Fleeing Female Slave Impersonates Planter, Husband Posing As Trusty Servant: William & Ellen Craft

In the 1850s, “William and Ellen Craft were slaves in the State of Georgia.” Their “desire to be free was very strong.” It was rare for slaves that deep in the Confederacy to successfully flee, but it “occurred to William and Ellen, that she might act the part of master and her husband the part of servant.”

“Ellen was fair enough to pass for white,” but how to transform her into a young planter? She needed to “dress elegantly in a fashionable suit of male attire, and have her hair cut in the style usually worn by young planters.” But she was beardless. So, they muffled up the face of the young planter as if he were “suffering badly with a toothache.”

But how could they register for a room at hotels? Their planter had to be a “gentleman who was very much indisposed. He must have his right arm in a sling,” so he could not sign in. “He must be a little lame, with a nice cane in the left hand; he must have large green spectacles over his eyes, and he must be hard of hearing and depend on his faithful servant, as was common with slaveholders, to look after all his wants.”

“William was just the man to act this part. To begin with, he was very smart, active, and exceedingly attentive to his young master. Indeed, he was almost the eyes, ears, hands, and feet for him. William knew that this would please the slaveholders. The young planter would have nothing to do but hold himself subject to his ailments and put on a bold air of superiority; he was not to deign to notice anybody. If, while traveling, gentlemen, either politely or rudely, should venture to scrape acquaintance with the young planter, in his deafness he was to remain mute; the servant was to explain.”

Other slave narratives included the lives of Frederick Douglass, Booker T Washington, and Father Augustine Tolton.

For more interesting videos, please click to subscribe to our YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@ReflectionsMPH/?sub_confirmation=1

Shortcut: https://www.youtube.com/@ReflectionsMPH

YouTube video using this script: https://youtu.be/VEggppALPLE
© Copyright 2024

This blog includes footnotes and Amazon book links:
https://seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/fleeing-female-slave-impersonates-planter-husband-posing-as-trusty-servant-william-ellen-craft/

We also review:
• Support of William Lloyd Garrison and other abolitionists.
• How the Fugitive Slave Act compelled many runaway slaves to seek refuge in Canada.

2. In the 1850s, “William
and Ellen Craft were
slaves in the State of
Georgia.” Their “desire to
be free was very strong.”
It was rare for slaves that
deep in the Confederacy
to successfully flee, but it
“occurred to William and
Ellen, that she might act
the part of master and
her husband the part of
servant.”
William and Ellen Craft, fugitive
Slaves and abolitionists.

3. “Ellen was fair enough to pass for white,” but how to
transform her into a young planter? She needed to
“dress elegantly in a fashionable suit of male attire, and
have her hair cut in the style usually worn by young
planters.” But she was beardless. So, they muffled up
the face of the young planter as if he were “suffering
badly with a toothache.”
But how could they register for a room at hotels? Their
planter had to be a “gentleman who was very much
indisposed. He must have his right arm in a sling,” so he
could not sign in. “He must be a little lame, with a nice
cane in the left hand; he must have large green
spectacles over his eyes, and he must be hard of hearing
and depend on his faithful servant, as was common with
slaveholders, to look after all his wants.”
Ellen Craft disguised as a young planter.

4. “William was just the man to act this part. To begin
with, he was very smart, active, and exceedingly
attentive to his young master. Indeed, he was almost
the eyes, ears, hands, and feet for him. William
knew that this would please the slaveholders. The
young planter would have nothing to do but hold
himself subject to his ailments and put on a bold air
of superiority; he was not to deign to notice
anybody. If, while traveling, gentlemen, either
politely or rudely, should venture to scrape
acquaintance with the young planter, in his deafness
he was to remain mute; the servant was to explain.”
Buy us too, by Henry Louis Stephens,
Library Company of Philadelphia, 1863

5. Where did they obtain the money and props to pull this off?
William’s master had apprenticed him to learn carpentry, and
hired out his services. He was permitted to keep a small portion
of his earnings. Ellen was a house servant, which enabled her to
learn how she could escape. When she was twenty they were
married, but did not want to raise a family in slavery.
This masquerade fooled everyone on the train and in two hotels,
one in Charleston, another in Richmond. But they ran into a
problem when they tried to buy a train ticket in Baltimore, which
was just over the border from Pennsylvania, and freedom.

7. Train station,
by Vincent
von Gogh

8. Civil War Era
Steam Train,
1860’s,
Indiana State
Libary

9. At the depot, “the servant asked for tickets for his master and self.
The ticket master said, ‘Of course, your master could have a ticket,
but bonds will have to be entered before you can get a ticket.’”
“The servant replied that he knew nothing about that, that he was
simply traveling with his young master to take care of him, and
that he was in a very delicate state of health.” He feared “that he
might not be able to hold out before reaching Philadelphia, where
he was hastening for medical treatment,” adding that “my master
cannot be detained.” “Without further parley, the ticket master
very obligingly waived the old rule, and furnished the requisite
tickets. The mountain being thus removed, the young planter and
his faithful servant were safely in the cars for the city of Brotherly
Love.”
The Sale, by Henry Louis Stephens, 1863

10. “Scarcely had they arrived on
free soil when the rheumatism
departed, the right arm was
unslung, the toothache was
gone, the beardless face was
unmuffled, the deaf heard and
spoke, the blind saw, and the
lame leaped as a hart, and in
the presence of a few
astonished friends of the
slave, the facts of this
unparalleled Underground
Railroad feat were fully
established.” He Died For Me/ FREE, by Henry Louis Stephens, 1863

11. After conferring with William Lloyd Garrison and
other abolitionists, they traveled to the free soil
of Boston, Massachusetts. “The story of their
escape was broadcast over the country, North
and South, and indeed over the civilized world.”
“But the day the Fugitive Slave Bill passed, even
the bravest abolitionist began to fear that a
fugitive slave was no longer safe anywhere under
the stars and stripes.”
“Many abolitionists counseled resistance to the
death at all hazards. Instead of running to
Canada, fugitives generally armed themselves
and thus said, ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’”
From Uncle Tom’s cabin

12. But after a close call when they evaded capture by slave hunters
hired by their old master, they decided to emigrate to Great
Britain, where they were safe. Ellen could read and write, and
they earned speaking fees for sharing their experience as slaves.
Frederick Douglass had also emigrated to Great Britain after he
entertained John Brown at his house. Although Douglass did not
assist John Brown in his raid of the armory at Harper’s Ferry, and
indeed tried to dissuade him from this fool’s errand, he was
suspected of being an accomplice.

14. https://youtu.be/M0sx85oMRQA

15. William and Ellen Craft prospered in England, though
they did have financial problems, and after the Civil
War, they visited their old homes in Boston and
Georgia. The land prices were depressed, as the
Southern economy had collapsed after the Civil War,
so they bought a plantation with funds raised from
supporters near Savannah, Georgia, where they lived
with their family.

16. House of William and Ellen Craft at 202 Calhoun St, 1890.

17. Discussing the Sources

18. We will be reviewing many of the stories about slaves
escaping to freedom in the Underground Railroad,
and there are other slave narratives. Frederick
Douglass escaped from slavery when the abolition
movement began. Augustine Tolton and his mother
escaped from slavery during the Civil War, he was the
first black priest ordained after the Civil War. And
Booker T Washington was emancipated as a young
teenager at the end of the Civil War.

19. https://youtu.be/yxDnJ6sBoJc
https://youtu.be/7VkzhyNnuQk
https://youtu.be/dZbzWJkAf5k
https://youtu.be/M0sx85oMRQA

20. In our first video in this series, Harriet Jacobs sailed for freedom after hiding for
many years on her plantation.
We read of Eliza Harris who escaped with her infant daughter crawling from one
block of ice to another, crossing a river not quite frozen over in the winter, with
slave catchers watching helplessly on the bank. This incident inspired a scene in
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a novel that helped spark the Civil War.
Harriet Tubman was perhaps the most famous conductor on the Underground
Railroad, she returned to Maryland nineteen times to lead family members and
other slaves to freedom, and even assisted in a military raid in South Carolina during
the Civil War.
We reflect on the amusing story of Henry Box Brown, who had himself boxed up
and shipped to freedom in Philadelphia. And we have the tragic story of Margaret
Garner, who killed two of her children to free them from a lifetime of bondage and
sexual molestation.

21. -
https://youtu.be/kRSzNZP73og https://youtu.be/kRSzNZP73og
https://youtu.be/Lkk30_zIDI0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_and_William_Crafthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_and_William_Craft
https://youtu.be/q3AWLDo4e6I

22. https://youtu.be/gd6SRd7T20I

23. YouTube Channel (click to subscribe):
Reflections on Morality, Philosophy, and History:
© Copyright 2024 Become a patron:
https://amzn.to/3kfEXbT
https://amzn.to/2UUjFY9
https://amzn.to/3rZHpH0
Underground Railroad, William and Ellen Craft
https://youtu.be/VEggppALPLE
https://amzn.to/3orcpz7
https://www.patreon.com/seekingvirtueandwisdom
https://www.youtube.com/@ReflectionsMPH/?sub_confirmation=1
https://amzn.to/3je7rmW
https://amzn.to/4aJqePI

24. To find the source of any direct
quotes in this blog, please type in
the phrase to the search box in
my blog to see the referenced
footnote.
YouTube Description has links for:
•Script PDF file
•Blog
© Copyright 2024
Blog and YouTube Description
include links for Amazon books
and lectures mentioned, please
support our channel with these
affiliate commissions.
Links to blog:https://wp.me/pachSU-1b5

25. https://www.patreon.com/seekingvirtueandwisdom
https://www.meetup.com/Reflections/

26. https://www.patreon.com/seekingvirtueandwisdom

27. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLqDkfFbWhXOnzdjp__YZtg/