Transitions by Mike Hormek - HTML preview

Chapter 4

She met James at the library where Jacob worked. They hit it off, although he was reluctant to commit. The times did not accept mixed couples. He changed his mind once he discovered her true heritage. James was black, single, and a doctor with his practice. Before his graduation, only 22 Black doctors in the U.S. Twelve were in the U.S. Army. Although free, his family had also left the South to escape the war.

He managed to go to medical school with donations and loans from friends and family he vowed to repay. Members of his family became wealthy from the war. His skin was dark black, while she passed for white, so a mixed marriage would be a challenge. They dated indiscreetly, developing a relationship under abnormal conditions. She did not disclose her past, and he did not ask.

One day, Sally asked, "Now that the war is over, I want to return home. Would you go with me and set up a practice in Louisiana?"

James agreed, but he said the timing had to be correct. The four-year martial law imposed on New Orleans ended on May 12, 1866. President Andrew Johnson's reconstruction policies were vehe-mently opposed by Southerners, triggering riots in Dixie. Many whites were ex-Confederate soldiers, while many blacks were ex-Union soldiers.

On July 30, 1866, a race riot occurred. The Louisiana Constitutional Convention reconvened to address the issue of black voting rights. A delegation of approximately 130 blacks marched to The Mechanic's Institute, where the riots occurred, and a mob attacked the blacks, killing over 238, some of whom were ex-Union soldiers. As a result, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act in 1867, imposing Martial Law.

Sally, James, and Kittie waited before leaving, as travel was challenging. Railroads were available, but carriage travel was sometimes necessary. Sally notified her employer while James found new doctors to take his patients. Kittie kept inquiring about Jacob's death, as she knew they had been seeing each other, but Sally refused to discuss him. Sally worried about what she might find on the plantation.

Did the Union burn the place? What happened to everyone? Would she have to explain her sudden departure? What about the overseers? The two black drivers, Adam and Moses, joined the Union. What happened to them? What happened to the white overseer, John? And she had difficulty shaking them.

Almost three years passed, and it was time to face the music. It was approaching the end of the year, and it was time to go.

Travel between Philadelphia and New Orleans was uneventful, although the unlikely trio—a black man, a white woman, and a black woman—got many stares. James would dress down and pretend he was a servant to Sally, a free black man she employed.

Once in New Orleans, Sally knew the area and was careful in the city as the riots had raised con -

cerns. A powder keg could quickly go off as hard feelings abounded over the black massacre as well as resistance to black citizenship. Issues over streetcar segregation also triggered non-violent protests. After the war, New Orleans was instrumental in developing tools used by black activists around the country, including marches, sit-ins, rallies, and boycotts. Blacks were allowed to board streetcars marked with giant black stars. White gang members crowded those cars to prevent and humiliate black riders.

They purchased a horse and buggy on the outskirts of New Orleans. Only Union money was accepted, as the Confederate dollar was worth six cents to one Union dollar at the end of the war. The Confederacy printed paper money traded for gold or silver should the South win the war, proving worthless. These were known as "promissory notes." The notes were also brown after age and were not

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protected against counterfeiting as green-colored bills are. Bartering was commonplace as "real"

money was scarce. It took time for Union money to get back into total circulation.

The plantations changed from planting cotton and other money crops to planting grains and vegetables for survival. Sustainable living came from raising livestock. On the way to the plantation from New Orleans, there were still war remnants. Sally saw that the black community church where she once went with her

mother burned.

When they arrived on the plantation, they saw smoke and the smell of turnip greens cooking.

Several burned outbuildings and slave quarters were visible. Sally's eyes glued to a spot of trees that remained. When they reached the place, she could see what remained of the Big House.

"I am afraid to look," she told James. "What if it's burned?"

He just nodded.

What she saw amazed her. The big house was still standing. It was in disrepair and needed paint. The greens she smelled cooking were on the front porch. A black woman was stirring the pot.

She gazed at them as they approached. In the front yard, which had spots for carriages in the past, was a fenced area. In that area was a hog pen with four hogs. In another were two cows, which appeared to be milk cows. Another area had a coop with several chickens. Sally saw horses tied to posts on the perimeter of the fenced-in area. Grass and weeds had taken over the area around the big house. It ap -

peared squatters had taken.

“I don’t know what to say,” she murmured.

“Let’s find out who’s here,” James said.

All three approached the woman on the porch.

"Hello, who lives here?" She asked the woman.

“Master John,” she replied.

Sally could not believe the white overseer was still there.

“Could that be him?” she wondered.

“Where is he?" Sally asked.

“We will wait inside,” Sally said.

It was only a short time before a carriage with a male driver pulled up. The welcome needed to be more cordial.

"Hello, John," Sally said.

"Well, we did not know if you were returning. You all left before Master Thomas's body was cold."

"We had to leave. You do not know the reasons I thought the soldiers would burn the house,"

she said.

"The Union soldiers did not come much. Only the Confederate soldiers wanted food, so we gave them as much as possible."

“What happened to the workers?" Sally asked.

"Most went to New Orleans when they found out Thomas was dead. The ones left asked if they could stay as they had nowhere to go. I saved some money but could not find any cash in the house, so I did my best. I had no money to continue with the crops. The Union burned what crops were left when Thomas died. The remaining workers did not want to work for wages because they did not want to be controlled by the current owners. Most of the plantation owners had to sell by auction. The new owners need to catch up to get back in business because of the reconstruction, and I need more resources to re-plant crops, but workers will come back under a program called sharecropping. That is where they will tend to the crops for a percentage. That is becoming popular around here."

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"Well, we intend to come back here and live on the plantation," Sally said, "My friend James here is a doctor, and he intends to set up practice."

"Good luck," John said sarcastically, "but I would not stay in the house if I were you. I would stay out back in the servant's quarters."

“Why?” Sally asked.

“Because I hear footsteps all night long; He walks just like Master Thomas.”

Kittie’s eyes got big.

"I'm not sleeping in the house, Miss Sally," she said.

"By the way, the war killed Moses, the driver. He was fighting for the Union," John said.

“Both Moses and Adam were fighting for the North," Sally added.

“Any word about Adam?"

John hung his head as he muttered, “His family has not heard."

"By the way, I found a note signed by Master Thomas leaving the plantation to you, his only living heir. I did not know you were his daughter."

"Nobody did,” Sally answered.

"He also said that if you could not assume responsibilities, I could have the plantation. I would wait another six months before I took the title."

“Was the cause of death determined?” Sally asked.

"No, I called a doctor from New Orleans, and he examined the body."

"What did he say?" she asked with a worried look.

"He said he thought it was poison, and he would have the authorities come out to investigate."

“Did they come out?” Sally asked.

"No, the Union Army was having skirmishes with some Confederate soldiers in the area, so no one ever showed up."

"Do you think they will ever discover what happened, Miss Sally?" Kittie asked.

Sally walked to the edge of the porch. Staring at the Oleander plant, she said, "Only time will tell."

James started and maintained a practice until he died in 1943. Sally continued to run the plantation with the help of her overseers until she died in 1953 at 93. She carried "The Secret of the Oleander Blossom" to her grave. The authorities did not prosecute Sally.

The end

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THE COVID TERRORIST