This is the true story of my Great-Grandfather George Calloway, a slave in Cleveland, Tennessee, before and during the Civil War. It is a tale of achievement, determination, and perseverance. It is written as historical fiction, based on George's life, and the stories I heard growing up. More fact than fiction, the latter necessitated by missing information; I know where people were and what they did, the why is driven by embellishment.
George Calloway was born into slavery January 8th, 1829. He was a remarkable man. He built, both in slavery and after, a legacy for descendants that were and still are, resilient, successful people.
His owner, Thomas Howard Calloway was born into a slave owning family January 16th, 1812. They were men of their times, lived and worked by the assumptions of their worlds. Both guided their families through life, both did well by them. Their paths were intertwined and greatly different.
George's story springs from family oral history, the research of cousin Jimmy, and most significantly, that of my brother Buddy. My own research took me to the town of Cleveland, Tennessee, to slave schedules, to the front of an old family bible. A few found letters, an old photograph or two. Remarkably, the two homes that played into George's life still stand. It has taken much time and attention to piece the story together; following dead end tales, finding new true ones, the unexpected documentation of others.
The writing of George's story has been a personal journey, grappling with the humiliation of slavery, the reading of the history of our Civil War, dispelling the many myths and false modern-day narratives, the discovery of a long lost relative. It substantiated Shelby Foote's
observation that to understand America, you must first understand the Civil War. That war defined us then, defines us now.
The brutality in slavery ranged on a wide scale; 'Fifty Shades of Evil' if you will. My family was not spared the force of this evil; humiliation at best, brutality at worst. But most were better treated than other slaves owned by men of greater malevolence.
