Enemies in life

My name is Hiram Fisher. I live with my family on 500 acres in the area called Red Springs, Virginia, on the banks of Willow Creek in Monroe County. Our family consists of my father, Samuel Fisher, his wife Sarah, my grandfather, George Fisher, and his wife, Margaret, along with assorted brothers, sisters, and two slaves, Josiah, and Henry. We own 500 acres of good land. There were 6 horses, 20 cattle, plus chickens, pigs, and goats. We farm tobacco, some hay, and work the trees for lumber to sell or use.

I have been going to the town for supplies since I was ten, along with chores, and as I got older, I was able to do more around the farm. About the time I turned 17, I was in charge of trips to town, usually with a brother, sister, and Henry or Josiah. We didn't consider these men slaves, our religion would not let us. They worked just as hard as we did on the farm. Along with food and a roof, we paid them. Sometimes it was in coin, sometimes with a pig or chicken. The livestock was for them to profit from, not to eat. We considered them part of our Family, and found time to teach them to read and write, add and subtract, along with the younger children.

Henry and I went to town one day, and as we usually did, ended up going in separate directions. While I was in the general store, there was a commotion outside. I went to see what it was, and found two men kicking and beating Henry. I jumped in, and was able to give them worse than they gave Henry. By the time it ended, Sheriff Roland Madison was there. Enough people set the Sheriff straight on what happened, and he sent the aggressors away. He informed us that the two ruffians were Cyrus Johnson, and Matthew Campbell, with Cyrus being the ringleader. He did tell me that those two were bound to be trouble and to watch for them.

Later that month, Henry and I went to town, with my little sister, Jane. Same sort of disturbance, the same two men slapped her and shoved her around. That earned them quite the beating from us men, with the warning that they would receive worse next time. Then, one day, we woke one day to find two pigs had been killed, but not taken. Nothing else was disturbed. My da rode into town to lodge a complaint with Sheriff Madison, but there wasn't much he could do, due to a lack of witnesses. It seemed that almost every time someone from the family came to town, there was trouble, always started by Cyrus and Matthew. During one trip the next spring, Henry and I came to town for supplies, and found the owner in the store, no clerk. He would not say where the clerk was. Henry had come to the rescue, with news. He had chatted up a few people around town, and found that Cyrus and Matthew had slapped the clerk around, and were threatening to do worse. He also found out they were in jail, waiting for a circuit judge.

Sheriff Madison claimed they had been drinking, as usual, and they said they were just having fun. The circuit judge sentenced them to three months labor, and we would see them working around town, and made sure to make their lives even more miserable than it was.

One dark night, Henry and Josiah heard noises on our property very late at night. They woke me, we armed ourselves with shovels and axes and quietly set out to see what was making the noise. We found the two mischief makers more than a bit drunk, with material to set something on fire. I was outraged, and struck out blindly with my shovel. I hit Matthew several times, and killed him. In the confusion, Cyrus managed to escape.

We moved the body several miles away, dug a good hole, and buried him. Killing Matthew never bothered me, because I was defending our property. A week or so later, the Sheriff came by,and told my da he needed to talk to me. Sheriff Madison said that Cyrus had filed a complaint, stating that I killed Matthew. Sheriff Madison asked quite a few questions about a possible fight, and tools being involved, ending in Matthew being killed. I informed him I hadn't killed anyone. Henry, my da, and several family members swore I was in the house, and had never left. We invited the Sheriff to look around. He found nothing, and went on his way. I discussed the situation with my parents, and grandpa, and decided to go to Kentucky for a while, where we had some kin. I left within the week, with a good horse and provisions to last until I got to Lexington, Kentucky, along with items for my uncle, Isiah.

Henry went with me as far as the Virginia-Kentucky border. Henry wouldn't go further, saying he had heard that “coloreds aren't well received in Kentucky”. I found my uncle, Issac Fisher, on his property on the outskirts of Lexington. He was more than welcoming, and said he could use a strong body to help with his businesses.

After a few days, Issac introduced me to his many business interests- a tannery, a butcher shop, and a livery business, which consisted of a series of wagons and coaches for hire. He also farmed many different crops, had a sawmill, cut lumber for it, and grew livestock. All these businesses needed manpower, and a commitment to getting things done. I started with the farming, but as time went on, I learned all his business, drawing my first salary.

After a few months, my mother sent word that the Sheriff had come by several times looking for me, but had finally stopped. She said the word around the town was that I had solved a problem, for Cyrus and Matthew had troubled many of the townsfolk. How it happened didn't matter, people were glad they were gone, for Cyrus had made himself scarce.

Around 1777, the revolutionary war started. I had been in Kentucky for about four years, and after talking to my Uncle Issac, in early 1777, I returned to Virginia, and went to the city of Rockingham, in another county, to enlist. We figured that way, I would avoid the Sheriff, and, should I return, we were sure any charges would be forgotten.

I enlisted as a private in the 14th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army. After several months of training, we were off to war. We participated in the New Jersey and New York Campaigns, which ended in the last months of 1777, and the Philadelphia Campaign in 1778. As we were preparing for the Battle of Stony Point, I ran into an old acquaintance, Cyrus Johnson. Although I recognized him, he didn't seem to recognize me. By this time, I was a Second Lieutenant, due to battlefield promotion, and as such, wore a different uniform. I also had longer hair and a beard. I asked around, and found he was in the sixth Virginia Regiment, and that he had been punished several times for malingering and dereliction of duty, which meant managing to be anywhere but the front lines when fighting started. This gave me some thoughts, which I kept to myself. I also started watching Cyrus, and became familiar with his whereabouts, as much as I could, being in different units. In the meantime, our regiment had a war to fight, and fight we did.

Our unit eventually went to an Army post near the city of Union, to rest. A week passed, and the Post Commander stopped by my unit to tell me he had sent for my family, and the reason. The Post Commander had fixed up a little ceremony for us, detailing my many wartime accomplishments, and handed me an Achievement medal. I also received a surprise visit from Sheriff Madison. He congratulated me on my service, and we talked about old times for a bit. He mentioned that they never did find what happened to Matthew.

Eventually, the war ended, and I went home, and after a few days, Henry and Josiah started pestering me about the war and Cyrus. Over a bottle of whiskey, I told them that in the middle of one nasty skirmish with the British, I saw Cyrus running away from the battle. All the other soldiers were looking, and moving forward to the front line, or taking cover. Bullets were flying everywhere. Without thinking, I shot Cyrus in the back, and rejoined the battle. When he was found dead later, more than one person commented on how fitting it was that he had been shot while running away. Killing Cyrus bothered me for many years. I had decided, when I ran into Cyrus earlier, if I had a chance, I would kill him, and be removing a problem from our town, and my family