United States History Student Edition

D “The Scourged Back”

E “Every Stroke of the Whip Had Drawn Blood” Born into slavery in Maryland, Charles Ball was sold to the owner of a cotton plantation in South Carolina. Eventually, Ball was able to escape to the North. In this excerpt from his memoir, he describes what happened after stealing a sheep to feed himself and other starving enslaved people. PRIMARY SOURCE: AUTOBIOGRAPHY “ When the twelve strokes had been given, the operation was suspended, and a black man, one of the slaves present, was compelled to wash the gashes in my skin, with the scalding pepper tea, which was yet so hot that he could not hold his hand in it. This doubly-burning liquid was thrown into my raw and bleeding wounds, and produced a tormenting smart , beyond the description of language. . . . Every stroke of the whip had drawn blood; many of the gashes were three inches long; my back burned as it if had been covered by a coat of hot embers , mixed with living coals; and I felt my flesh quiver like that of animals that had been slaughtered by the butcher and are flayed whilst yet half alive. ” — A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles Ball, 1837

This photograph shows the wounded back of an enslaved African American named Gordon who escaped slavery in Mississippi. Taken in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1863, the image was printed by photographers McPherson & Oliver and became known as “The Scourged Back.” A scourge is a whip used to give out a punishment. This startling photo appeared in the magazine Harper’s Weekly .

PRIMARY SOURCE: PHOTOGRAPH

compel to force gash a long, deep wound tormenting extremely painful smart a sharp pain

EXAMINE THE SOURCE 1. Interpreting What does this image reveal about the treatment that the enslaved received? 2. Analyzing Why do you think the magazine Harper’s Weekly chose to publish this photograph? What reaction do you think it received from readers?

ember a small piece of burning wood flay to strip off the skin or surface of

EXAMINE THE SOURCE 1. Identifying What happened to Ball after he stole the sheep? 2. Explaining What made Ball’s punishment especially cruel? What language does Ball use to explain his pain?

PHOTO: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library; TEXT: Ball, Charles. Slavery in the United States. New York: John S. Taylor, 1837.

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