A Family Civil War Story

My Aunt Margaret will be 94 next week, and I am so glad she is still around. She can’t do as much now, so her favorite thing to do is read books. She is thankful her eyes are as good as they ever were. Her mind is also quite good in my opinion even though it not as sharp as it used to be, and her short term memory doesn't always pop up quickly. Sometimes we talk about recent things and sometimes old family stuff. Today we talked about the story of Uncle Rob, one that was passed down to me when I was a child. She was able to add some more facts.
Robert DeVane was my grandfather's uncle. He had gone to fight in the Civil War and was captured by the Union army and kept in Elmira, New York, a prison for Confederate soldiers. Many died there. When the war ended, the surviving prisoners were set free, taken to the edge of the South, somewhere in Virginia, and from there they had to find their way home. Home to Uncle Rob was eastern NC, near Wilmington. (I should have asked where.) Margaret said he probably got some buggy rides and that some people let him spend a night in their homes, but aside from those kindnesses, he walked back. I wonder how long it took. The family had had no word from or about him so assumed he was killed in the war. But then one day, one of the black people on the homeplace saw in the dusty distance an image of a bedraggled man. He called out to the others, "Here comes the ghost of Massa Rob!" As he got closer, they knew it was him in the flesh, and everyone was so happy.
As it turned out, Uncle Rob lived longer than anyone in the family, dying at age 92. I asked Margaret what our ancestors called the black folks. I was wondering if it was Darkie, like in old songs of the era. She said they "Just called them by name like Hattie or Peter." And they called the whites by name but saying Missus or Massa before the name, "Like Missus Margaret." Margaret remembers seeing Uncle Rob when she was about five years old, and he had a white beard and was standing with his elbow propped on the mantle.
It's interesting to get glimpses into the past. Family lore. My great-great uncle.