by Ginny Dye
Carrie shook her head again. “I’m not leaving, Rose, but it’s time for you and Moses to leave.”
Rose met her eyes steadily. “I’m not leaving either,” she announced. “I’m going to be here with you.”
Carrie felt a surge of panic. Her life might be destroyed, but she couldn’t let Rose’s life follow suit. Rose had refused to escape the plantation earlier because she wouldn’t leave her mother. Now she was making the same decision for Carrie. The last three months of dark pain had made her oblivious to what Rose and Moses were going through. They had fought so hard, and given up so much, for their freedom. She couldn’t entrap them on the plantation again. “You can’t stay,” she burst out. “You are meant to be a teacher. Moses is meant to be a lawyer.”
“And you are meant to be a doctor,” Rose said flatly. “As long as grief is keeping you from your path, I am going to walk the one you have chosen with you.” She held up her hand when Carrie opened her mouth to protest. “It’s already been decided, Carrie. I know you believe you are not meant to be a doctor. You certainly get to believe that, but I get to believe what I want too,” she added. “This is not really open for discussion. Moses and I are staying here on the plantation with you.”
Carrie closed her lips against the protest she was trying to find words to voice. She saw Sarah shining through her daughter’s eyes. She recognized the same quiet strength; the same determination to do what she believed was the right thing to do. Sarah lived on through her daughter.
Carrie did the only thing she could do. She reached out and grabbed Rose in a tight hug, hoping it would communicate some of what was bubbling in her heart. When Carrie finally released her, she remembered she had seen Moses leaving that morning on horseback with Simon. They had not been headed toward the tobacco fields, and he had not been dressed for a day in the fields. “Where did Moses go this morning?”
“The Republican Convention in Richmond,” Rose replied.
Carrie couldn’t miss the tension in her best friend’s voice. She sent up a thought of gratitude that at last she was able to recognize something more than her own pain. “You’re afraid?”
Rose hesitated for a long moment as she turned her eyes away to gaze out at the river, but she finally turned back to look at her. “I’m trying to fight the fear, but we are all wise to be cautious right now.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
July 31, 1867
Moses was silent as they approached the Richmond city limits. The number of other black travelers said he and Simon were not the only ones coming in from the country for the GOP Convention. There was a part of him that was anticipating the event, but there was a bigger part that doubted his decision to leave the plantation. He was confident in the men he had left behind to guard his family, and he believed he should be involved in the politics changing not only his life, but all the people he cared about, but he could not rid his mind of the vigilante attack that had taken Robert from them.
He and Rose had talked about coming with the entire family. Abby had offered to watch the younger children so they could all attend, but in the end Rose had decided she couldn’t leave Carrie. He knew the sacrifices she had made for her friend. He admired the decision, while also feeling uncomfortable about his own choice to leave the plantation. He stopped Champ and looked back over his shoulder, knowing it was not too late to change his mind. If he turned around and rode back, he would be home before nightfall.
Simon read his mind. “What about Felicia?”
Moses looked at his brother-in-law, realizing the simple question put everything back into perspective. Felicia had been heartbroken when they had decided not to attend the convention as a family. He managed a smile when he thought of the expression on Felicia’s face when he had offered to let her ride with them into town on horseback. She knew how to ride, but hours in the saddle were not something she aspired to. When Thomas had been informed of the decision, he had sent one of his drivers out to pick her up two days ago. He was certain she was having the time of her life in Richmond with Thomas and Abby, but he also knew how disappointed she would be if they didn’t attend the convention together. “You’re right.” Casting a final glance toward the plantation, he moved Champ forward, turning onto Broad Street.
Moses was astonished by the number of Federal troops in the city. “I haven’t seen so many soldiers since shortly after the war.”
Simon nodded grimly. “Things have changed since the Reconstruction Acts passed.”
“You’ve spent more time in the city than I have recently,” Moses observed. He knew Perry often sent Simon in for supplies. “Are things really this tense?”
“They have been,” Simon replied. “I know you heard about the streetcar strike that got Clark thrown in jail.”
Moses nodded, glancing at the streetcar they were passing. He was pleased to see black faces peering down at the clogged road. “It worked.”
“Yes, it worked,” Simon agreed, “but it hasn’t all been going smoothly.” He smiled at Moses’ blank expression. “You’ve been too buried in tobacco stalks to pay any attention.”
“And how do you have so much more time than I do?” Moses retorted. “You’re growing tobacco at Blackwell Plantation the last I checked.” It was sobering to realize just how little he knew about what was going on at Blackwell. Once he and Simon had hit the road, he had been content to ride in silence so that all the thoughts he had shoved aside for the last months could catch up with him. His thoughts had been full of Robert, Carrie, Bridget, and the heartache all of them felt every day. Simon hadn’t seemed to mind, but Moses suddenly realized how oblivious he had become to most of the rest of the world. He didn’t actually regret it, but he also suspected he should be paying more attention.
Simon grinned. “Not near the amount you are growing,” he answered. “It’s going to take some time to clear the amount of acreage you have over at Cromwell. I figure at the rate we’re going it will take at least three years. Perry is a smart businessman. He realizes that if he grows too fast he’ll outspend his limited capital and get in trouble.”
“You’re happy with it?” Moses asked keenly. He was also belatedly aware that Simon’s speech was improving by leaps and bounds. Taking over as manager at Blackwell had given him the motivation to make sure his communication skills did not limit his potential for growth and income. His thoughts turned to the need for more teachers like Rose, but they were interrupted by Simon’s answer.
“Absolutely. I love being in charge, and since my percentage of the profit is higher now, I will make as much as I made at Cromwell last year, and then it will just keep growing. Perry and I work well together. He lets me do things the way I know they should be done, but he also has some good ideas, and he is learning fast. He wants to understand every part of the operation.”
“June is happy, too?”
The question made Simon grin. “She and Louisa have become thick as thieves. I swear, it would never cross my mind that Louisa used to think blacks were completely inferior to her. The boys have become best friends. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen your sister happier.”
“John misses Simon, but I’m glad June is happy,” Moses said. Then his thoughts went in a different direction. “Any sign of trouble out there?”
“No,” Simon said, “but that doesn’t mean we’re not expecting it. We have guards out every night, and I’m pretty sure all the men sleep with one eye open.”
Moses nodded with complete understanding, and then noticed another clump of Federal soldiers eyeing the crowd. Their expressions said they were ready for trouble. He nodded his head in their direction. “What’s been going on around here?”
Simon frowned. “The success of the streetcar strike seemed to give other groups ideas about what they could do. The Stevedore Society from down on the docks decided to strike about a week later for higher wages. They thought they had a pretty good chance of winning, but it failed.”
“Why?” Moses asked.
Simon shrugged. “They found strikebreakers to do the work. All the men lost their jobs.”
Moses grimaced. “What else?” He knew the looks on the soldiers’ faces were not just because of a failed strike.
“Folks are getting more restless,” Simon explained. “It ain’t easy being black in Richmond.”
“It’s not easy being black anywhere,” Moses reminded him tightly.
“Back in May there was a demonstration by firemen from Richmond and Delaware. There was a black fella who didn’t feel like moving when he was asked. When one of the fire captains pushed him out of the way, he turned around and hit him.”
“He was arrested,” Moses guessed, able to see the scene in his mind.
“Yep. The crowd didn’t like it too much, so they rioted. When the police arrested him, a bunch of them set him free. There was evidently a barber leading the way. The fella raised a barber pole over his head and yelled that it was time for the freedmen to save the nation.”
Moses felt a surge of admiration, but he already knew the story was not going to end well.
“They managed to get him away from the policemen, and then after reinforcements came, they managed to free him again.” Simon’s voice grew grim. “There wasn’t any gunfire, but there was an awful lot of rock throwing. Anyway, things ended when General Schofield and a group of his soldiers arrived on the scene. They put things back in order right quick.”
Moses imagined they had. “Anything else?”
“A few days later, the policemen arrested one of us for drunken and disorderly conduct.” Simon frowned. “There was another riot.”
Moses eyed the soldiers again, better understanding the stern looks on their faces. “General Schofield laid down the law,” he guessed. He could well understand the black frustration in a city that hated the fact that all the former slaves were now free, but he also knew they were hurting their own cause with the riots.
“Yep. He said the time had come to teach the Negroes that they could not be a law unto themselves. He issued a special order that disarmed the Lincoln Mounted Guard and threatened to disband all black militia units.”
Moses frowned. “That’s bad.” He knew Richmond had become a boiling cauldron of frustration, but he didn’t see a way for it to get better anytime soon. They had already seen what happened without the black militia.
“Real bad,” Simon agreed. “So far it seems to have helped, though. There have been no more riots, and the militia can still protect the black quarters. No one is pretending the blacks in Richmond aren’t in danger, but they are trying to establish control.”
Moses continued to eye the soldiers. “They’re expecting trouble with the convention.”
“I suspect they are,” Simon agreed.
********
“Daddy!” Felicia launched herself off the porch as soon as Moses and Simon rode into view.
Moses laughed and dismounted in time to catch Felicia in his arms. “Hello, beautiful daughter. I missed you.”
“And I missed you,” Felicia said. “But I’ve been having such a wonderful time. I’ve been to see the factory, and Thomas took me to the Capitol building.” Her eyes grew large as saucers. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” she breathed. “Marietta took me to school with her so I could tell her students about what our school is like, and then Jeremy took me up to the bluffs above the river so I could see what is left of Chimborazo Hospital where Carrie worked.”
Moses held her back so he could look at her. “Are you sure you’ve only been here two days?”
“Abby said she didn’t want me to miss even one thing while I was here,” Felicia confided before she grinned up at Simon. “Hello, Uncle Simon!”
Simon gave her a hug and turned toward the house. Moses watched him go and then knelt down to talk to his daughter. “What else have you been doing?”
“I had to get up very early this morning to read the newspapers in the library.” Felicia’s eyes glowed with unbridled excitement. “It was so wonderful to read the news the very same day the newspaper comes out!”
Moses laughed. “I do believe you may become a city girl.”
Felicia considered his words, but shook her head decisively. “I don’t think so.”
There was something in her voice that made him lock his eyes on her. “Why not?” he asked softly, thinking about the fact that he and Rose were going to have to be in the city for college, which meant Felicia would have to join them. “Do you not like the city?”
Felicia smiled serenely. “I like the city just fine, but I would miss the country too much.”
Moses stared at her. “What would you miss?” he asked in a bemused voice. “You are rarely outside. You spend most of your time in the library reading.”
“But I’m looking out at the country,” Felicia said earnestly. “I would miss all the beauty if I had nothing but houses and buildings to look at.” She hesitated. “Even though Richmond is much nicer, it reminds me too much of Memphis.”
Moses understood instantly. Being back in the city was a stark reminder of her parents’ murder. Seeing the large numbers of policemen and soldiers would do nothing but cause her anxiety. He caught her to him in a close hug. “I’ll keep you safe, honey.” Felicia looked up at him with somber eyes that said she had seen too much. Moses knew just how much.
“I know, Daddy,” she said softly. She pulled herself erect. “I’m real glad you’re here.”
Moses took her hand and walked with her up to the porch where Thomas, Abby and Jeremy were waiting. He was surprised when he heard the front door open and saw another man step out. “Matthew!”
Matthew grinned and raised a hand. “You didn’t think I would let the Republican Convention happen in Richmond without being here, did you? I can’t be at every one of them, so I decided this was the one I would cover.”
Moses bit back his words before he asked if trouble was expected. He didn’t want to put any more fear into his daughter’s mind.
********
Felicia had eaten and reluctantly gone to bed before Moses asked the question on his mind. “Are they expecting trouble tomorrow?”
Jeremy sighed. “They are always expecting trouble.”
“Do you expect trouble?” Moses pressed.
Jeremy thought about it, but it was Marietta who answered.
“Richmond blacks have become very serious about politics, Moses. They are well aware they are being given a chance to change their lives, and they believe being part of the political process is the only way to make that happen.”
Moses decided to be more direct. “Is it possible to undo the damage President Johnson has done?”
“That’s a very good question,” Matthew said. “I don’t think anyone knows the answer yet. No one can know what position our country would be in right now if Lincoln had lived, but it’s certain it would not be where we are. Too many people want to think the choice of a vice-presidential candidate is not very important, but they neglect to consider the consequences of what America will be like if the vice president is suddenly the president.”
“A lot of people don’t think about any consequences at all,” Abby stated. “Next year we will be electing another president. I don’t believe President Johnson has even a remote chance of being reelected, but his actions have unleashed a torrent of hatred that will be very difficult to get rid of.”
Matthew nodded. “President Johnson is an arrogant man who believes blacks are totally inferior to the white race.” He paused. “Actually, he believes any other race is inferior to whites, and his definition of whites is also very limited. In the months before Congress was able to regain control, he unleashed a darkness in the South that is going to be very difficult to eradicate. It’s not just about changing policy because he has poured fuel on the hatred in the hearts of many Confederate veterans.”
“The Ku Klux Klan,” Moses said grimly.
“Yes, but they are just a part of it,” Matthew responded. “There are m
any other groups that have sprung up to try to maintain the order of the Old South. The Federal troops are here now, but they have what I believe is an impossible task. There are not enough of them to control what is happening, and what is going to happen. They can probably maintain order in the larger cities, but most of the South is rural and sparsely populated. It will be difficult to stop the violence everywhere.”
Moses thought about Robert. He knew things like his murder were going to be repeated all over the country. The thought made him feel sick.
Marietta shook her head, her hair glowing in the lantern light. “People don’t think about the consequences of their choices. Someone can stand up in front of them, and as long as they can talk with power and persuasiveness, the listeners find it easy to believe them. That’s what happened with President Johnson. They don’t listen long enough, and they don’t question enough to realize he is lying to them to get their support.”
“Especially if they want to believe them,” Thomas added angrily. “President Johnson came down here and told the South there would be no real consequences for four long years of war. He wanted the Southern vote, so he made promises he couldn’t begin to keep, and broke the trust of millions of people who sacrificed so much in the war. That may sound strange coming from a Southerner, but now that the war is over I want the South to rebuild. What President Johnson has unleashed will probably set things back for generations.”
Moses drew a breath. “You really believe that?”
Thomas sighed. “Unfortunately, I do. The war happened in the first place because too many people could only focus on their own agendas. They refused to make decisions that would benefit the entire country. Those decisions went back decades—it wasn’t just those made in the last few years before the war started. People want to think their decisions only impact the things right around them, but they have the same ripple effect as throwing a stone into the water.” He sighed again and his eyes turned sorrowful. “Just the war alone will create consequences for generations to come, but add in what President Johnson’s attitudes and beliefs have created…” Thomas spread his hands and looked at Moses apologetically. “I’m afraid the battle your people are going to face is going to be much harder and longer than it should have been.”