Rebellion Record: a Diary of American Events: Poetry and Incidents., Volume 2.
Frank Moore, Ed.

I was 22 years this last April 15th gone; I was borned in Mulberry Island; my massa's name was John Green, sir; he has been gone now, reckon about four weeks; he is now in Yorktown; he was a real bad man; he has licked me dyvers a time; he always licked me wid a cowhide, made out a cow's skin; he went away telling us colored folks dat dese ere dam Yankees were coming to work us like mules, and dat we must hoe his corn and stay by de old home; I stayed dare four weeks after massa quit; day geb us only two pounds of meat, and a peck oa meal to feed us a week, and lick us hard at dat; I was in Yorktown week afore last to see my mass', me and six more oa de boys, and day put us to work cutting hay for de horses; I worked in Yorktown on de fort dare; found it warry hard; I reckon ‘bout hundred warry poor white folks worked wid me and us oder slaves in de fort; de oder men ride about on fine horses, and get drunk ebery day; de women are all gone out oa Yorktown; dare is only about 15 or 20 houses in dare in dat air Yorktown; de soldiers hab few tents like dese ere; de richest ob um hab tents, and de poorest ob um make bush houses; when I left dare last Saturday, day had 9 guns on de fort dare; day hab four or five pointed out so as to shoot in de riber; when we work on dat dare fort, day come up and say, ‘ Hura, boys! hurry up dat dare fort; de Yankees will be here directly, and dig de trench deep, so dat de dam Yankees fall in, and break deir dam necks;’ more dan half ob de soldiers hab guns, and de oders say day espect some from [84] Richmond; some hab been dare a fortnight, or tree weeks, widout any arms; day fetch on provision from Richmond; steamboat lands dare on Yorktown; de poor soldiers dam, complain for not habina nothina to eat; dare are some right smart ob slaves dare to work, and day all say day get off soon as possible ; dare are about a tousand on horses, and day go out ebry day to see if any ob you are coming; and when day see any thing what looks like you Yankee folks, day run back, and den day all get scared; day all left after de fight at Bethel, and gone to Yorktown, and den a week, was dis here last Saturday, day all go back wid wagons to Bethel agin, and day carry out provisions ebry day to Bethel, or somewhere dat way; dare are no boats at Yorktown ; last week day burned two wharfes near Yorktown, so dat de dam Yankee ships can't land; de Yorktown troops say dat dare are two or tree tousand troops at Williamsburg; day say dat when de dam Yankees march all on cm, den day come from Bethel and Williamsburg, and all fall into Yorktown. --N. Y. Tribune, June 28.