Recollections of My Slavery Days

William Henry Singleton’s Recollections of My Slavery Days is a compelling account of a remarkable journey from slavery to freedom in the American South. Born a slave in 1843 in New Bern, North Carolina, Singleton grew up on a remote coastal plantation at Garbacon Creek. From a slave’s viewpoint, his Recollections provides an intimate and moving portrait of the growing schism between North and South, of a fierce yearning to hold onto family while in bondage, and of the African American freedom struggle during slavery.

The Civil War stands as a turning point in Singleton’s narrative. In 1862 he escaped from a Confederate soldier and fled to freedom in Union-occupied New Bern. There he helped to recruit one of the first African American regiments in the Union army and subsequently served as a sergeant in the Thiry-fifth United States Colored Troops. Until the day he died, at a reunion for Civil War veterans in 1938, Singleton insisted that his wartime service pledged the United States to fulfill its promise of freedom and equality for all citizens.

Originally published in a local newspaper in Peekskill, New York, Recollections of My Slavery Days is a rare, long forgotten account of American slavery that has not previously been available to a national audience. In this landmark edition, Katherine Mellen Charron and Davis S. Cecelski provide scholarly annotations and an introductory essay as critical background to understanding Singleton’s narrative. Examining his life and times, they situate Recollections in the context of African American history and autobiography.

Katherine Mellen Charron is Associate Professor of history at NC State University. She is the author of Freedom’s Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark. Historian David S. Cecelski is author of several award-winning books including, The Waterman’s Song: Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina and The Fire of Freedom: Abraham Galloway and the Slaves’ Civil War.