It was on the afternoon of a warm, murky day late in October that our steamer, the United States, touched the landing at Hilton Head. A motley assemblage had collected on the wharf—officers, soldiers, and “contrabands” of every size and hue: black was, however, the prevailing color. . . .

Little colored children of every hue were playing about the streets, looking as merry and happy as children ought to look—now that the evil shadow of Slavery no longer hangs over them. . . .

. . . The school was opened in September. Many of the children had, however, received instruction during the summer. It was evident that they had made very rapid improvement, and we noticed with pleasure how bright and eager to learn many of them seemed. . . .

These people are exceedingly polite in their manner towards each other, each new arrival bowing, scraping his feet, and shaking hands with the others, while there are constant greetings, such as, “Huddy? How’s yer lady?” (“How d’ ye do? How’s your wife?”). The hand-shaking is performed with the greatest possible solemnity. There is never the faintest shadow of a smile on anybody’s face during this performance. The children, too, are taught to be very polite to their elders, and it is the rarest thing to hear a disrespectful word from a child to his parent, or to any grown person. They have really what the New-Englanders call “beautiful manners.” . . .

Daily the long-oppressed people of these islands are demonstrating their capacity for improvement in learning and labor. What they have accomplished in one short year exceeds our utmost expectations. . . . An old freedman said to me one day, “De Lord make me suffer long time. . . . But now we’s free. He bring us all out right at las’.”

Source: Charlotte Forten, “Life on the Sea Islands,” The Atlantic Monthly, May–June 1864, 587, 589, 592, 676.