Norton Introduces Resolution Commemorating Historic Escape Attempt by Slaves in D.C. on Ship

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a resolution commemorating the 1848 slave escape that occurred in D.C. on the ship the Pearl.

"When it comes, statehood will free District residents of every race and background from constraints that deny them the freedom and equality enjoyed by other Americans," Norton said. "But I see it as no accident that the single largest known slave escape in American history occurred in the District. The courage of the escapees, men and women determined to be free, reminds me of the spirit D.C. residents have always had in the fight for statehood. Remembering the story of the Pearlmust inspire us to achieve the freedom that only statehood can give.

"The escapees' courage against the odds should inspire D.C. residents to continue believing that statehood is within reach and that D.C. is worthy and capable of self-government, even during this time when the people in the nation's capital are under political attack from Republicans who hold both the majority in Congress and the White House."

The text of the resolution follows.

Recognizing the historic abolitionist events surrounding the Pearl, and honoring its legacy in American history.

RESOLUTION

Recognizing the historic abolitionist events surrounding the Pearl, and honoring its legacy in American history.

Whereas, on April 16, 1848, 77 enslaved people attempted to flee slavery in the District of Columbia and Alexandria, Virginia, on the Pearl, a schooner waiting for them in the Potomac River;

Whereas, on April 14, 1848, three White men brought the ship to the District of Columbia, and Daniel Drayton, the captain and owner of the Pearl, chartered the schooner for $100 and arranged for the enslaved peoples' travel;

Whereas the escape was initiated by free Blacks Paul Jennings, who had been enslaved by President James Madison, and Paul Edmonson;

Whereas William Chaplin, a White abolitionist, assisted in connecting the enslaved people with Drayton;

Whereas abolitionist Gerrit Smith of New York financed the escape;

Whereas 77 enslaved people, including men, women, and children, sailed on the Pearl down the Potomac River and then into the Chesapeake Bay in pursuit of freedom;

Whereas, on April 17, 1848, numerous enslavers in the District of Columbia, realizing the people they enslaved had fled, sent a posse of 35 men to seek the Pearl;

Whereas the posse met the Pearl near Point Lookout, Maryland, and took the enslaved people and the ship back to the District of Columbia;

Whereas slavery supporters formed a mob and lashed out at both the White abolitionists involved in the escape as well as free Blacks in the District of Columbia in the Washington Riot of 1848;

Whereas the enslavers sold the enslaved people who had escaped to traders who took them to New Orleans, Louisiana;

Whereas two of the enslaved people who had escaped were purchased and freed in an effort led by Henry Ward Beecher's Plymouth Congregational Church of Brooklyn, New York;

Whereas Drayton and two of the other ship workers were arrested for helping in the escape and were represented in court by Congressman Horace Mann;

Whereas two of the men, including Drayton, after serving four years in prison, were released after being granted a pardon from President Millard Fillmore, based on a recommendation from Senator Charles Sumner; and

Whereas the escape is said to be the single largest known escape by enslaved persons in American history and to have inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe in her writing the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin": Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors the legacy of all those who furthered freedom from slavery and all of those who were involved in the historic abolitionist events surrounding the Pearl, and recognizes their importance to the history of the District of Columbia and to American history itself.

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