A Story of Freedom

October 15, 1863

The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room.

The carriage carrying the beautiful Blanche and Bianca was leaving the plantation and the slave girl, Magnolia, behind. All the young debutantes from Charleston were getting ready for the cotillion which would be their introduction to society and to all the eligible young bachelors.

Mr. Samuel Montgomery had three beautiful daughters with his wife, Chloe. Chloe was a member of the Beamont family from Atlanta. Her parents sailed to America from France and brought all their family wealth, customs, and traditions with them. At some point Chloe was visiting a friend in Charleston and ran into a young, single Samuel Montgomery. Their union was a good partnership for their families. The Montgomery family made their fortune from growing tobacco and the Beamont family had made their fortune from growing cotton. Therefore, they would be a power couple in the Charleston society.

Magnolia was a slave girl that had been born on the plantation and brought inside to care for the Montgomery daughters. Even though Magnolia shared the Montgomery bloodline with Blanche, Bianca, and Belle, she would never be recognized by society. She was the product of an affair the master had with a slave girl.

When Magnolia was born, she was born into slavery and had to live in the slave quarters even though she was of the Montgomery bloodline. Her mother had been sold to another master after the misses, Chloe, found out about her husband’s affair with the slave girl. So, Magnolia was raised by another young slave girl named Shay. Shay took very good care of Magnolia and was the one who named her after this beautiful flower that grew on trees on the master’s plantation. When Magnolia reached the age of nine, she was taken into Mr. Samuel’s house to help take care of his three daughters: Blanche, Bianca, and Belle.

Blanche and Bianca were the two eldest daughters of Mr. Samuel and Mrs. Chloe. At the age of 16, girls would be formally introduced to society and to all the eligible bachelors. Magnolia had helped prepare the girls for the cotillion. Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery bought them the finest dresses that money could buy.

Belle, the youngest Montgomery daughter was Magnolia’s favorite. She and Belle were close in age and Belle was a compassionate, kind soul unlike the other two daughters. Blanche and Bianca were always hateful to Magnolia along with their mother. They knew about their father’s transgression and were jealous of the young girl. Belle was too young and had no idea that she and Magnolia were half-sisters.

Magnolia had the same features as the other Montgomery girls, but due to her slave heritage would never be allowed to marry any of the eligible bachelors in Charleston. She knew that she would never be accepted and that she would always be a slave.

One day while Magnolia was tending the horses on the plantation, she decided to go for a ride. She chose the master’s horse because he was so beautiful. She was riding through the woods when she happened upon a hurt soldier. Magnolia recognized his uniform and knew right away that he was a union soldier. He had been shot in the arm by confederate soldiers during an ambush and needed medical attention. She knew if she took him back to the master’s house that he would be shot so she decided to hide him on the property. Magnolia chose one of the slave quarters to hide this soldier. She asked Shay to help her tend to the soldier. They cleaned his wound and fed and nurtured him back to health. During this time, Magnolia protected his secret from the master, his family, and the other slaves. The soldier’s name was Lieutenant Davis Solomon from Pennsylvania. He was a young, handsome man. He and Magnolia grew close during this healing time. She updated him on everything she learned about the confederate soldiers in the area, helped him heal, and became a trusted confidante to the soldier. Davis had no idea that Magnolia was a slave.

One day, he overheard Magnolia and Shay talking about her situation and that she was in love with him. He confronted her and learned about her heritage, but he also realized that he had fallen for her and wanted to rescue her from this terrible situation. Davis realized how dangerous this mission would be for both. He needed to contact his unit again to avoid becoming a prisoner of war and he needed to rescue Magnolia and help her escape to freedom. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Magnolia. He knew if the confederate supporters found out that she saved a union soldier that she would be whipped, hanged, or shot. Davis had to find a way to rescue her from slavery and take her up north where she would be free and then they would be free to marry.

Magnolia, Shay, and Davis came up with a plan. They would travel at night just like slaves did on the underground railroad. Shay knew of a slave that had already traveled up north on the underground railroad and knew all the stops and safe houses. Shay’s friend known as Ulysses would help them. He had made several trips from the south back to the north and then back to the south to help other slaves escape slavery. They agreed to meet at night on the edge of the property to escape their conditions.

Magnolia was terrified and sad because she was leaving the only life she knew. She would also miss Belle and her other friends, but Davis and her freedom were more important. Shay and Davis also had their doubts, but he wanted to return to his unit and help defeat the injustices in the south, especially since he had now experienced slavery firsthand. The talk up north about how awful slavery was did not even touch the injustices of the system in the south.

Ulysses whistled to get their attention. They moved swiftly and quietly until they came to a clearing in the woods with a quilt. Ulysses knew all the patterns and knew that this quilt pattern meant that it was a stop on the underground railroad. They hid here in this tunnel and slept until it was time to travel again. At dusk, they could hear hounds barking in the distance. Ulysses understood that this meant Mr. Montgomery had his men out looking for them. He knew Magnolia and Shay had escaped and would look for them until they were found. If his men caught up with them, they would suffer torture and possibly death especially if he found out that they were also harboring a fugitive from the north.

Every night, they would travel. As they moved and made progress in their travels, they would always hear dogs barking in the distance. Ulysses continued to lead the way like a light in the darkness. They would stop at all the safe houses and then only travel at night. If they could make it to the ocean, they would board a ship at night and hide in the cargo until they reached Massachusetts. From Massachusetts, they could travel by horse to Pennsylvania.

There they would get word to Davis’s unit that he was safe and then they could get married.

Finally, they reached the dock and found a ship that was destined to sail to Massachusetts. They boarded the ship and hid with the cargo. Davis saw confederate soldiers near the dock. Unfortunately, one of the soldiers had spotted them and alerted his partner. They were coming closer, and Davis had to do something quick. As the soldiers came around the corner, Davis jumped out along with Ulysses and punched the soldiers. There was a slight skirmish and then the danger was out of the way. Davis found a place to hide the soldiers to keep them out of their way and from alerting anyone else to their presence on the ship.

The ship began to move. Freedom was almost a possibility for Magnolia, Shay, Ulysses, and Davis. They finally slept all night and almost the whole next day. It took them three nights to reach the shore of Massachusetts. Even though they were in a free state, it was still better not to let anyone know that they were slaves trying to escape slavery.

They waited until dusk to leave the ship. Davis found a union troop stationed near Massachusetts Bay and reported to General Benjamin Butler. He chose not to tell him the whole story, but that Shay and Ulysses helped him, and his fiancée escape to the north. General Butler helped Davis by introducing him to the preacher at the local church. Davis and Magnolia were married at last.

They spent the night in a local hotel and then the next morning Lieutenant Davis Solomon reported to duty. He would continue to fight the south for his wife’s freedom as well as for freedom for her people.

Magnolia finally knew what it meant to be free and loved. She carried an important history in her veins, but she would never have had the same privileges as Blanche, Bianca, or Belle in the south. Hopefully, Belle would understand one day why she had to leave and live her best life up north.

Shay remained with Magnolia and Davis since she was like a mother to Magnolia. Ulysses continued to help with the underground railroad and made several more trips to the south to help free more slaves. Davis went on to continue the fight against the south. Because of his bravery and leadership, he finally achieved the rank of general. He became General Davis Solomon of the Union Army. General Solomon was wounded again in the Battle of Gettysburg and returned home to his beloved, Magnolia.

He retired from the army and he and Magnolia had three children of their own.