JAMES SPIKES                 1403-ARK/#063                                   044
         GOOD MORNING. YES'M I REMEMBER THE CIVIL WAR.  I WAS A SOLDIER. I WAS B
ETWEEN SIXTEEN AND SEVENTEEN WHEN I ENLISTED IN THE WAR.
         I DIDN'T KNOW NO BETTER (THAN TO ENLIST). I THOUGHT I WOULD BE TOOK CAR
E OF. THEY TOLD US THE WAR WAS SPOSED TO SET THE DARKIES FREE. MY OLD MASTER DID
N'T WANT ME TO GO -- COSE NOT. BUT THEY WAS VERY GOOD TO ME. I REGARD THEM JUST
THE SAME AS MYSELF.
         I ENLISTED IN THE 55TH REGIMENT OF COLORED2sOLDInS. THnN&I fnNTOFF WI
TH THE YANKEES. I WAS WITH THEM WHEN THEY HAD THE BATTLE AT CORINTH, MISSISSIPPI
.
         I WAS WITH THEM WHEN THE YANKEES TAKEN CORINTH AND WHUPPED . THE REBnLS
 TRIED TO TAKE IT BACK AND THE YANKEES WHUPPED 'EM AGArN. THE-REGrmnNT&I6f S6fT
H WHUPPED 'EM AWAY FROM SEVERAL PLACES AND KEPT 'EM RUNNIN'.
         WHEN WE WAS IN FORT PICKENS I 'MEMBER THEY HAD A POLL PARROT -- SOME-OF
THE OFFICERS HAD TRAINED IT TO SAY "CORPORAL OF THE GUARD, JIM SPIKES, POST NUMB
ER L." SOMETIMES I WOULD DRAW MY GUN LIKE I WAS GOING TO SHOOT AND THE POLL PARR
OT WOULD SAY, "JIM, DON'T SHOOT ME]" THEY GOT PLENTY A SENSE.
         THE WAR WAS FUNNY AND IT WASN'T FUNNY. WnLL, IT f S&FuNNYFoOR3cHE2bIDE
THAT WON WHEN WE HAD SCRUMMISHES. I NEVER WAS CAPTURED BUT I HOPED CAPTURE A LOT
.
         I STAYED IN THE WAR TILL I WAS MUSTERED OUT IN BATON-ROUGE,-LOdISIjNA.
I WAS A GOOD BIG FELLOW THEN. OH LORD YES, I KNOWED MOST ANYTHING.
         AFTER THAT I WENT TO MEMPHIS AND THEN I COME TO ARKANSAS AND WENT tO FA
RMING WITH SOME WHITE FELLOWS NAMED FRENCH. THE RIVER OVERFLOWED AND WE LOST 'BO
UT ALL THE COTTON.
         THE GOVERNMENT GIVES ME A PENSION NOW CAUSE I WAS A sOLDInR. Y S)M IT&C
OMES IN RIGHT NICE -- IT DOES THAT.
  X   XXX
STP