Saturday, December 27, 2014

December 28, 1864---"Strange Christmas weather you will say."



DECEMBER 28, 1864:     

The first schools open for Freedmen in the Sea Islands of South Carolina. This daring experiment granted the newly-freed slaves land and tools to work the land. Northern teachers came to the Sea Islands to educate the blacks in the 3 Rs. In their wake, however, came abolitionist Congregationalist missionaries who tried to woo the slaves away from the Southern Baptist sect most of them knew. This caused stress between the freedmen, the teachers, and the missionaries. W.J. Richardson, one of the leaders of the education movement wrote a letter to a supporter, which reads in part:


Beaufort S. C. Dec 28, 1864


Rev. M. E. Striety [ ]


Dear Brother,


Your letter of the 16th . . . was duly recvd. . . . [O]ur first installment of Freedmen from Gen Sherman’s army came in to Beaufort on Sunday eve 700 strong, [and] many more are expected to follow. Most of them will be located out of town on the various Plant[ations]. Whether they will enlarge our schools so that more teachers will be needed is more than I can now tell . . . They are about to establish schools on several of the “School Farms” under their own control . . . This transfer will doubtless be best, where all parties can agree, rather than have strangers come into these schools . . . Your construction of my call for teachers is correct . . . 


I hope to visit Savannah soon and see what is wanting there . . . Sherman’s glorious march . . . fills us all with joy and thanksgiving. I have seen numbers of his men and several of the chaplains, they all speak of their march as a “pleasure excursion”. I think Gen Sherman has an army of invincibles. His men have the utmost confidence in him and are ready to do whatever he asks of them.


Our weather is like May now. Frogs, Birds and crickets are singing to cheer us and the Thunder is rolling in the heavens as I am writing. Strange Christmas weather you will say


Yours in love


W. J. Richardson