On the way, they wandered into the Second Battle of Bull Run, which was in progress. Albert, wanting to observe the position of the troops from a better vantage point, left his wife and children in a hiding place, telling them he would return shortly.

The Confederate General, Stonewall Jackson, came in from the east with 23,000 troops, joining 50,000 soldiers under Robert E. Lee. Jackson's troops cut off Albert's route back to the hiding place. Caroline and the children waited two days and nights for him and then left without him. They met up with Union forces, retreating from the Confederate Army, and marched to freedom with the soldiers. Albert found them in Alexandria two weeks later.

Caroline  (Grandma)  King

My father's paternal grandparents, Henry and Henrietta Smith had also been slaves. My father knew little of their history, except that Henry was a drayman. He owned six, two-wheel carts, employing a number of drivers. The carts had wheels almost as tall as a man and were each drawn by a single mule. They were used to haul cargo from the wharves along the Potomac River in Alexandria back up to town.

On left, summer in Alexandria with Grandma Henrietta Smith, circa 1910. On right, in sepia tones, Grandpa Henry Smith (with mule behind him)

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