Think we’ll ever see freedom again?
End of this war?
We were supposed to be exchanged, not sent to another prison,
I suppose so,
This ain’t no way to be treating men,
Keeping us pinned up like livestock,
This ain’t no war I signed up for,
What kind of war did you sign up for Robert?
What is a state with southern hospitality?
I tell you what,,,
I much prefer Virginia to this,
A lot of them down here can rot in hell for all I care,
Why don’t we get out of here and show them where they can put it,
What hospitality are you expecting?
We are prisoners,
No offense friend,
Just trying to break up the tension of the situation here,
[SIGH]
Does feel nice to stretch our legs,,,
Don’t you think?
So to speak,
Well better than Andersonville,
You got a name?
Of course, don’t we all?
Thomas J, Ryan, Corporal,
Seventeenth man in Volunteer Infantry,
But please,,,
Call me Tom,
You boys?
I’m,,, I’m Robert Spencer, Private,
This is,,,
Sergeant Joseph Hoover,
We’re both with the 121st New York Volunteers,
Nice to meet you,
Look,,,
I was the only one from my company who was captured
in our particular conflict,
and on the account of some unfortunate gambling debts,,,
I didn’t make it out of Andersonville with too many friends,
This sounds strange to say, but uh,,,
I’d feel better if I had some friends, while we’re in here,
ya know?
Maybe we can help each other out,
I suppose so, that’s alright with me,
Joseph?
You ok with that?
Reckon so,
Good deal,
Good on ya boys,
Awesome,
Great guys,
You won’t regret it,
Come on, come on,
See,,,
My tent, I won this,
You any good,,,
At gambling?
Oh yeah, I’m the best,
There are no good gamblers,
Hmm,
Where y’all boys from?
Andersonville from what I hear,
They treatin ya good there?
Don’t worry, we’ll treat ya good here too Yanks,
As long as y’all behave,
[GUNSHOT]
Keep moving you Yankees,
Boys, welcome to Florence Stockade,
I see a spot,
Follow me,
It’s right there,
It’s closest to the woods,
Were going to have to act quickly,
may not be long before the stockade is finished,
Tom you fool, look how many guards there are,
It’s worth a chance,
Chance to get killed,
I won’t be shot on the count of you boys,
Come on,
Right here,
[WHISPERING TO SELF]
[WHISTLE]
[WHISTLING IN REPLY]
That’s a nice book you got there,
Diary?
That paper can fetch a real good price in here,
More than those newspaper shreds you’ve been trading,
It’s not for trade, or for sale,
[WHISTLE]
Never said it was,
You hear them whistles?
Raiders,
I figured so,
Just like Andersonville,
Sounds organized,
Suppose they’re feeding on the weakness and fears of other prisoners,
We’ve got ourselves a runner!
[GUNSHOTS]
Might want to keep that diary close,
You never know who might be interested in getting their
hands on that thing,
Sounds like someone weren’t so lucky,
[WATER RUNNING]
You find anything?
Quiet, keep a look out
Hey!
Alright, he’s coming to,
Joseph!
You alive?
You alive, Joseph?
It looks that way,
Ha, let’s get you up,
Here,
How you feelin?
Like there is an artillery battery in my head,
Well that aint a surprise,
You tried to block that raiders club with it,
Who taught him how to fight anyway,
Tom, just leave him be,
Joseph had himself a right row,
Yea, and where were you?
Leave me to protect the tent all by myself,
Protect?
Tom, you were sleeping,
Did they get off,,, Did they get off with anything?
No,
No they didn’t,
After that one clubbed you down,,,
I laid into him, I laid into him hard Joseph,
He put up quite a struggle,
Must have been Irish tough from New York City,
Probably one of those Raiders we heard whistling the other night,
New York Bastard,
The loyalty,
Anyway,,,
We pulled this off of him,
Thought you might not want to get rid of it just yet,
Thank you, Tom,
You’re welcome buddy,
Drink up,
I’m gonna finish my nap,
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
I’ve been thinkin,,,
What we need is trickery,
What?
Trickery,
Ya know, like an ace up your sleeve,
We need to find a way to steal ourselves right outta this camp,
What ace?
You seen that line of confederates, right beyond the perimeter?
Yea, what about em?
Well,,,
There is another line 20 paces after them,
and another one 20 paces after that,
and so on, and so on,,,
Day and night,
You heard the gunshots,
Men trying to make a run for it,
Which is why we need the trickery,
What has gotten into you Tom?
This is not Andersonville, but we are far from freedom,
They’re building our new stockade as we speak,
Ain’t no amount of trickery that’s gonna get us out of that one,
Even so,,,
We’ve been here four days now,
and I’ve been watching,
Just as well as either of you boys,
The Greybacks have got this camp covered,
Dying is the only way were getting free before this war is over,
I don’t know,,,
I have an idea,
We get a case of the quickstep,
Hm, enough of your tomfoolery,
Dysentery?
Ok you officially have gone mad,
Are you an idiot, of course I don’t mean it literally,
What is literature have to do with dysentery?
It’s just for pretend,
We’ll be close to the woods,
The Reb guys don’t watch that area too close,
So we pretend we like dysentery?
That this camp and stockade are just lovely accommodations,
and they’re just going to let u,
No, no we pretend that we have been taken by the dysentery
to get us into the hospital,
You see it?
It’s that white building right over there,
Quickstep is the trick,
We get into the hospital, we’ll be closer to the woods,
The Reb’s don’t watch that area too close,
You get it?
Yea, I just,,,
Don’t know why you didn’t say that from the beginning,
Give me that,
[COUGHING]
We’ve taken ill,
We need a hospital,
Y’all look fine to me,
It’s dysentery, I got terrible pains in my stomach,
and this one, he’s feverish,
And what about you?
It’s uh,,
He’s terrible,
Hospitals full, aint anymore beds,
Yea, well even so,,,
We need to be seen,
With the three of us taken ill,,,
You don’t want to be responsible for causing an outbreak for
the whole camp, do ya?
Mr, Cooper,
I got to take these boys to the hospital,
Come on,
[KNOCKING]
I told you the hospitals full,
We can’t take take no more of em,
These boys have dysentery, can’t stay in camp,
This way,
We don’t have enough room for ya but for now you can make
yourselves as comfortable, bestu can,
Few of these poor men are boundr beds,
Outhouse is through that door,
Now mind the guards you’ll
be watched and they don’t like,
I’ll be back to check in on ya,
[COUGHING]
What do we do now?
What kind of sergeant are you J?
Waiting around f,
We wait for an opportunity,
[GROANING]
Walter? Is that you?
No sir I-I’m Joseph,
What are you doing here?
I think you’re confused,
That’s alright, it’s good of you to come at least and attend to me,
They’re gonna fix you up real good, You’ll be alright,
You always were the optimist,
Walter I’m dying,
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
Have you made your peace with God?
No, I’ve met God, I wish momma was here,
I’m not your momma but I am a woman of faith,
Close your eyes
and pray this simple prayer wit,
Heavenly Father,
don’t be afraid,
Heavenly Father
I want to make peace with you,
Please forgive me,
I repent of my sins,
Today,
I will receive your son Jesus, as my savior,
I receive Jesus, my savior,
Amen,
Amen, Thank you ma’am,
I’m glad I was here,
Do me a favor, will you?
Tell my momma, tell her I’m sor,
Tell her I discharged out of my,
Don’t tell her about my leg, Wi?
Yes, yes I’ll tell her,
[GUNSHOT]
Guard: Hey! We got a runner!
Get’em before they get to town!
Hey! |
We got two more in the woods!
They shot Robert,
I know, Joseph I’m sorry, God rest his soul,
Tom he’s dead because of us,
I know, he died a better death,
we need to keep moving,
Guard: Which way?!
Sergeant, please,
Give me your hat, Give me your,
More trickery,
Come on, come on, come on,
They’s in the water,
See anything?
Over there look!
Ain’t nobody survive that, Let’s move on up river,
I need a rest,
It worked, lt worked, lt worked!
My plan worked, Here we are Jos,
What? No thank you? I believe s,
We are out of the camp, but we e far from free,
We’ve just exchanged one prison,
Are you mad? How do you reckon?
We are deep in confederate terr,
You may not see the walls but
every succession rebel for mile,
They’re not going to throw us b,
it’ll gonna be the gallows for s
just like the boys from Port Su,
What do we do now?
We head North, We join the army,
You can’t be serious Joseph,
We just survived the worst hell,
That prison is worse than any bn
You? Have you seen worse than t?
You can’t possibly think for one moment that we are expected
to go back into battle and risk,
I took a pledge, 3 years servic,
Now I must leave with the 121st
and I intend I must stay right m
The war can be over tomorrow, I,
This is our war no longer, Camp,
No sir, I intend to leave,
Well that’s desertion,
No it ain’t, It’s practical,
An oath is an oath Tom, You swo,
And if Robert Spencer’s death i,
if God has taken his life, that,
And he’s given us the opportuni,
Then I will continue to serve tn
and uphold the constitution of,
And if you could ever call your,
damn well do as you please,
Still a long way to go though,
We’ve come this far,
The Stockade was in Florence, W?
Yeah, that’s what the Rebs was,
You know what’s around here?
I’m from Maine, it’s a little u,
[SPEAKING IN THE DISTANCE]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
Oh Joseph
Let’s go come on
I’m sorry, it’s okay, I’ll be f
It’s the third time you’ve coll,
we need to get something to eat,
Yes, we were better off in the stockade,
At least they fed us once in a,
I just need a moment
[COUGHING]
Woah, woah, woah, Here, here,
[FROGS CROAKING]
Joseph?
Come on, get up, Come on, get up,
Here I got these, Up the bank a,
It’s not much but we gotta eat,
I’m sick to death of these, lt’,
We need real food,
I saw, um
What?
I saw a tobacco field,
Where?
Yeah well there’s probably a ply
we can go ask them for help,
They’ll shoot us,
No maybe they won’t shoot us,
we could put that southern hosp,
You damn fool, haven’t you seen,
These rebs are all the same,
We gotta eat more than berries,
We can’t go on and survive like,
We ask the slaves,
What? No I’m not begging from a,
We have no choice,
Yes we do have a choice, From a?
That’s like begging a beggar fo,
No they can be feral,
I have more dignity than that,
No you don’t, We’re gonna die o,
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
You don’t know what they’re lik,
Nor do you
Fine, but if we end up dead, th,
I was against this from the beg,
[KNOCKING]
Hello,
Hello sir, Ya’ll from the porte?
No we are refugees in need of f?
Ref-gees?
Don’t know nothing bout no ref-
We’re from up North but we’ve rd
from the very same oppressors
They’re Yankees!
Oh no they’s demons! They’s Yan,
they come for our souls,
No, they ain’t demons aunt Delia,
Yes they is!
We are not demons,
Let’s go Joseph,
They do seem wild though,
What you want?
We’d like some food, we’re star
We haven’t eaten in 3 days,
Well we ain’t got none,
You’re a bloody liar! You’ve goe
What you thinking Charlie?
They don’t look much like devil,
Yes they are,
No matter what time of day they,
They ain’t no demons, they is p,
Look at ’em,
What you Yankees doing out here?
We ran away from a prison camp,
We’re just trying to get home,
You got bowls?
Yeah, yeah, Here,
Thanks be to God and to you,
Yeah thank you,
You’re welcome, it ain’t much,
It’s more than we would have if
Take it and go,
Oh Charlie, would devils go on?
They could be the thief’n types,
But they ain’t, Please sit down,
[CRICKETS]
You nearly scared the life out,
I ain’t never heard no Yankee d,
My friend here’s named Tom, I’m,
Mary-Ellen,
What’s your names?
I’m Samuel, This Charlie, This
Pleasure to meet you, You have e
for providing sustenance this e,
Where ya’ll headed to?
We-we don’t know yet, we heard t
by New Bern but we don’t know w,
Somewhere near Wilmington I exp
Master take some time taking ki,
either way you best better foll,
PD? Wh-what is that?
The river, Ya’ll stay here tomo,
I’ll take you down river a ways,
I know where there’s a boat,
Yeah,
We appreciate your hospitality
but we’ll go ahead and sleep ou,
Ya’ll better get up and come in,
Tibias?
Ya’ll stay inside today, I’ll b,
Here’s a little corn cake for y
So, by New Bern?
It’s closer than Virginia,
The Union’s held a garrison pos,
At least it hasn’t fallen back,
You trust these slaves?
I haven’t thought not to,
I don’t like the way they look,
If it wasn’t for Mary-Ellen, we,
Yeah but when we go out tonight,
We won’t go to see nothing, we,
That is a risk,
Well?
It’s a risk we have to take,
I like your pipe,
I thought that was in my havers,
I use to have one of these,
Used to,
It was a bad hand,
There are no good gamblers Tom,
You’s had a good day? Laying up,
Nice and cool I reckon,
Yeah mostly, You?
Didn’t catch a beating, so it w,
After we eat, we go,
Hey, sure you don’t want me to?
Nah, fewer people come, the bet,
It’s gonna be a while before we,
Can’t have people seeing us,
Ain’t no one used this boat in,
Very much appreciated,
Ya’ll just be careful out there,
Now follow the river till you c,
then follow the big fork up str,
That’ll take you back North,
Thank you Samuel, now get back safe to your family,
That little PD?
Yeah, it has to be, lf we go an,
Straight,
I think we’re clear of the succh
I don’t want to risk it,
We’ve come at least two miles Jh
and besides, I’m exhausted,
Tom, I’m as tired as you are,
Oh, it’s our lucky night Joseph,
Tom, we don’t know who’s barn t
I could sure use a bed of strawf roots and rocks,
Look at the size of it, no one s
we’ll be gone before anyone’s tr
Tom,,,
You coming?
[DOOR CREEKS]
Gentlemen, I said gentlemen!
What are you gentlemen doing on?
Forgive us ma’am, we had no kno,
Well it is, and I could shoot y,
Well we’ll be ready quickly and,
You will not see likes of us ag,
Just where’re you from?
Pardon?
Yankees? Yes?
No no, uh, nope we-we are froms
and we are on our way to Charle,
It’s a terrible sin to tell suc,
You a long way from home I dare,
[HORSE NEIGHING]
You’re gonna have to forgive my,
And why is that?
We’ve hardly eaten for, going ow
and probably delirious from hun,
You are solders, yes? ln the Un?
Whether presently or formally,
Your silence betrays you,
I cannot abide to see men starv,
my plantation estate,
You shall follow me up to the hd
as any other guest who might pas
small part of the world,
Ma’am?
You are travelers, yes? Weary, ?
Well, I may live in South Caroln
and I intend to offer, as is my,
all the hospitality that is due,
But as you say, we are union so
There it is, Well, the war is a
and in your present state I see
you would cause no harm to a po,
Now would you?
Therefore you shall follow me p,
Perhaps I should remind you tha,
then you are trespassers, and I,
Your name, sir?
Thomas Ryan,
Joseph Hoover, ma’am,
Pleased to make your acquaintan,
You may address me as Mrs, Macih
and this is my boy Jim,
Come along,
[SINGING]
Grandma!
My boy,
Mother?
Daughter, Come inside gentlemen,
Well by the look of you I dare,
Martha?
Yes ma’am?
See that these men are cared fo,
And find some suitable clothing,
Mother is everything is alright?
Everything is alright,
Gentlemen, come and take your s,
May I present my daughter, Elis?
How do you do?
Morgan
How do you do?
Elis’ son, Mark,
These are Mr, Hoover, Mr, Ryan,,
Pleasure to meet you sirs,
Likewise,
I trust you’ve found the attiref your liking?
Very much, thank you,
We won’t be staying very long,
Mr, Hoover can speak for himsel,
Why certainly he may, never the less, you are welcome
for as long as you wish to rema,
Thank you kindly,
And so as I happen to be a grea,
Please, I am just dying to knowr
of Yankee soldiers have found ts
as my company at my table this,
We escaped the hands of our opp,
Escaped? Where ever from?
Florence, lt’s a terrible stocks
confined to a small area,
We were held at gun point and f,
Goodness, Well tell me, as I’m
reasons and arguments for our o
to enter this war,
What are the most compelling aru
throughout your involvement in?
For the same reasons I expect,
Each of us must fight for what,
Ma’am if you don’t mind, we arer
and as your supper looks superb,
I hate to spoil my appetite any,
Oh how calloused of me, Enough
Gentlemen,
Well isn’t this a rare luxury?
Brandy?
Why, thank you,
Yes, thank you,
To what shall we toast?
Why, to winning to war of cours,
Sounds like a wonderful toast,
Whatever it will bring,
to peace, and an end to war
To peace,
[THUNDER CRASH]
Sir, get up
Quick, You don’t have long
Mrs, Macintosh, she, she be fets
Is breakfast so soon?
No, no such thing, they’s goinga
Reward& Reward? Wait, what?
You’s escaped, Yankees?
Yes,
W-well they coming for you, Th-,
Collect some sort of reward mon,
Why should I trust you? She’s b,
Sir that’s just her way, she hae
before she go fetch for help, -
Meet me downstairs,
Wake Tom,
Hey!
Tom! Tom!
[GRUNTS]
Shh Shh, Quiet quite, Where are,
Where are the other two? |
The-they turned back a while an
I’m sorry, Please don’t kill me,
Please don’t kill me,
You must go, you go on home,
alright you’re go back on home,,
Lets go, Tell’em you dropped th,
Contraband
What?
Contraband, that’s what I is,
Try to help, do right by the Lo,
Come on Jim, how’s that arm? Ca?
Suppose it’ll be fine,
Just a little sore but they ain,
Why’d you help us?
It seemed like a Christian thin
We’re strangers to you Jim, Wha?
Ya’ll been captives, That’s wha,
Said they heard ya’ll talking, They’da taken ya’ll back,
Throwed you in chains and I’ve,
know what that is and it ain’t e
but I had a good life, took car,
I ain’t get no more beatings,
Seemed like a pleasant home,
Except she deceived us, I mean,
treats us nice, and she deceive,
She is just looking out for her,
Don’t you blame her none cause,
You didn’t have to run, Jim, Yo
you were chasing us just like t,
I ran, that’s it,
Now you’re free,
Free, Free, free to get killed,
We all free, every one of us, f,
Let’s just not get caught,
Woah!
[LAUGHING]
[DOGS BARKING]
They’s hounds, They’s hounds, T,
You hear that? They gonna find,
I said they is gonna find us, T,
Shh, if you run, they will catc
We gotta go
Keep quite you dockey,
You’re gonna make ’em hear us,,
Jim listen it’s okay, we’re all,
Let’s keep moving,
You reckon we oughta try fishin,
Water still running high, fast,,
Yea, but at least it’s not rain,
Wet, dry it doesn’t matter, I’m,
Cool down Tom, Neither can’t yo,
Hey, wait, wait, wait, What is?
Good there’s a boat,
I know this place, I was born n,
And I ain’t been back here in a,
Well where do we go?
There’s a plantation not too fa,
We should get some food from th,
No we know how that turned out,
I’m not going to another planta,
Whole county is probably lookin,
We asks slaves, Come on,
We did that last time,
Follow me Mr, Tom,
Jim, you know this place?
Same as I remember,
You’ve been here before?
Thought I heard -
No, it can’t be,
Is that you momma?
Jim? Jim Young, my baby,
Yeah
I can’t believe - thought i’d n,
[SOBBING]
They carried you away, how long?
18 years,
I got old Jim
Jim we all did,
Beautiful momma,
These your masters?
No, uh, they’s Yankee union sol,
Momma I helps them escape,
You what? You did? You escaped?
Yes momma,
You contraband Jim, you got to w
you’s in danger,
Momma please, I ain’t see you i!
Can you spare anything? They’s,
They gotta get back to the Unio,
Simon’s the overseer Jim, Simonn
Simon?
Simon he won’t understand, he c
change, he’ll give you a real l,
Okay momma we’ll go but can we,
Please
Come on, get inside, Get in her,
Thank you momma,
Thank you,
Shhh hush up Mr Union man |
You’re gonna get us beat and ki
Simons coming, you’ll see,
Here, Jim you have to go,
Thank you momma,
He’s coming, be quiet, I’ll try
Stay calm everything will be fi
Simon: Dora what is wrong with?
Dora: nothing’s wrong everythin,
here’s something to eat, I’m su,
Please have something,
Oh no it much to stuffy inside,
Simon: But I wanna sit down,
Dora: Oh no i’ll get you a stoo,
Simon: Dora whats gotten into y,
Dora: Oh no please I’ll get you,
[PAINFUL YELL]
Simon: I said I’ll get the stoo
Who are you?
We’re travelers, looking for a
for a short bit, We’ll be gone,
Travelers?
Travelers,
Get out here,
Found these travelers up in the,
Travelers? Indeed,
Looks to me like Dora was hidin,
Is that right Dora? Hiding stow?
You know that ain’t gonna be tod
No! Get off of me!
Hey! You boys better start talkk
cause I ain’t a man known for t,
Let’s just hold on a minute,
We’re on our way back from Kans,
We were just coming back from Cn
when we bought this here slave,,
So let us go we won’t cause no,
I ain’t sure i believe all that?
Sound like a lie,
Drop the whip nigger,
Now I believe you boys owe me f,
I’ll take the slave as payment,
No, you can’t take him,
You have something to say to me?
I think it’s a pretty good deal,
You boys get to walk without a d
and I’ll take the slave as paym,
You boys long ways from home an,
Best be gettin’ on down the roa,
Jim? No master Daniel please -
I thought I asked for quite fro!
No momma!
Jim no!
Momma momma
Momma? Momma?
Momma
Hey there Jim, Don’t tell me th,
That’s your long lost brother,
Boy didn’t I sell you to the Ma?
What’s he doing getting bought?
He weren’t bought in Charleston
Kansas ain’t exactly a slave st,
Well sure it is we’re taking hi
You killed her,
They buy you boy? You a runaway?
You killed her!
When are you people ever gonna!
I is too free!
No you ain’t boy, is he Simon?,
how bout some right treatment f?
Come on!
Run!
Get on the boat! |
Get in!
What are you doing standing jus?
I can’t swim master,
You can’t swim! You can’t swim,,
Isn’t that something?
Come all this way to get shot a?
Jim? Jim are you okay? Jim? Hang in there, Okay?
We gotta find a place to rest tonight,
Okay, Jim come on get up,
Come on big fella,
Get up, come on get up,
Who’s there?!
Friends, We’re two Yankee soldiers and one of your
own, We need food and shelter and the negro’s in shock,
Where you from?
We escape from a secession, We’re headed back to the union,
What are Yankees doing in the South?
The war done come here?
We escape from a prison camp and this one is a runaway,
tried to help us, Please,
Never thought ld see the day,,,
Well, come on over here and get by the fire,
Anna, bring out a blanket for this one,
You can get ya and eat ya some yams and stew,
And fetch them some pone cakes,
He watched his mother get beaten to death, We all saw it,
Her master caught her trying to hide us,
That’s an awful thing,,,
But you must trust that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away
To live is to suffer and yet, we’ll do almost anything to survive,
It’s strange isn’t it,
You just have to do the best we can,
That act of defiance,,,
harboring you three,,,
was probably the freest thing that poor mans mother ever did,
I think I broke his nose,
That man who did it to her,
And I tell ya what,,,
I wish I’d killed him,
The same kind of feeling is in those flames,
If you watch them close,,,
They do what they will,
They going this way and that,
But they can’t go to far without going out,
You want to make New Bern,
Yeah, that’s what we figure,
Heard that there’s a union garrison over there,
There’s a lot of free and escaped slaves help folks out along the way,
Follow directions,,,
you’ll be alright,
Looks like our tree,
On a hill next to a wall,
Just like that negro said it would be,
Ain’t that something,
Wonder where he is?
He’ll be here,
Well,,, nothing to do now but,,,
Wait
Your mother was a strong woman,
My mother passed when I was young,
There was thirteen of us plus my pa, So, we took care for each other,
But my two older sisters, they did most of the mothering
after she was gone,
All do respect Mr, Joseph, You ain’t never seen your momma get beaten to death,
Jim, i’m sorry,
I’s the only one of my momma’s,
She miscarried five-six times before I was born,
Then Master Daniel’s sold me away when I was twelve,
Left her all alone,
It’s a terrible thing,
I feel terrible for what happened,
Why’d it happen?
Why’d I have to go back?
She’d still be alive If I ain’t never go back,
Maybe it’s like that old slave said,
"The Lord works in his own ways
How is this the Lord’s way?
Your mother made a great sacrifice,
You have a greater purpose now,
We all do,
[BREATHING IN]
Jim, where are you going?
Is a creek up the way,,,
I’m thirsty,
Well here, take this then,
Bring us back some fire wood in case he’s not here before dark,
[GUN CLICKS]
Easy boys,
Y’all have a nice nap,
What y’all doing here in a known negro meeting place huh?
Hi there boys,
Just taking a nap under this here tree,
If I didn’t know better, I’d say you is a Yank,
Where are you from?
From Maine actually,
Is that a crime here now in South Carolina?
This here is North Carolina,
You probably can’t tell the difference seeing as you’s from the north,
This is North Carolina,,,
Near Kenansville up yonder maybe,
Half a day,
Why you talking so much?
And what are y’all doing here?
Like I said gentlemen, resting under this here tree,
Now less I missed my guess,,,
That is against no law, not even here in confederate territory,
No it’s not,
Now what are y’all doing so far from home?
We are on a little business trip,
My partner and I are on our way to Charleston,
Ehya!
[GRUNTING]
[GUNSHOT]
Don’t move,
You okay Tom? Tom?
Tom?
Yeah, still breathing,
How’s that head?
How’d yea spect?
It’s fine,
Jim, how ya holding uo?
I be fine,
You start with that rebel yell,,, we’ll be forced to shoot you,
Which regiment you with?
What’s your regiment?
Sixth battalion North Carolina cavalry company A,
Where are your horses?
We left em in town, Came out to find some negro we heard talk of,
Where’s your company now?
Answer or my friend may shot you,
Well that is contrary to the rules of civilized warfare,
I am your prisoner, you can not shoot me,
I’ve seen my share of the rebels appreciation for the rules of war,
We spent over four months in Andersonville,
You may have heard of it,
Suffered horrible from your so called hospitality,
You killed two of us,
I’ll kill one more,
Killing is never pleasant,
Let’s not have to do more of it,
Our company is stationed in Kinston,
Just a few hours ride from here,
So what are you doing out here?
We was just scouts, Outliners, we was on patrol,
On patrol?
And here you say you were looking for a negro,
We were gonna met someone here,
I knew you was contraband escaped,
You two are helping a negro runaway,
[SPIT]
[LAUGHS]
See, it don’t matter no how,
We done killed your negro that’s helping,
You got no where to go to now,
Broke that link in your chain,
Tom get the rope,
Jim, hand me this fella’s clothes,
Give us an hour,
If I hear you hollering, I will come back and shot you,
Your friends will be a long soon enough,
Understood?
This is intolerable,
Yes, it is,
I still think we outta just shot him,
Be safer, What if someone comes and wanders along?
Which way to New Bern?
I will not ask you again,
It’s northeast of here, Maybe three days,
Here,
Justa minute,
I’ma stay with him,
Jim, you can’t stay here, You’ll get caught,
I keeps him quiet for ya,
Sides, somebody gotta go on back,
Warn others that confederates know about that tree,
You’re contraband Jim,
They will hang you,
I know,
But it’s like Mr, Joseph say,
"We all gotta purpose,"
I could’t free my momma,
But they’s other folks thats needs helping,
It does seem that there are quite a few escaped slaves helping others to freedom,
I ain’t meaning to be one of them, but I is,
I ain’t mean to run away,,,
I ain’t terrible religious,
But it seems God has chosen this new path for me,
You’ll need this,
Never forget you Jim,
You’re the bravest man I’ve ever known,
Thank you Mr, Joseph,
Thanks Jim,,, Take care of yourself,
We wouldn’t have come this far without you,
Here,,,
Protect yourself,
[FROGS CROAKING]
[GUNFIRE and SHOUTING]
They’re off the ridge,
[GUNFIRE and SHOUTING]
Hold Fire,
Hold,
We can’t just walk up through the line,
These uniforms may look familiar,,,
But they’ll know we’re not one of them,
Should we just go around?
No, they’ll take us for deserters,
Well, you better come up with a better suggestion,
Cause I can’t keep moving on like this,
If the rebs are up there,,,
The union,,, the union’s gonna be right behind that hill,
[Whispering] Hey, quiet down,
We’re under orders,
Hey, ain’t you boys suppose to up in the picket?
No sir, we’re with another company,
Which company?
I ain’t heard no ones supposed to be down here,
We’re scouts,
Outriders,
Yeah, I know what scouts is,
Which company?
7th battalion North Carolina,
There ain’t no 7th North Carolina calvary no more,
Hey, Union in the picket,
[GUNSHOT]
Union in the mine,
I see em,
[GUNSHOTS AND SHOUTING]
Reload,
7th? They were with the 6th,
I couldn’t remember,
Well, we’re sitting ducks now,
Liable to get killed by both sides,
God almighty!
Hello!
Who’s there?
Identify yourself,
We yanks,
Union boy’s just like you,
You planning some trickery there?
You’re wearing Confederate uniforms,
Take ya jackets off,
They’ll never let us through,
We,,, we,,, we,,, we escaped,
Stole’em off some scouts a ways back,
We’re unarmed,
My name’s Thomas J, Ryan,
Corporal 17th Maine Voulnteer Infiltry,
Joseph Hoover
121st regiment from New York,
Well come on then,,, quick!
It’s incredible,
Everyday we get slaves coming in,
Everyday, Sometimes by the score,
There’s getting to be so many of them,
Mr, James don’t know how to keep them all happy over in the Teriton river camp,
Ain’t never had Union boys coming up from the deep south though,
Listen up lad, you don’t know half the story,
We could fill a book with all we’ve done,
Ain’t that right Joseph?
Here here,
Maybe two,
Yup,,,
No happen without no hardships,
No sir,
You two are heroes,
And I bet you’ll get medals,
I tell ya what, I’d settle for a hot bath,
Here here,
[BOAT HORN]
He was a good man Jim Young,
I hope he is well,
Best negro I’ve ever met,
Had more character to win a medal than most people I know,
You’re doing the right thing Tom,
This union can not stand until all men are free,
And it can’t hold together unless each of us does our part,
You’re right,
Reckon that scout buried his friends,
Na, figured he ran back to his unit with his tail between his leg,
That or he deserted out of shame for being brought low by a slave,
The way I see it,,,
I don’t know what other way I see it,
We’ve been through hell together,
And it’s not over,
I do feel the tide has turned though,
I suspect so,
I have a few hours before the ship departs,
Reckon I should pay off some debts,
You take care of yourself sergant Thomas Ryan,
I’ll be seeing ya,
And to you Sergant Hoover,