Go, Jourdon Anderson!

[bunn]

"In August of 1865, a Colonel P.H. Anderson of Big Spring, Tennessee, wrote to his former slave, Jourdan Anderson, and requested that he come back to work on his farm. Jourdan — who, since being emancipated, had moved to Ohio, found paid work, and was now supporting his family — responded spectacularly"

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/01/to-my-old-master.html

Comments

[rustica.livejournal.com]

That's superb! I am just speechless.

[inamac.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link. That is wonderful. I can only hope the recipient died of apoplexy.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I know, you can just imagine him getting redder and redder and his face swelling up as he reads it :-D Brilliant.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

The bit where he demands the back-pay is my favorite. :-D

[ideserveyou.livejournal.com]

Utterly magnificent. I am lost in admiration. An absolute model of how to write a stunning put-down - I'll be filing the link for future reference. Thanks for sharing!

[kargicq.livejournal.com]

Wonderful link, I agree. And it appears to be genuine (would have been so disappointed if not!). Love that someone can survive 20 years of slavery and retain such a wonderful dry sense of humour. -N.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

It's a lovely piece of work. I really wonder what the Colonel's reaction was.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I did wonder about the authenticity - difficult to be quite sure with a dictated letter: it *could* be propaganda of some sort - but it does at least seem genuinely of the period.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

That's fabulous! The fact that a slave-owner would invite back a slave that he has previously shot at - it gives you just a tiny inkling into just how oblivious the slave owner mentality...

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

Mine too!