Soldier X: From Escaped Slave to the Civil War: Ballad for Frank Worthington

By Doris Wellington

He was one of them. They were fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, uncles and aunts, and grandmothers and grandfathers. They were intellectual thinkers, astute businessmen and businesswomen, undefeatable generals and stealth warriors, skilled craftsmen, descendants of dynasties and architectural genius. They were husbands and wives living out their commitments to one another; they were babies ripped from the breast of their mothers' milk, and from the bosoms of caregivers. They were young lovers, one moment, pregnant with purpose and potential in the land they loved, and the next, betrayed and separated by traitors; then trapped and transported as merchandise to the auction blocks of marketeers and planters--never to see each other again. Some died at sea by disease under unlivable conditions of filth and sexual abuses, hunger and inhumane evil--others threw themselves into the ravenous waters rather than to be bound and caged like animals and beasts of burden, never to be free again to decide who they were, what they wanted, or how to live their lives. The trail was strewn and scarred by blood, sweat, stench and years of famished hope--strength tested---spirit resilient like my great grandfather, Frank Worthington, whose name was insignificant and for whom this ballad is written--held on until The War that pitted North against South, Confederate against Yankee, blood against blood, and slave owner against slave owner, gave him a cause for which to risk his own life. So, he gathered his composure and conviction stored up over years of waiting, and decided there would be no better time for him to escape than The War. So, through a series of haphazard and carefully laid plans, he launched his escape and finally came to Newbern, NC, where he made his mark. He would serve in Companies B and E of the 14th Regiment in the Heavy Artillery Division of the Colored Troops United States Army. He was one of more than 200,000 African Americans who laid down their lives seeking freedom from chains by joining the United States Army. I salute him and all those who by their courage and conviction of freedom gave their lives for us. There is nothing left to do, but to pick up our crosses and follow the cries of humanity to wherever they lead us to make a better world. Our forefathers and foremothers did so without all the tools available to us today. So, we are without excuses to argue our reasoning for allowing others to do it for us. This is our America--this is our world, to change and to leave better than we found it. Thanks to Cousin David, a government furnished headstone was placed in honor of Pvt. Frank Worthington (Wellington) at the Maplewood Cemetery, Wilson, North Carolina, August 12, 2011, now a place for the gathering of generations to honor the heroism of a true "influencer."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B094T624YF
• ISBN13: 9798727290705
• Release Date: May 2021
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 54 Pages
• Weight: 0.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"