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Tour documenting Chattanooga’s slave trade postponed until Jan. 30

"Slaves Walking From Staunton, Virginia, to Tennessee, 1850s" by Lewis Miller, from "Sketchbook of Landscapes in the State of Virginia," is representative of the antebellum slave trade. A National Park Service program Saturday at Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District will explore one such route. "Slaves Walking From Staunton, Virginia, to Tennessee, 1850s" by Lewis Miller, from "Sketchbook of Landscapes in the State of Virginia," is representative of the antebellum slave trade. A National Park Service program Saturday at Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District will explore one such route.

By Lynda Edwards January 21, 2016 3 min read

If you go

› What: History walk, “Down a Dark Road: The Antebellum Slave Trade in Chattanooga”› When: 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30› Where: Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District (look for Special Event signs beginning on Manufacturers Road)› Admission: Free› Phone: 706-866-9241, 423-821-7786› Website: www.nps.gov/chch› Note: Wear comfortable shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. Lightweight portable chairs are permitted. Water is recommended.

At first glance, the antebellum watercolor drawing is as charming as one of William Blake’s poetic fantasies. Twenty men, women and children walk through a pretty mountain pass. The men wear jaunty straw hats. Everyone is barefoot.

They could be going to a picnic were it not for the two ominous men in black hats riding on horseback, one in front of the group, one behind. They carry whips. Like a Grimm fairy tale, the heart of this scene is infinitely dark.

A verse in curvy script urges the journeyers to dry their tears as they enter Tennessee and leave Virginia behind.

These are slaves walking from Staunton, Va., to Chattanooga, more than 1 million humans bought and sold before the Civil War began.