What is the history behind "Jocko"?
The story begins the icy night in December 1776 when General George Washington decided to cross the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack on the British forces at Trenton. Jocko Graves, a twelve-year-old African-American, sought to fight the Redcoats. However, Washington deemed him too young and ordered him to look after the horses. He asked Jocko to keep a lantern blazing along the Delaware so the company would know where to return after battle.
Many hours later, Washington and his men returned to their horses. The horses were tied up to Graves who had frozen to death with the lantern still clenched in his fist. Washington was so moved by the young boy's devotion to the revolutionary cause he commissioned a statue of the "Faithful Groomsman" to stand in Graves's honor at the general's estate in Mount Vernon.
By the time of the Civil War, these "Jocko" statues could be found on plantations throughout the South. They were like the North Star that pointed fleeing slaves to their freedom. The Jocko statues pointed to the safe houses of the Underground Railroad. Along the Mississippi River, a green ribbon tied to a statue's arm — whether clandestinely or with the owner's knowledge — indicated safety; a red ribbon meant danger. Thus these original lawn jockey statues serve as true artifacts of the Underground Railroad that conducted so many African-American slaves to freedom.
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