What the Yankees Did. Burrel Hemphill: loyal slave gave his life than betray a trust

During the War Between the States (aka unCivil War), Burrel Hemphill was a slave in the household of the very wealthy bachelor, Robert Hemphill, who had been killed in The Battle of Seven Pines on June 13, 1862. Sherman’s troops had been stealing what they wanted and burning what remained. When they approached the Hemphill estate in February of 1865, they reportedly demanded that Burrell reveal the hiding places of the Hemphill family’s silverware, other valuables and money that had been hidden from them. In an attempt to coerce Burrell to talk, the Yankees tied a rope to his ankles and dragged him up and down the road by a horse, before simultaneously hanging and shooting him. Despite the Yankees best attempts, Burrell died without saying a word. This monument erected in his honor reads, "In memory of Burrel Hemphill, Killed by Union soldiers February 1865. Although a slave, he gave his life rather than betray a trust. He was a member of Hopewell." (More info found in links below).

Here's photos from my visit to his memorial earlier this year. It is located in a peaceful remote countryside in Blackstock, South Carolina beside the Hopewell Presbyterian Church.

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QUOTES FROM FORMER SLAVES ABOUT NORTHERN YANKEES: For many slaves, the harshest abuse actually came from northern Yankees. Here’s several brief examples from the book “When the Yankees Come: Former Slaves Remember Sherman’s Invasion”:

“What did the Yankees do when they come? They tied me up by my two thumbs, try to make me tell where I hid the money and gold watch and silver, but I swore I didn’t know.” – Andy Marion, Winnsboro, SC

“The worst time we ever had was when the Yankee men come thru. The Yankees destroyed almost everything we had. They come in the house and told the missus to give them her money and jewels. She started crying and told them she ain't got no money or jewels, excepting the ring she had on her finger. They got awfully mad and started destroying everything.” – Fannie Griffin, Columbia, SC

“The Yankees took everything we had except a little food, hardly enough to keep us alive.” – Margaret Hughes, Columbia, SC

“When the Yankees come through burning, killing and stealing stock, I was in master's yard. They come up where the boss was standing, told him there was going to be a battle, grabbed him and hit him. They burned his house, stole the stock, and one Yankee stuck his sword to my breast and said for me to come with him or he would kill me. Of course I went along. They took me as far as Broad River, on the other side of Chapin; then turned me loose and told me to run fast or they would shoot me. I went fast and found my way back home by watching the sun.” – Sam Rawls, Newberry, SC

“The Yankees come. They took notice of me! They was a bad lot that disgrace Mr. Lincoln that sent them here. They insult women both white and black, but the Lord was mindful of his own.” – Eliza Hasty, Blackstock, SC

“Oh, my God, them Yankees never bring nothing but trouble and destructiveness when they come here, child.” – Hester Hunter, Marion Co, SC.

“When the Yankees come, they ransack the house for silver and gold. They burn the house and gin-house; carry off mules, horses, and cows. They took the chickens, load all the provisions, put them in a four-horse wagon, and leave us and the white folks cold and hungry. It was cold winter time then too.” – Ben Leitner, Winnsboro, SC

“Yes, the Yankees was bad. They stole everything and burned up everything they couldn’t steal.” – Mary Jane Kelley, Newberry, SC

“Us had big rolls of money and then when the Yankees come and change the money, that what made us poor. It let the white people down and let us down too. Left us all to about starve to death.” – Sylvia Cannon, Florence, SC

“The Yankees come and burn the mansion, the gin-house and the mill. They took all the sheep, mules, cows, hogs, and even the chickens. Set the slaves free and us n****s have a hard time ever since. – John C Brown, Woodward, SC (decades later)

“They [the Yankees] took everything they could carry off and burnt everything they couldn’t carry off.” – Carley Barber, Fairfield County, SC

“The Yankees come. First thing they look for was money. They put a pistol right in my forehead and say: 'I got to have your money, where is it?' There was a gal, Caroline, who had some money; they took it away from her. They took the geese, the chickens and all that was worth taking off the place, stripped it. Took all the meat out the smoke-house, corn out the crib, cattle out the pasture, burnt the gin-house and cotton. When they left, they shot some cows and hogs and left them lying right there. There was an awful smell round there for weeks after.” Lewis Evans, Fairfield Co

“Sherman set fire everywhere he went—didn't do much fighting, just wanted to destroy as he went.” – Amos Gadsden, Charleston, SC.

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The above excerpts are from the Book, “When the Yankees Come: Former South Carolina Slaves Remember Sherman's Invasion” by Graham, Paul C:

The book’s Intro: "Many Americans believe that the coming of the blue soldiers of the North, emissaries of emancipation, was a joyful event for African Americans. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ending slavery, contrary to self-congratulatory American myth, was not a righteous crusade. It was a by-product of a brutal war of conquest and invasion—a total war against civilians in which black Southerners suffered as much if not more than whites."

https://www.amazon.com/When-Yankees-Come-Carolina-Remember-ebook/dp/B01BURRXTM/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=when%20the%20yankees%20come%20paul%20graham&qid=1566519236&s=gateway&sr=8-1&fbclid=IwAR1mFiCd2BPNgbwPu54XbYTMOCWmZlGoGYSIh6mXHespkBZo3beLol_I06c

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ADDITIONAL READING

Burrel Hemphill, South Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation:
https://discoversouthcarolina.com/products/3504

Blackstock, South Carolina Wiki. Attractions: A monument dedicated to the slave Burrel Hemphill:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstock,_South_Carolina

Explorer African American History, Burrel Hemphill:
https://www.oldeenglishdistrict.com/blog/explore-african-american-history-oed

Burrel Hemphill Find-a-grave:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44216050/burrell-hemphill

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The following is the Burrel Hemphill story as told by Chester News and Reporter, February 17, 1995:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/735529/posts

Burrell Hemphill, Trust of ancestor remembered by great-granddaughter

General William T. Sherman left Columbia 130 years ago headed north toward Chester County and Blackstock. The main body of his troops did not reach Chester County, but turned east and then north again, heading for North Carolina. Raiding parties, or foragers, as they were more nicely known, came into the southern and eastern parts of the county. Burrell Hemphill was a slave, left by his master to guard the Hemphill homestead near Blackstock. He encountered a Union foraging party with tragic results.

Hettie Jean Hemphill Holmes, 83, is the great-granddaughter of Burrell Hemphill. She lives near the old Hemphill place and for decades the story of her grandfather has been handed down from one generation to the next. "He gave his life before he would tell where the silver was hidden,” Mrs. Holmes said. “He wouldn’t betray his master’s trust.”

Burrell Hemphill was a trusted slave of Robert Hemphill, a bachelor property owner who was said to be benevolent and kindly toward his slaves. Robert Hemphill’s plantation spanned 2,200 acres, near Hopewell Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.

"The Yankees asked him to tell them where the silver was hidden. They watched him to see if he would show them where it was hid. But he wouldn’t tell where the silver was so they hanged him.”

Tradition has it that as Sherman’s troops made their advance from Columbia northward, Robert Hemphill headed toward North Carolina, leaving in charge Burrel Hemphill.

Sherman’s plan was to head north making it appear that he was heading for confrontation with General Beauregard’s troops amassed at Charlotte. He then would wheel his army eastward toward Fayetteville, N.C. to connect by water with Union troops in Wilmington, N.C. Troops crossed the Wateree/Catawba at Rocky Mount, near Great Falls, rather than crossing further into Chester County. Sherman’s troops were in the area until February 1865. The left wing of the army was at the Rocky Mount section and the right wing crossed the river at Peay’s Ferry on February 23rd. The right wing built a pontoon bridge across the Wateree at Rocky Mount but it was swept away because of the flooded conditions of the river and all the troops did not get across until February 28. Raiding parties, however, made it to the Hemphill plantation some 10 miles away. There they encountered Burrell Hemphill.

Sherman’s army generally burned many homes and other pieces of property in their path as they marched northward from Savannah. The foragers were supposed to be searching for food for the troops, but generally they hunted for and took the valuables that were left behind by fleeing refugees. As the Yankee foraging party rode up to the two-story home, Burrell Hemphill pleaded with the soldiers to spare the lives and the property of the plantation. The Union soldiers demanded that Hemphill take them to the silver and valuables buried on the property. When he refused, they tortured him, tying him to a horse and dragging him from the Hemphill home to the church which is about a half mile or more. Torture would not entice Burrell to reveal the whereabouts of the valuables. The soldiers took him behind the home, secured a rope on the limbs of a blackgum tree and hung him. They were not satisfied just to hang him, however. The soldiers repeatedly shot him, leaving his body riddled with bullets. As chilling a death as Burrell Hemphill suffered, his 12 year old grandson, Charles, was a witness to the horrifying events.

His dedication and bravery are remembered on a granite marker in the church yard at Hopewell A.R.P. Church. Hemphill is not buried there, Mrs. Holmes said. Family members have said that they do not know exactly where he is buried, although Mrs. Holmes said that she has heard that there was a slave cemetery near Hopewell church’s cemetery but she has never seen it. Her family has lived on land near the Hemphill place for generations. She grew up in a family with eight children, although her father, who was married three times, had a total of 33 children, Mrs. Holmes being the last. She grew up, like so many children in the rural South, working in the fields.

The family members still remember what Burrell Hemphill did, although the details are fading from everyone’s memory as the years pass.

The stone in the Hopewell church yard honors his loyalty with this inscription.

In memory of Burrell Hemphill killed by Union soldiers Feb. 1865
Although a slave, he gave his life rather than betray a trust. He was a member of Hopewell
(This article originally appeared in the Chester News and Reporter, February 17, 1995.)