Little Freed Girl, The
Thousands of other little girls like me,
Wait in the South-land to be free;
And thousands, under whip and chain,
Grow old and weep, and wait in vain.
Dear friends, a word from all the free,
Can make those thousands glad like me;
The prayers and deeds of good and brave,
Shall strike the chain from every slave:
And when their cruel wrongs shall cease,
This groaning nation shall have peace.
- Title
- Little Freed Girl, The
- Alternative Title
- Thousands of little girls like me
- Creator
-
George Shepard Burleigh
- Bibliographic Citation
- Poems by George and Ruth Burleigh, edited by Mary Louise Brown, 1941, held by Little Compton Historical Society, Box A47.24
- V.II 198, BC
- Originally in a newspaper called "The Standard" - see photo in media
- Date
- 1863
- Subject
- Civil War
-
Abolition
- Desegregation of Public Facilities and Public Schools
-
Freedmen, Aid to
- Girls
- note
- This poem is important, coming at the time of the Emancipation Proclamation, and when the tide of the war was starting to turn. It also harkens back to poems that Prudence Crandall wrote for her students to recite during their struggles - recitals that the young George Burleigh could well have attended, given his older siblings' involvement. Given below is the transcription of the text from the newspaper article where the poem appeared. (the full newspaper article is in the media section)
-
[For the Standard.]
LITTLE COMPTON, Mch. 9, 1863.
Mr. Editor: — The exhibition of the M. E. Sabbath School in this place on Wednesday evening last, deserves more than the limited notice given of it a day or two since. The affair may be set down as a decided success, and no doubt the school will realize a handsome sum as the fruits of their undertaking[.] The pieces were all well selected and well spoken, but we may be pardoned for making particular mention of two, which to our mind were the best of the entertainment. The first was a recital of the Lord’s Prayer by a little deaf and dumb girl in their peculiar alphabet. This piece was witnessed with profound attention as was also the piece entitled “The Little Freed girl,” by a black contraband about eight years of age, named Mosette, who was rescued from a life of slavery by a wealthy farmer of this place, some two years since. It was exceedingly appropriate. We give it entire. It was written for the occasion by Geo. S. Burleigh, of this place.
Thousands of other little girls like me,
Wait in the South-land to be free;
And thousands, under whip and chain,
Grow old and weep, and wait in vain.
Dear friends, a word from all the free,
Can make those thousands glad like me;
The prayers and deeds of good and brave,
Shall strike the chain from every slave:
And when their cruel wrongs shall cease,
This groaning nation shall have peace.
Other pieces we should be glad to mention, but space will not permit. Several pieces of excellent music were performed by the choir.
Yours, REPORTER.
