Existing comment:
A Busy Place
The Battle of the Wilderness
You are now standing in what was commonly referred to as "the yard," that part of the plantation where many of the slaves lived and did their daily chores. Depending on the time of year, you might have seen slaves here boiling soiled laundry in a kettle, chopping wood, or carrying food from the kitchen to the main house.
After sunset, with the day's work done, the yard became a different place. Weary slaves trudged home from the fields to have dinner with their families. As night deepened, the sounds of laughter, song, weeping, or shouts of anger might be heard through the dimly lit openings of the workers' humble dwellings.
As hours passed, the sound of human activity trailed off into silence, and as the firs glimmer of sunlight illuminated the eastern horizon, inhabitants here emerged to resume their labors. Another day was at hand.
Archaeological and documentary evidence reveals the "yard" at Ellwood included the buildings shown here. |