A Struggle To Be Free

In 1830, an enslaved man in chains at a slave market heard that in Portsmouth, Ohio, people ran an Underground Railroad to help people escape to freedom. If he ever got the chance, he resolved to go there, traveling only in the darkness of night and following signs such as quilts on a wash line or a light in a certain window that marked a safe house where he could find shelter, food, and rest. Those who aided enslaved people believed this was God's work, though they risked death at the hands of slave trackers or time in jail. On his journey through brambles and briars, he suffered cuts and bruises in addition to whipping scars, hid in the woods at night, heard wild animals and the baying of hounds, and pressed on until he saw the moon shining on the waters of the Ohio. After crossing the river, he fell to his knees and thanked God that he now had a chance to be free.

Portsmouth, Ohio · United States