บท 40: Tom the Slave
Near Augusta, Georgia
July 6th, 1776
Tom didn't know why his master was so scared. His master had been forcing Tom and the other slaves to "take a break" from work earlier than usual for the past week. Instead of working hard on the tobacco fields until the sun went down, Tom and his ninety other fellow slaves were allowed to "enjoy" the rest of the day off just a few hours after the sun was highest in the sky. Even more strangely, the slaves were receiving better food than before, and new buildings were being constructed to expand their quarters. There were no more beatings or lashings too, which Tom was grateful for. The changes were strange, and Tom thought that it had something to do with the fact that his master looked off into the distance with a fearful look every so often.
It was another normal day after the changes were made when Tom and the other slaves were out on the field to maintain the crop and prepare for harvesting season. While they were working on the field, one of the young masters, the eldest boy on the cusp of adulthood, ran towards the master's main house in a panic. When the master talked with the young master on his porch, he turned pale and ran off into the direction the young master came from. The master usually supervised the field, so when the master ran off, many of the other slaves slacked off or waited in silence for their master to return. However, Tom worked just as hard as before. After all, the master did treat them better, and the last thing he wanted was those nice things taken away from him.
When the master returned, he returned with an army of soldiers. Thousands of men walked through the fields, looking at the slaves working on the field with a mix of sadness and pity. Tom could hear the conversation between his master and a tall man with strange facial features from where he was working. From the way the master treated the man, it was apparent that the strange man was the leader of all the soldiers.
"And their treatment?"
"They are being treated as fairly as possible, sir. I have been unable to pay them because it's before harvesting season, and I do not have the resources to do so, but you have my word that they will be paid fairly soon."
The strange man scanned the lines of slaves and grimaced, "I will give you some gold for doing this willingly, Mr. Anderson. Most of it will be to compensate you, but I expect some of them to be used to improve the conditions of the now-former slaves. By that, I mean decent housing, decent food, pay to start from now, and the such. I'm sure you have heard of what has happened to some of the less accepting plantation owners in South Carolina and Georgia?"
Tom's master, Mr. Anderson, nodded his head vigorously, "Yes! Yes! I do. Don't worry, sir. You have my word that I will abide by your terms."
"That's good to hear, Mr. Anderson," The officer's eyes swept the field again, "All of you are now free and forever free! You may not know what that means now, but you will know soon enough. None of you are slaves from now on; all of you are free men!"
Afterward, several soldiers under the man's command went to the slaves and checked for any injuries or health issues. Tom was treated by a fellow Negro who inspected him with care, "Good to see that you're unhurt."
"It's cuz I a good slave!" Tom declared proudly.
The Negro soldier shook his head and gripped his shoulder, "You're not a slave now, sir. You're a free man."
"A free man?" Tom asked confusedly.
"You don't need to work here anymore. You can walk and leave this plantation freely. You don't need to listen to Mr. Anderson there anymore either, because he isn't your master. You can stay and get paid for your work, but otherwise, you can gather your belongings and leave with your friends and family."
Tom scratched his head, "But if I is to leave master, what could I do?"
The man smiled for a second before loosening his grip on his shoulder, "Well, how about you join up with me and serve in the marines? The pay and the food are good. The training is a bit tough, but you get used to it after a while. If you decide to join, you can come with us and free other slaves too. General Kim is a great man; we've freed thousands of slaves under his command. He's very fair to everyone, even former slaves, and I'm sure you'll have no problems fitting in and fighting with us."
The former slave was unused to the idea of freedom. The idea of leaving the place he had spent the last fifteen years was foreign to him. But then he saw the fancy uniform his fellow Negro was wearing and saw that hundreds of other Negros were wearing the same uniforms too. They all looked well-fed, fit, and carried themselves professionally. Tom imagined himself standing next to them, fighting with them, and freeing people slaves too. After thinking about it, the idea didn't sound so bad. He had no idea what "being free" meant, or how to be a soldier, but he was a hard worker and knew he could learn one day.
"How do I join?"
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