seen and when it crashed onto the deck, it left a chest behind.”
Sable’s brows knitted in confusion. “A chest?”
“Yes, a big, old sea chest. The major finally got it open and you stepped out!”
“Me!”
“You. Of course I didn’t know it was you at the time, but yes, Sable, you were in the chest.”
“Was there anything else in it?”
“Yep. A bunch of babies. Brown ones, Black ones, gold ones. They came spilling out like a bunch of puppies.”
Sable had never heard anything like this before in her life. “Babies?”
“Dozens of them.”
Sable smiled and shook her head. “Was there anything else?”
“Yes, a thin gold bracelet.”
Sable drew in a sharp breath.
“When the major placed it on your wrist, the sea calmed and the sun came out.”
Sable didn’t know what to think. Part of her wanted to show Araminta Mahti’s bracelet to see if it matched the one in the dream. But did she really want to know? she asked herself. She answered with a resounding no! “How did you find me at the old Dresden place?”
“Funny thing. I had a dream about that same chest a few days before we met. It was sitting in front of a burning house, and I could hear something knocking around inside it. When I opened it, a golden bird flew out. I chased it for a long time, then finally caught it outside a house that looked a lot like the house where we met. When I got up that next morning, I set out to find that house. I had no idea where it was, or who or what I’d find there, but I knew something was waiting for me there.
“So you just up and went.”
“Sure did. Glad I did too.”
Sable smiled. She didn’t know how much of this tale she believed, but she was glad Araminta had believed it, otherwise they probably would never have met. “Babies, huh?”
“Yep, babies.”
Sable wondered if the dream meant she and the major were going to have children. She immediately decided that was something else she’d no desire to ask Araminta about. A change in topic seemed overdue. “Do you know why this is called a contraband camp?”
“It’s the word everyone is using to describe the slaves who escape to the army. It was first applied to runaways in May of ’61, when three male slaves deserted over to the Union forces stationed near Fortress Monroe, Virginia. The Union general Benjamin Butler took them in and let them stay.”
“That was very fair-minded of him,” Sable said.
“I agree, but a Confederate colonel arrived the following day waving a white flag of truce and demanding the return of his property.”
“What did Butler do?”
“Declined. Told the Reb colonel that because the state of Virginia had chosen to withdraw from the Union, all property of any kind was subject to confiscation, as in any war. The three slaves were termed contraband of war and sent to work building a Union bakehouse.”
“And that’s where the phrase comes from?”
“Yep. The phrase became a popular one with the Northern press and soon came to be applied to all Blacks seeking safety behind Union lines.”
“Interesting.”
According to Araminta, by July 1861, General Butler and his troops had become a beacon of hope—almost a thousand new contrabands had sought safety behind Union lines at Fortress Monroe. When the first full year of the war ended, there were thousands of additional contrabands following the Union armies, camped outside Washington and in the tidewater regions of Virginia and South Carolina. To the west, camps formed in Union-held territory on the Mississippi.
Araminta said, “At first, Butler’s decision to offer those slaves harbor didn’t sit well with the Washington politicians. Up until then runaways had been returned to their masters.”
Sable found that confusing. “It seems to me the Yankee politicians would have been better served by encouraging slaves to run, not returning them. After all, we slaves are—or shall I say were—the wheels on the Confederacy’s war
Sable’s brows knitted in confusion. “A chest?”
“Yes, a big, old sea chest. The major finally got it open and you stepped out!”
“Me!”
“You. Of course I didn’t know it was you at the time, but yes, Sable, you were in the chest.”
“Was there anything else in it?”
“Yep. A bunch of babies. Brown ones, Black ones, gold ones. They came spilling out like a bunch of puppies.”
Sable had never heard anything like this before in her life. “Babies?”
“Dozens of them.”
Sable smiled and shook her head. “Was there anything else?”
“Yes, a thin gold bracelet.”
Sable drew in a sharp breath.
“When the major placed it on your wrist, the sea calmed and the sun came out.”
Sable didn’t know what to think. Part of her wanted to show Araminta Mahti’s bracelet to see if it matched the one in the dream. But did she really want to know? she asked herself. She answered with a resounding no! “How did you find me at the old Dresden place?”
“Funny thing. I had a dream about that same chest a few days before we met. It was sitting in front of a burning house, and I could hear something knocking around inside it. When I opened it, a golden bird flew out. I chased it for a long time, then finally caught it outside a house that looked a lot like the house where we met. When I got up that next morning, I set out to find that house. I had no idea where it was, or who or what I’d find there, but I knew something was waiting for me there.
“So you just up and went.”
“Sure did. Glad I did too.”
Sable smiled. She didn’t know how much of this tale she believed, but she was glad Araminta had believed it, otherwise they probably would never have met. “Babies, huh?”
“Yep, babies.”
Sable wondered if the dream meant she and the major were going to have children. She immediately decided that was something else she’d no desire to ask Araminta about. A change in topic seemed overdue. “Do you know why this is called a contraband camp?”
“It’s the word everyone is using to describe the slaves who escape to the army. It was first applied to runaways in May of ’61, when three male slaves deserted over to the Union forces stationed near Fortress Monroe, Virginia. The Union general Benjamin Butler took them in and let them stay.”
“That was very fair-minded of him,” Sable said.
“I agree, but a Confederate colonel arrived the following day waving a white flag of truce and demanding the return of his property.”
“What did Butler do?”
“Declined. Told the Reb colonel that because the state of Virginia had chosen to withdraw from the Union, all property of any kind was subject to confiscation, as in any war. The three slaves were termed contraband of war and sent to work building a Union bakehouse.”
“And that’s where the phrase comes from?”
“Yep. The phrase became a popular one with the Northern press and soon came to be applied to all Blacks seeking safety behind Union lines.”
“Interesting.”
According to Araminta, by July 1861, General Butler and his troops had become a beacon of hope—almost a thousand new contrabands had sought safety behind Union lines at Fortress Monroe. When the first full year of the war ended, there were thousands of additional contrabands following the Union armies, camped outside Washington and in the tidewater regions of Virginia and South Carolina. To the west, camps formed in Union-held territory on the Mississippi.
Araminta said, “At first, Butler’s decision to offer those slaves harbor didn’t sit well with the Washington politicians. Up until then runaways had been returned to their masters.”
Sable found that confusing. “It seems to me the Yankee politicians would have been better served by encouraging slaves to run, not returning them. After all, we slaves are—or shall I say were—the wheels on the Confederacy’s war
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