1864 p. 11-23
The Lewis slaves were made to work on the fields
even though is was Sunday. It was a year ago since
they worked the fields on a Sunday. may Joshua
Lewis, Moses Lewis' brother had run away because he
had heard that his wife, Neela might be sold, and
Lem Lewis, Mose's son, was described by Grandma
Dolly as being like her grandfather Muhummad and
“did things differently”(p.15), and Grandma Dolly
also says, “If you born with a taste for freedom in
your mouth, you got to satisfy it.” Lem had escaped
and run away too.
There were patrollers out looking for Joshua and
Lem. Everybody was wondering what happened to
them. Master Lewis, his family, his overseer Mister
Joe Haynes and his workers, and Moses Lewis, his
family and the other slaves all wondered if they
would be caught.While they were working in the
fields, Moses sees Lem off at a distance because he
starts singing a spiritual referring to the lost lambs,
“The young lambs must find the way...” and
eventually the slaves see what Moses had seen, Lem
being dragged behind a horse.
Saran, Lem's mother, grandma Dolly, Moses and the
other slaves back in their quarters, rely on their faith
and call on God to keep Lem safe.Miss Julia, Master
Lewis' daughter comes to get Lizzy with the excuse
that the kitchen is dirty, in order to manipulate Lizzy
into telling her what she knows about Lem and
Joshua. She acts so high and mighty when she says to
Lizzy that it's thanks to her that Lem is still alive,
“They should hang him from a fruit tree...and they
would have, too, if it hadn't been for me...I told them
not to hang him because I knew you were sweet on
him.”(p.23)
The Glory Field
1864
p. 24-34
Miss Julia and Lizzy drink tea and Miss Julia sweet
talks Lizzy even telling her that one day she is going
to buy Lizzy from her father and set her free so that
they can walk hand and hand in pretty dresses in
Johnson City.
Lizzy is told by Master Lewis to return to the
quarters, and she listens for a minute behind the
door to see if she can hear anything about Joshua
and Lem. When she arrives to the quarters everyone
asks her questions about what she heard. She tells
them that Lem is tied to a tree out in the woods and
tomorrow they are going to talk to the slave trader
Mister Oakes and see if he can sell him to Foster.
Moses doesn't trust Miss Julia and he has no qualms
in telling Lizzy that Miss Julia is just sweet talking
her, and Grandma Dolly says, “And don't think you
overheard nothing they don't want you to know.
Anything you know is what they want you to know so
they can use you.”(p.30)
Everybody in the slave quarters is wondering if
Joshua is going to come back for Lem. Everybody
knows that Joshua knows what tree Lem is tied to
only they don't know if he is going to come back for
him. Moses tells a story of two boys and how they
couldn't take the abuse from the master anymore and
they end up being hung for fighting with a white man.
He tells this story to remind them that Lem and
Joshua are not safe.
We find out how Lizzy came to live with Moses Lewis
and his family. Lizzy's mother died because of all the
hard work in the rice plantations, therefore, Lizzy
came to live with Moses and his family. Lizzy lying in
bed remembers a coachman from Savannah, Georgia
and how fine he looked in his fine clothes and how he
talked about how the white people treat the blacks in
Savannah, and how he doesn't understand why the
blacks aren't just happy with their situation and
should accept it instead of fighting it. He says, “And
be like them folks that call themselves free?...they
ain't doing no kind of good...they were better off
being slaves. Least they had something to eat and
knew how to behave themselves.”(p.33) Moses did
not agree with the coachman from Savannah, and he
shows his repulsion by spitting on the ground and
saying “...a poor excuse for a man...”(p.33)
Lizzy keeps pondering about Lem and turning her
thoughts over and over again about him, and asks
herself if Lem had a freedom dream and that's why he
left. Lizzy wants to go and say bye to Lem and “say
something good to him so he wouldn't feel so all
alone,”(p.34)
The Glory Field
1864
p. 35-44
Lizzy was lying down in the cabin when she decides
to go out to see Lem and bring him water. She is
surprised by her Grandma Dolly on the porch. Lizzy
listens to her Grandma's advice that Grandma Dolly's
father told her. “He used to say they keep us in
between the whip and the North Star. One hand holds
out freedom and the other holds out a whip. Long as
we sitting there turning our heads which way and
that...If they can't turn your head, they can't turn you
at all”(p.37). The whites offer the blacks the North
Star in one hand, but have the whip in the other. The
North Star representing freedom and the whip
representing the south and slavery.
Lizzy goes off to see Lem and brings a clay jug of
water with her to give some water to Lem. She is
hesitant about going and at times stops on the way
wondering if she should have brought Lem something
to eat, if he is going to ask her to cut him loose, how
will she find Lem, and if they find her there with him
if she would be whipped? She remembers seeing Bill
being whipped just because Old Master Lewis thought
that Bill was being disrespectful to young Master
Lewis. All that Bill had done really was to drop a bolt
of fabric by mistake in the mud. A small thing made
into a bigger problem for no reason really.
Lizzy finds Lem tied to a tree and his face is swollen
and there was blood on his cheek. She decides to
clean Lem and offer him some water. While Lem was
drinking water all of a sudden Lizzy was whipped by
Mister Joe Haynes! He whipped her three times! Once
across her back, once on her ankles, and once across
her hip even tearing her thin dress. Mister Joe
Haynes accuses Lizzy of trying to free Lem. Mister Joe
Haynes justifies himself with this excuse to whip
Lizzy.
While Mister Joe Haynes was occupied by Lem and
Lizzy, and he whipped Lizzy one more time, he did
not see Joshua come through the bushes. “Joshua's
body crashed into the overseer's bent frame and sent
him backwards.”(p.44) Lem urges Lizzy to grab the
rifle that “...still lay across the bush.”(p.44)
The Glory Field
1864
p. 45-51
Joshua gets Mister Joe Haynes pinned to the ground,
and Mister Joe Haynes begs for his life. “...But don't
kill me. I got a wife and family.”(p.46) Lizzy begs
Joshua not to shoot Mister Joe Haynes too. Joshua
says that Lizzy has to run away with them otherwise
Master Lewis will whip, and probably kill her. Lizzy
can't believe that she has to go and won't be able to
see Grandma Dolly or the rest of the family again.
Joshua decides that she can run back to the quarters
to say good-bye, but that she has to hurry. “If you get
back in a short while, I won't kill him...If you don't,
I'm going to have to break his neck...”(47)
Lizzy runs back to the quarters and tells everyone
what happened. Lizzy wished that this would had
never happened. Saran takes Lizzy's face in her
hands and says, “When folks take your freedom, and
the only way for you to get it is to risk dying for it,
then dying comes when it wants to. You go on, you'll
be all right. You young. You got plenty to live
for...”(50) Saran tells Lizzy that Miss Julia came to
get Lizzy to take her back to the big house, but Saran
told Miss Julia that Lizzy was in the field because she
was sick. Saran urges Lizzy to change her dress
because Miss Julia would be back and if Miss Julia
saw her dress she would know that something was
wrong. Every one agrees that Lizzy has to get back to
Joshua and Lem to run away.
Miss Julia comes to the door and wants Lizzy to come
to the big house, but Lizzy pretends that she is sick
and Miss Julia says, "Well you do look a sight"(p.51).
The Glory Field
1864
p. 52-58
Miss Julia wants to bring Lizzy to the big house, but
Lizzy convinces Miss Julia that she will come in the
morning. Everybody at Lizzy's house are frantic
because they know that Lizzy has to get going to meet
Lem and Joshua. Lizzy says her goodbyes to everyone
and Saran says, “If you get caught, act like you ain't
right in the head”(p. ). Saran tells Lizzy not to turn
back.
Lizzy meets up with Joshua and Lem away from the
tree. As they head out Lizzy keeps asking," where are
we going?"(p54) Of course Joshua doesn't really
know where they are going and so is his frustration
Joshua just says , “Just going.”((p.54) Lizzy wonders
if Lem and Joshua killed Mister Joe Haynes and
that's why they were not talking much. Joshua wants
to take them to an abandoned smoke house, but when
they get close they realize that they are not going to
make it to the house so Lem and Lizzy hide up in
some trees. Lizzy was feeling exhilarated at the
thought of herself being free, and she contemplates
these thoughts as she watches some white men out
with children playing in the fields.
Joshua leaves them and Lizzy and Lem sleep in the
trees. Lizzy realizes that something profound has
happened to her...”It was what had happened to her.
She was free. It was a scary free, and it was a hungry
free and a tired free, but it was free.”(p.58)
The Glory Field
1864
p.59-70
Lizzy woke up and all of a sudden remembered where
she was and she felt scared. She couldn't see Lem,
and she heard sounds in the distance that sounded
like booms. She climbs down the tree and Lem calls
out to her. They decide that the sounds must be
coming from the fighting of the civil war, and that
they have to keep moving because Mister Joe Haynes
and the dogs are probably after them.
They hear the dogs drawing closer and closer! They
see some lights and head to the lights running, and
walking when they get too tired. They are afraid
because the riders on horses point in their direction,
and Lizzy and Lem are not sure if they are pointing at
them, but then they realize that they are pointing at
the fires. The riders call off the dogs and the dogs
circle one more time and they ride away. Lem and
Lizzy are relieved and head towards the fires when
someone comes up behind them and they can't
believe their eyes! The soldier is black! “You're
black!” she said. Glad you noticed it,” the soldier
grinned. I had just about forgot it.”(p65)
They find out about the Yankee army and how there
are many black soldiers and how the army is going to
start a black regiment. And they find that Joshua is
at the camp too!! The soldiers feed Lem and Lizzy
and put them to work.
Lizzy has an important decision to make: follow
some people who are trying to escape North, or follow
the regiment and help out...Lizzy “...ran as fast as she
could, her feet slapping against the hard road. When
she got around the bend, the men were still in sight,
tall and proud. She followed them, never looking
back.”(p.70)
