The Uncivil Civil War

With his grandfather beside him, the mulatto buried the last of his white family who had raised him. Sadly he looked from one grave to the other. “A whole family wiped out within two months. For what? To free the slaves? Is that what this is all about, Grandpa? Hah!” he cried angrily. “What’s civil about a civil war? Soldiers killing women and children. Neighbors and friends killing each other. I just don’t understand,” he whispered.

“When the slaves are free, what then? They depend on the whites for everything. To be really free, they need to be free of their reliance on the whites. They need self-respect and the ability to fend for themselves, or they’ll just find another kind of slavery. Who’s going to help them find that? The whites?” Fleeing the ravages of war with his son, Carl finds a way to help his people.