, Hampton waited to see what the young soldier would do. He hoped the soldier would soon break the surface of the water and take air into his lungs. But the soldier did not appear. Hampton could no longer wait and he jumped into the river. He swam to where the young man had fallen. From the surface of the water he felt around to see if he could find him. Having no luck, Hampton went back under the water. He came up for air, but he had not found the man. He took in a deeper breath, went underwater again, and came back alone.

  Finally, Hampton took in one big breath and pulled himself under the water for what seemed a long time. When he broke the water’s surface, he felt the soldier’s coat and pulled him to shore. The weight of the uniform threatened to drag them both back down, but Hampton was a strong swimmer, even tired and hungry. When they reached the shore, Hampton turned the soldier on his belly. He pumped as much water out of him as he could. By now the sentry soldiers in the fort could see help was needed. Two or three guards were on hand to help; one carried a stretcher. Hampton stood back as the man coughed river water out of his lungs.

  “Do you think he’ll be okay? I got him out of the water as quickly as I could, but he had gone down pretty deep. He hit his head pretty hard too,” Hampton said to one of the guards.

  “You think he’ll be all right?” Hampton asked again out of concern, expecting the guard to answer.

  But instead the fellow who almost drowned suddenly answered. “My head is a whole lot harder than you think. And I am very grateful you were there.” Having said his piece, the fellow lost consciousness. The other soldiers moved quickly to his aid.

  “I think he’ll be all right,” the oldest of the guards told Hampton.

  “What are you doing here?” another asked. Hampton hardly had time to answer.

  “You’ll need to come into the fort with us,” said the last, standing from his unconscious comrade. “We’d like to ask you some questions. Besides, I am sure when he comes around, he’ll want to thank the man who saved him.”

  And with that, Hampton was taken into the fort.

  News of the three slaves, James Townsend, Frank Baker, and Shep Mallory, taken into the fort and not returned to Colonel Mallory spread quickly. Daily many more fugitives arrived at the Union Army fort seeking protection from their slave masters. They were not just young men but women, and the elderly, and families. Some could hardly walk. They may not have understood what the contraband policy at Fort Monroe truly meant, but it satisfied them to know that at least they weren’t slaves anymore.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Callie

  May 27, 1861

  Every day and several times a day Callie found excuses to go back to the cabin from the Big House. She was checking to see if Papa had returned yet. Mama Ruth answered her the same way each time she asked.

  “He should have been home by now,” she said, trying to sound as if it didn’t matter that she did not know what had happened to him or if he would return. She would only say she prayed that he had not gone to fight in the war and silently worried that something far worse had happened to him. Callie hoped beyond hope that Papa was safe. But then Papa didn’t return the next day either, and neither Mama Ruth nor Callie knew where to put the thoughts that floated around in their minds.

  That night Callie found her stars twinkling in the sky. She hoped Papa was seeing those same stars and he did not feel that he was lost and alone. She made another wish for his safe return. “Please look down on him. Look after him,” she said. “Please bring Papa back home.”

  And that next day, something wonderful happened.

  Two riders came tearing up the road on horseback toward the Quarters. That changed everything. Callie worked in the small garden tending to the plants. At first she could not make sense of what she was seeing. Callie thought she knew she should be scared, but she did not feel especially afraid.

  She called for Mama Ruth, but she was busy doctoring on Little Charlie. He had caught another cold and was not feeling well. Callie squinted to see if she could make out who the two men were. One was dressed as a Union soldier. Without Papa or Joseph with them, Callie wondered how she should greet them. But she did not feel fear.

  A Union soldier was riding alongside someone she thought she might know. The other man reminded her of Papa, the way he looked when he would ride a horse. He sat up tall and proud. Then the fellow she thought she might know took off his hat and started waving it and hollering at the top of his lungs and calling out her name.

  Callie thought that the man waving his hat and yelling looked like Papa. She called to Mama Ruth again. “Please come out here, and quick!”

  “Callie, Callie-girl, it’s me. It’s me—your papa. Fetch Ruth. Fetch your mama. I told you I’d be back!”

  It was her papa. He had come home. Something inside of her made her open her mouth wide and she screamed to Mama Ruth. She jumped up and down. Callie could not stop jumping up and down as the joy spilled out from her eyes.

  Mama Ruth finally came running. She was carrying Little Charlie in her arms. She had been nursing him day and night. But nothing ever made him feel better for long.

  Charlie lay so still in her arms. But when Mama Ruth whispered to him, “It’s your papa,” and he heard Papa’s voice, he reached out his hand to touch Papa. He smiled at Papa up on the horse. Callie could not stop her tears, and she did not want to. They were the happy kind of tears.

  With all that had happened, she had forgotten how happiness felt.

  Then Papa jumped down off his horse. He grabbed ahold of his family and wrapped them up in his arms, hugging them tight. Callie did not care that she could hardly breathe. But poor little Charlie, she thought. He would have been jumping for joy at seeing Papa again if he were feeling better. They all cried and hugged one another over and over again. After they got finished with all the hugging, Papa said he had come to claim his family. He said he had the right to come and claim them.

  Mama Ruth just kept shaking her head and laughing. “Where’d you get that soldier hat?” she asked.

  Papa was wearing a blue Union soldier hat. He tipped his hat and put it on Mama Ruth’s head. Everybody laughed.

  “From this fellow right here,” Papa said, and slapped the young white man on his back, which almost knocked him off his feet.

  “Forgive my manners,” Papa said with a big grin to the Union soldier. “This friendly fellow is Lieutenant Mathew Jessup.” The soldier turned a bright shade of red and smiled at Mama Ruth.

  “This is my wife, Ruth; my daughter, Callie; and my boy, Little Charlie,” Papa said, taking Little Charlie in his arms. Papa carried Little Charlie to the cabin step, sat down, and rocked him.

  “How do you do, ma’am?” the soldier said, extending his hand to shake Mama Ruth’s hand.

  “I’m doing just fine, sir,” Mama Ruth said, before turning back to her concern for Little Charlie.

  “I can’t get the fever to stay down or the cough to go away,” she told Papa as she wiped Little Charlie’s sweat on her sleeve. “I have done all I can do for him. There is not a doctor around anymore. They all joined the fight. We just have to wait and pray.”

  “Aw, Charlie boy, it’s your papa.” Charlie looked up and put his little thin arm around Papa’s neck. “He’ll get much better when the army doctor looks at him,” he said, smiling at Little Charlie. “You wait and see.”

  “Army doctor, Hampton?” Mama Ruth said, her eyes wide as the moon.

  Papa laughed a big, deep belly laugh with a twinkle in his eye like he did when he thought something was so funny. “Slavery is over for you, for us,” he said as he wrapped up his son in his arms again. Mama Ruth steadily shook her head. Callie sat down next to Papa and folded her knees under her dress. She just wanted to be close to him and make up for
some of the time she missed him.

  “Something new has happened in the world, Ruth,” Papa said. “Now we all can be free! And we can get Little Charlie looked at by a doctor, too, at the army fort!”

  “What are you talking about? Is the war over?” Mama Ruth asked.

  “It might as well be.”

  She hesitated. “I don’t want to be anywhere near to the war. But why would they tend to our boy, Hampton?”

  Papa said there was a way to be free on account of he was taken into the Union fortress as contraband of war.

  “What does that mean?” Mama asked, bewildered.

  “What ever it means, you are no longer a slave,” Papa said, hugging her with a big grin.

  Mama looked from Papa to Lieutenant Jessup.

  “Well, ma’am,” the lieutenant began, “what your husband is telling you is all the way right. It’s a lot to take in, but that is where things stand right now. The laws of the land do not include Virginia.”

  Now Callie looked from Papa to Mama Ruth and to the soldier. She did not know all of what was going on, except she liked it, whatever it was. This soldier thought of her father as a friend, and enough of a friend to help them. He kept calling Mama Ruth “ma’am,” like she was somebody particular and special, the way a white lady was spoken to around here. Callie sat there rocking back and forth with her hands on her knees.

  “Yes, ma’am,” the lieutenant said. “I come from a Northern state called Vermont. It’s just like I told Hampton, before the war, I had never seen or talked with a Negro and never even considered them to be a friend.” Callie almost wished Suse was around to see and hear this young man speak about her father as a true friend.

  The lieutenant’s face turned red again and he looked down at his boots.

  “I joined the army as I saw it was my duty to my country. Then, when Hampton here jumped in the river, risking his life to save me from drowning of my own stupidity, it all changed my heart. I don’t know what my family would say, but I consider your husband to be a loyal friend. I will always be in his debt. Because of him, I get to have my birthday in a few weeks,” he added, cheeks turning red again. “So I’ve come here to help your husband bring all of you back to the fort with us where it’s safe for you, and you’ll be looked after.”