Paris, Kentucky slave coffle of summer 1822

James H. Dickey,[1] who reported that the slaves were marching under the flag of the United States.

Having passed through Paris, in Bourbon County, Kentucky, the sound of music (beyond a little rising ground) attracted my attention.

Supposing that I was about to meet a military parade, I drove hastily to the side of the road; and, having gained the ascent, I discovered (I supposed) about 40 black men all chained together after the following manner: each of them was handcuffed, and they were arranged in rank and file.

A solemn sadness sat on every countenance, and the dismal silence of this march of despair was interrupted only by the sound of two violins; yes, as if to add insult to injury, the foremost couple were furnished with a violin a-piece; the second couple were ornamented with cockades, while near the centre waved the republican flag, carried by a hand literally in chains.

Placed near the center of the image, the flag serves as a counter to the slaveholder's whip and provides the viewer another high-flying vantage point with which to identify.