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Fifty Years in Chains
Charles Ball's simply stated verbal account of the shocking events in his life provides gripping details of Southern slavery before the Civil War. His recollections and observations encompass the manner in which he was treated by planters and slaveholders in Maryland, South Carolina, and Georgia; the conditions and treatment of other slaves; the state of morals among cotton planters; and the perils and suffering of fugitive slaves.
One of the earliest and most important slave narratives, this account provides a valuable primary source on early nineteenth-century Southern plantation life. An inspiring story of courage and perseverance, it is essential reading for students of American history and African-American studies.
One of the earliest and most important slave narratives, this account provides a valuable primary source on early nineteenth-century Southern plantation life. An inspiring story of courage and perseverance, it is essential reading for students of American history and African-American studies.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1859
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323 people want to read
About the author
Charles Ball
9 books4 followersCharles Ball (1780 or 1781- ) was an Afro-American slave, best known for his account as a fugitive.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 19, 2023
This is actually an un-authorized rewrite. Charles Ball's original autobiography, Slavery in the United States: A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles Ball, was written by Ball with Isaac Fisher, and released in 1836. Then there was a re-edited version, The Life of a Negro Slave, by one Frances Catherine Bernard, which came out in 1846. Finally, in 1859, this abridged version of the earlier autobiography was released.
It would be interesting to compare the original to this version, but what I'd really like to do is compare Charles Ball's actual narration to the original book. The book has some editorializing passages strangely at odds with comments in the narration of events.
That said, I would hazard a guess that the story told is essentially true, in that these events are reasonably true to what happened at the time, with perhaps some exaggeration here and there. Slaves certainly stole from their masters; masters certainly varied from the cruel and heartless to the more reasonable; the guys who ran the slave patrols were not generally the best of good fellows, and tended to be slackers; slaves were brutally punished, and masters did sometimes regret that punishment when it meant the slave couldn't work the next day; and so on.
Someone here on GoodReads expressed skepticism about Ball's memory of specific meals; that seemed realistic to me. Research done during and after WW II indicates that starving people, and people kept on the edge of starvation, become just as obsessed with food as Mr. Ball was, on occasion. They exchange stories of past meals, obsess on particular rich foods (like bacon or chub in the book), and food becomes their primary way of keeping track of events.
That said, the story of Ball's first flight to the north is ridiculously specific, and now and then this book has the feel of a biography written by someone who heard it rather than lived it. And whether the author stuck only with Mr. Ball's story, or wove in some others, I wouldn't hazard a guess. But as someone who has been reading on the period and institution a fair bit, lately, I found the generalities credible, while still questioning the occasional specific.
It would be interesting to compare the original to this version, but what I'd really like to do is compare Charles Ball's actual narration to the original book. The book has some editorializing passages strangely at odds with comments in the narration of events.
That said, I would hazard a guess that the story told is essentially true, in that these events are reasonably true to what happened at the time, with perhaps some exaggeration here and there. Slaves certainly stole from their masters; masters certainly varied from the cruel and heartless to the more reasonable; the guys who ran the slave patrols were not generally the best of good fellows, and tended to be slackers; slaves were brutally punished, and masters did sometimes regret that punishment when it meant the slave couldn't work the next day; and so on.
Someone here on GoodReads expressed skepticism about Ball's memory of specific meals; that seemed realistic to me. Research done during and after WW II indicates that starving people, and people kept on the edge of starvation, become just as obsessed with food as Mr. Ball was, on occasion. They exchange stories of past meals, obsess on particular rich foods (like bacon or chub in the book), and food becomes their primary way of keeping track of events.
That said, the story of Ball's first flight to the north is ridiculously specific, and now and then this book has the feel of a biography written by someone who heard it rather than lived it. And whether the author stuck only with Mr. Ball's story, or wove in some others, I wouldn't hazard a guess. But as someone who has been reading on the period and institution a fair bit, lately, I found the generalities credible, while still questioning the occasional specific.
October 4, 2016
I really enjoying reading books about slavery written by a person who actually lived through the events. I thought this book was well written. A first hand account of what it was like as a slave in the brutal south and the sheer will to escape not only once but twice.
November 3, 2014
I'd read Frederick Douglass's autobiography "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" some time ago, and recently read Olaudah Equiano's "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano"; this book covers the intervening years when King Cotton was young, and tells of the life of Charles Bell, a slave from Maryland, who was sold into slavery on a cotton and rice plantation in South Carolina, escaped North back to Maryland, was eventually reenslaved, and escaped again. Olaudah Equiano, Charles Ball, and Frederick Douglass were all extraordinary individuals, but their autobiographies give some view of the varied experiences of African-American slaves over much of the period from 1750-1840.
April 7, 2011
This man's journey was incredible! Though this book is plainly written, you will find yourself walking in Charles footsteps. I was moved beyond words at his descriptions of life as a slave, I feared for him as he ecsaped, cried for him when he was captured, and rejoiced when he found his way.
I was so moved by his story that I mapped his first escape north in order to fully comprehend the amount of territory he was trying to cover in order to get back to his family.
I can honestly say, I have never had a book move me in the way this story did. I am so glad he allowed a lawyer to share his story with the world.
I was so moved by his story that I mapped his first escape north in order to fully comprehend the amount of territory he was trying to cover in order to get back to his family.
I can honestly say, I have never had a book move me in the way this story did. I am so glad he allowed a lawyer to share his story with the world.
April 28, 2015
Must-read look into slavery and the courage of a man who escaped it more than once.
February 10, 2025
This is only one of the slave narratives in the collection of 18 narratives of slaves. We don't have to imagine what it was like for the thousands of people in bondage because we have their stories, their histories, their narratives. Works like this are important and we should never forget.
October 12, 2019
Not near as believable as Josiah Henson's autobiography but certainly more so than the so-called slave-girl narrative I just recently read that was clearly written by a white abolitionist as people of the time understood. The parts of this that seem a little hard to believe can be written off by the poetic license Ball's lawyer took in writing his account down. Still, taking it as a whole narrative it is most likely what it claims to be, a story of the crime of slavery, betrayal, and desolation. There is no triumph at the end, just an old man who has lost his family and is barely hanging on to freedom waiting to be kidnapped again. The study of racial, chattel slavery in America makes someone who studies history feel like an investigator looking for clues at a grisly, disgusting crime scene.
switched-edition
November 22, 2021I switched to the 1836 unabridged original i.e. Slavery in the United States: A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles Ball, A Black Man, and recommend it far above this edition, as this edition omits the most interesting sidelights viz. the African reminiscences, religious philosophizing, and the War of 1812 episode.
July 31, 2019
Heartbreaking
Read
November 1, 2020This true account should be made into a movie! It has all the features of a nail-biting survival story. First person accounts of slavery should be required reading for schools and white supremacists.
August 2, 2023
This is an interesting book.
I first want to explain what this book is and who wrote it. This book is actually an abridged and unauthorized reprint of the original story written by Isaac Fischer entitled "Slavery in the United States: A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles Ball a Black Man". The original work was first published in 1837 by John S Taylor, New York; this reprinted abridged version was published in 1859. So given what I just stated, abridged would mean than some of the story is not included in this book so if you want to read the original text, you need to look up the title stated above.
Because this story is not written by a black man, and its not even the original sanctioned text, I can't give this any more than four stars. This story's title isn't even accurate. The length of time described in the text is actually 40 years, not 50 years.
Fifty Years in Chains describes really only about four years of chronological time and then again some several months of time when Ball is forced back to slavery. In all, Ball only spent the first 25 years or so in bondage and then lived a free life for 20 years before being forced again into bondage where he was able to escape within a year of recapture forever after being free.
In the original text of 1837, Isaac Fischer states in the preface that he edited the oral narrative of Ball and omitted any beliefs or feelings Ball expressed about slavery. Since this abridged version merely omits certain parts of the original, I disagree entirely on this count. The text absolutely expresses beliefs and opinions about slavery.
This story is certainly an adventure and it held my attention acutely. If you've read any other stories about slavery then nothing you read here will be shocking. I did get a feeling based on the narrative that white slave holders seemed to dwell on how to inflict punishment to their slaves without losing work from them. The punishment at the end of the book called "punishment of the pump" seemed similar to the torture called waterboarding. Clearly the slave masters were interested in torturing their slaves but not maiming them to the point where they were useless.
This story made me think. There were a lot of things not said. For example, two criminals in the story placed blame for a crime on Charles Ball for which he was seized and almost killed. What wasn't explained in the story was why was he singled out? Its been my experience that if I'm setup by someone, that someone often has a grudge against me or is jealous of me in some way. I didn't understand how Ball could remember every detail regarding certain things such as his escape from bondage but only gloss over other aspects of his life. For example, when he finds himself back in Maryland after four years, his old master simply says "hide yourself" but nothing more is written about the circumstances of why or how his prior master would not or did not go to the authorities to have him returned to his master.
Charles Ball must have been a very intelligent and industrious man. He was very logical in his thinking.
I first want to explain what this book is and who wrote it. This book is actually an abridged and unauthorized reprint of the original story written by Isaac Fischer entitled "Slavery in the United States: A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles Ball a Black Man". The original work was first published in 1837 by John S Taylor, New York; this reprinted abridged version was published in 1859. So given what I just stated, abridged would mean than some of the story is not included in this book so if you want to read the original text, you need to look up the title stated above.
Because this story is not written by a black man, and its not even the original sanctioned text, I can't give this any more than four stars. This story's title isn't even accurate. The length of time described in the text is actually 40 years, not 50 years.
Fifty Years in Chains describes really only about four years of chronological time and then again some several months of time when Ball is forced back to slavery. In all, Ball only spent the first 25 years or so in bondage and then lived a free life for 20 years before being forced again into bondage where he was able to escape within a year of recapture forever after being free.
In the original text of 1837, Isaac Fischer states in the preface that he edited the oral narrative of Ball and omitted any beliefs or feelings Ball expressed about slavery. Since this abridged version merely omits certain parts of the original, I disagree entirely on this count. The text absolutely expresses beliefs and opinions about slavery.
This story is certainly an adventure and it held my attention acutely. If you've read any other stories about slavery then nothing you read here will be shocking. I did get a feeling based on the narrative that white slave holders seemed to dwell on how to inflict punishment to their slaves without losing work from them. The punishment at the end of the book called "punishment of the pump" seemed similar to the torture called waterboarding. Clearly the slave masters were interested in torturing their slaves but not maiming them to the point where they were useless.
This story made me think. There were a lot of things not said. For example, two criminals in the story placed blame for a crime on Charles Ball for which he was seized and almost killed. What wasn't explained in the story was why was he singled out? Its been my experience that if I'm setup by someone, that someone often has a grudge against me or is jealous of me in some way. I didn't understand how Ball could remember every detail regarding certain things such as his escape from bondage but only gloss over other aspects of his life. For example, when he finds himself back in Maryland after four years, his old master simply says "hide yourself" but nothing more is written about the circumstances of why or how his prior master would not or did not go to the authorities to have him returned to his master.
Charles Ball must have been a very intelligent and industrious man. He was very logical in his thinking.
January 2, 2015
It's always interesting to know the atrocities and horrors slaves had to go through, but somehow all the details present in this autobiography makes one suspicious. Mainly when this one barely remembers what she ate last week or what she's supposed to be doing the next one if it's not written down.
In any case, a very interesting reading, and maybe easier to get to thanks to the '12 years a slave' film and re-edition of the book.
In any case, a very interesting reading, and maybe easier to get to thanks to the '12 years a slave' film and re-edition of the book.
February 16, 2015
Historical
The brutal experiences of the author's slavery sufferings lead the reader into the shameful brutality that took away dignity of each person bought and sold in slavery. I began reading this book as part of research on the,history of slavery in this country.
The brutal experiences of the author's slavery sufferings lead the reader into the shameful brutality that took away dignity of each person bought and sold in slavery. I began reading this book as part of research on the,history of slavery in this country.
November 18, 2016
Very very sad and good reading.
Very sad and very good reading. Really enjoyed reading this book.
I
Sometimes there are evil so-called white me. In this word.
There are evil men still to this day.
I will continued reading t
Very sad and very good reading. Really enjoyed reading this book.
I
Sometimes there are evil so-called white me. In this word.
There are evil men still to this day.
I will continued reading t
April 7, 2015
Amazing how articulate and well he remembered the most minute details.
October 11, 2014
This is an audiobook on LibriVox.
https://librivox.org/fifty-years-in-c...
https://librivox.org/fifty-years-in-c...
March 26, 2015
Fascinating and horrifying.
November 17, 2015
A good read.
Hard to put down. Reads like a novel. Seams a bit of a stretch concerning truthfulness, but still a good read.
Hard to put down. Reads like a novel. Seams a bit of a stretch concerning truthfulness, but still a good read.
January 10, 2016
I have read many books covering the horrendous subject of slavery but this first person narrative by an extraordinary man about his courageous adventures, made me feel I was with him all the way!
Want to read
October 20, 2017Free Audio Book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvnVy...
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews