A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom details the turmoil and controversy plaguing nineteenth century America
through the eyes of two freedmen. John Washington and Wallace Turnage were exceptional specimens of the Civil War era. Not only were they able to read and write, a practice outlawed among slaves, each possessed incredible perseverance and spirit in the face of oppression. To be able to watch generations of their offspring born into freedom must have been incredibly empowering.
David W. Blight begins by offering his own biographies of the two extraordinary men. Despite the fact that Washington and Turnage were unusually educated for the time period, they were restricted or chose to narrate only specific incidents in their lives, leaving many details to speculation. Blight attempts to fill in the gaps by explaining the options the men might have had available to them at the time. For example, though it is not known how Washington and his mother, Sarah, were reunited after the war, Blight postulates that they might have written letters to stay in contact or Washington might have purchased an ad to gather information from the community as to Sarah''s whereabouts. He uses narratives of other icons of the period such as those of Harriet Jacobs and William Faulkner to illustrate the universal struggle of a slave transitioning through
emancipation.
A trait both Washington and Turnage had in common was their mixed parentage, both children of Caucasian masters. Washington more easily passed for white, which seems to have resulted in more favorable treatment for him throughout his lifetime. While neither lived a life of luxury, Turnage''s survival was a constant struggle. Prior to emancipation, he escaped multiple times and was punished and sold in response to his rebellion. After the bonds of
slavery were diminished, Turnage continued to find obstacles preventing his family from obtaining the middle class status Washington''s family achieved.
The autobiographies of both former slaves are included in full, with careful editing from the author for reader clarity. Both narratives were preserved by loving family members and were eventually transferred into Blight''s hands for authentification. Excerpts from the stories in the mens'' own unique handwriting highlight the inside of the front and back covers. Photographs of Washington, Turnage, their families and significant landmarks are featured. A Slave No More is a scholarly report of the dynamics of the Civil War with the benefit of first-person perspective.