Fig. 12. New York Herald, Saturday, January 28, 1804 and Civil War CDV of Gordon (slave) at the Baton Rouge Union camp during his medical examination, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, March 1863
It was a common practice for African Americans to assemble at night for prayer meetings. Praying for freedom was the execution of the only power that slaves had. This act is well documented in historical material but appears to be absent in American History, this maybe a result of censorship. America was founded upon the principle of religious freedom and African American religious persecution was an indictment against the institution of slavery.
Laws were also passed throughout the South prohibiting blacks from holding religious meetings without whites being present. The penalty for breaking the law was flogging. However, laws prohibiting black prayer meetings were actually enacted twenty-five years before Turner’s rebellion. The 1804 excerpt from the New York Herald below describes African American prayer meetings in the South as being considered a national-security risk.
“The following bill, we understand is before the legislature of Virginia.
An act to amend an act, to reduce into one, the several acts concerning Slaves, Free Negroes and Mulattoes.
Where as it is represented to the General Assembly, that it is a common practice in many places within the Commonwealth, for Slaves, Free Negroes or Mulattoes, to assemble in considerable numbers at Meeting Houses, and places of Religious Worship, in the night, which may have a tendency to promote conspiracy and insurrection.
Be it therefore enacted, That all meetings or assemblies of Slaves, Free Negroes or Mulattoes, at any Meeting Houses, or any other place or places in the night under any pretence whatever, shall be deemed and considered, as an unlawful assembly. And that it shall be the duty of any Magistrate of the County or Corporation, where such assembly shall be, either from his own knowledge or from the information of others, of such unlawful assembly or meeting, to issue his warrant, directed to any sworn officer or officers, authorizing him or them to enter the house or houses where such unlawful meeting are, for the purpose of apprehending or dispersing the Slaves, Free Negroes and Mulattoes, and to inflict corporal punishment on the offender or offenders, at his discretion, not exceeding twenty lashes.
And be it further enacted, That the said officer or officers, shall have power to summon any person to aid and assist in the execution of any warrant or warrants directed to him or them, for the purposes aforesaid, who on refusal, shall be subject to a fine, at the discretion of the magistrate, not exceeding ten dollars.
All acts, or parts of acts, coming within the preview of this act, and is hereby repealed.
This act shall be in force, from and after the passing thereof.
[This gentle reader, is emphatically the State of Liberty and equality——the liberty of whipping the blacks for attending religious evening lectures.]
NEW YORK HERALD
SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 1804”[1]
Following is an image of the article that was published in the New York Herald:
Blood of the Lamb—Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness
My interpretation of the blood of the lamb is that the expression represents the sacrifice of the innocent. If Negroes were caught in a prayer meeting, the punishment was flogging with a whip, such as the cat-o’-nine-tails. These whippings lacerated the slaves’ bodies, causing bleeding and scarring. The blood probably stained their clothing. This narrative describes slaves who were whipped for praying; note the bleeding caused by the whip. The blood of the innocent probably soaked their clothes.
“Marse Carter had a had a house gal by de name uf Frances, an’ she had wait on de white folks all day long, an’ when night wud come, he made her slip out ‘mongst de slaves an’ see what dey wuz doin’ an’ talkin’ ’bout.
My mammy wus livin’ wid ‘nudder man, named Joe, an’ one night Joe an’ my Mammy an’ some more slaves wuz down on deir knees prayin’ fur de good Lord to sot dem free, an’ Frances wus slippin’ round de corner uf de house an’ heard what dey wus sayin’. An’ she goes back to de house an ‘ tells de old marse, an ‘ he sent de oberseer down dar an ‘ brung ebery one uf dem to de stake, an’ tied dem, an’ whipped dem so hard dat blood come from some uf dems backs.”[2]
July Halfen
Slaves were ashamed of their abuse and did not share their stories with their descendants; this is likely a result of censorship as well. Experiences of faith were passed down instead by removing the slavery components from stories. An example of this is the song “Child’s Blood (Precious Lord)” by The Pilgrim Jubilees, a traditional old-fashioned gospel group. “Child’s Blood”[3] was a combination of a story and the Thomas Dorsey song “Precious Lord.” The story is about a little girl who sat on the steps of her front porch and listened to a church service not too far away. Her father forbade her from going to church and told her that she didn’t need it. One day she slipped away and went to church, and she found Jesus. She was excited about it and told her father what happened. Her father picked up a stick and beat the little girl until she was covered with blood. When her mother came home and found her covered with blood, she asked, “Why did he do this?” The little girl replied that she had found Jesus. The little girl then told her mother to do her a favor. She said, “Wrap up these bloody clothes. I want to show Jesus how I bled for him.” The mother said that she was curious and wanted to know what song they sang in church. The little girl looked up, stared, and said “Precious Lord, Please take my hand…and lead me on”
Components of this story are strange. First, the girl was beaten with a stick by her father until her clothes were soaked with blood. A stick beating would not have lacerated the girl’s skin enough to have soaked her shirt with blood without killing her. However, clothing was easily soaked with blood following flogging by a whip or cat-o’-nine-tails. Second, it would be extraordinary for a father to beat his child for going to church. On the other hand, “stealing away” to slave prayer meetings was illegal and subject to flogging. If we replaced the father with the slave owner, replaced the church with a slave prayer meeting, and replaced the stick with a whip, then we would have a typical slave narrative.
Slave narratives, however, were not directly assimilated into African American culture, but slave experiences exist today in a coded form. This story suggests that the suffering from flogging related to prayer was a demonstration of the slaves’ love and commitment to Jesus. It was not important as to who administered the punishment in this case but it was essential that love and dependence on the Lord prevail. The little girl’s blood was the blood of the innocent or the blood of the lamb. The song Precious Lord petitions the Lord for support of the innocent during times of distress and persecution. The decoupling of slave experiences from slave teachings eventually led to deterioration of the message and subsequent loss of African American ancestral guidance.
[1] New York Herald, January 28, 1804.
[2] July Halfen, narrative in Mellon, Bullwhip Days, 196.
[3] Youtube, Child’s Blood – Pilgrim Jubilee Singers, “In Revival”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8-bseNu9ek.