Turtledove
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Israel
Fictional Character
The Guns of the South
POD: January 17, 1864
Type of Appearance: Direct
Nationality: Confederate States (born in United States)
Date of Birth: c. 1815
Occupation: Shop clerk, formerly a slave
Professional Affiliations: Raeford Liles' general store, later Henry Pleasants' farm

Israel (b. ca. 1815) was a free Negro hired as a shop-clerk by Raeford Liles, the owner the of Nashville, North Carolina general store. Israel was one of thousands of newly literate Negroes in the Confederacy, taught during Federal occupation.[1]

Israel soon left Liles' employ and took a job on Henry Pleasants' farm, as Pleasants' attitude toward Negroes was much more enlightened than Liles'. When Nate Caudell refused an offer to be hired on as Pleasants' bookkeeper, he considered teaching Israel arithmetic and then bookkeeping.[2] Israel realized he had a talent for it but Pleasants proved to be a poor teacher, so Israel hired Caudell to teach him the finer points of arithmetic.[3]

References[]

  1. The Guns of the South, 342-344.
  2. Ibid., p. 354-355
  3. Ibid., p. 392-397.
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