Trains, Carriages, and Boats
On December 21, 1848, Ellen and William
began their journey. After first obtaining
passes to leave their residences, they
disguised themselves, made their way
to the Macon train station, and depart-
ed for Savannah, Georgia. On the train,
Ellen realized she was sitting next to a
dear friend of her owner. Anxious andfearful, she relaxed after he spoke to her
and said, “It is a very fine morning, sir.”
Although she was relieved that her dis-
guise was working, Ellen acted as if she
was deaf for the remainder of the train
ride to avoid conversing with him.
Once they arrived in Savannah, they
found a carriage and quickly made
their way to a steamboat departing forCharleston, South Carolina. There was
no seating on the boat for enslaved peo-
ple, so William found a spot near the
funnel of the ship where he sat until
morning. The next morning, the captain
was thoroughly impressed at the young
master’s “very attentive boy” and warned
Ellen to beware of “cut-throat abolition-
ists” in the northern states who would
entice William to run away.
The trip was full of fraught encoun-
ters: A slave trader made Ellen an offer
to buy William and to take him to the
Deep South. A military officer scolded
her for saying “thank you” to William.
When the couple arrived in Charleston,
they were able to stay at the best hotel
in town. There, the clerks greeted the
“invalid” with great care, giving them
a nice room and good table in the din-
ing hall.
From Charleston, they took another
steamboat to Wilmington, North
Carolina, and from there, a train toTALES OF FREEDOM
IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES, Black authors published
personal accounts of their lives as enslaved people and
their escapes. Known popularly as slave narratives,
these important works—penned by esteemed authors
like the Crafts, Olaudah Equiano, Frederick Douglass,
Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Jacobs—were an import-
ant part in exposing the horrors of slavery and ending
the practice in the United States.RANDY DUCHAINE/ALAMYAFRICAN MEETING HOUSE
in Beacon Hill, Boston,
Massachusetts, where the
Crafts spoke of their escapePROFILES
10 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022