The Underground Railroad: The Paths & Places of Refuge

Birds flying high, you know how I feel Sun in the sky, you know how I feel Breeze drifting on by, you know how I feel It's a new dawn, it's a new day It's a new life for me Yeah, it's a new dawn, it's a new day It's a new life for me Ooh SHAUN: "When the time had arrived for us to start, "we blew out the lights, knelt down, "and prayed to our Heavenly Father "mercifully to assist us.

"After this, we rose and stood for a few moments "in breathless silence, and stepped softly "to the door, "Opened the latch and peeped out.

"I took my wife by the hand and I whispered to her, "Come, my dear, let us make this desperate "leap to liberty.

"Now we both saw many mountainous "difficulties that rose one after another.

"Therefore, upon my wife's fully realizing "the solemn fact that we had to take our lives "as it were in our own hands and contest every "inch of a thousand miles of slave territory "over which we had to pass, it made her heart "almost sink within her.

"After a few moments of silent prayer, "she recovered her self-possession "and said, Come, William, it's getting late.

"So now let us venture upon our perilous journey.

"And we then opened the door and stepped out "as softly as moonlight upon the water.

"And we shook hands, and we said farewell, and escaped into the darkness of the night."

NARRATOR: Since the inception of the American slave trade, Africans who were sold, tricked, and kidnapped into enslavement pursued freedom at any cost.

The Underground Railroad was a 17th century network of secret routes and safe houses that helped enslaved African Americans escape to freedom in the United States up until the 19th century.

LESSA: They used their genius to share information in very secretive ways.

NARRATOR: Join us as we explore the Underground Railroad and the brilliance of the freedom seekers who moved through its various paths and places of refuge.

William and Ellen Craft.

PROF. VERDUN: They traveled first-class throughout their entire journey.

NARRATOR: And countless other freedom seekers at large.

(flame burning) This is The Underground Railroad: The Paths & Places of Refuge.

PROF. VERDUN: The Underground Railroad was a metaphor.

I mean, we didn't have a subway that went 3,000 miles.

Rather, it was homes, churches, farms, businesses that gave the freedom seekers refuge, food, shelter, and most importantly, directions to the next stop.

NARRATOR: The Underground Railroad was a secret network of routes, places, and people, that helped enslaved people in the American South escape to the North.

PROF. VERDUN: There were 3,000 miles of trails of the Underground Railroad used by freedom seekers.

Ohio had more Underground Railroad trails than any other state, perhaps because they bordered two slave states, West Virginia and Kentucky, with over 400 miles.

Also, when you reached Ohio, you were no more than 250 miles from Canada.

And no freedom seeker felt safe until they reached Canada.

If you could make it to the borders of Canada, you would be free.

NARRATOR: The first documented mention of the Underground Railroad occurs in 1839.

An attempted escape leads to the tortuous reveal of something known as the Underground Railroad.

By some estimates, between 1810 and 1850, the Underground Railroad helped to guide 100,000 enslaved people to freedom.

By the 1840s, the term Underground Railroad was part of the American vernacular.

PROF. VERDUN: The South had a problem containing slavery because so many enslaved people were seeking freedom.

SHAUN: "They have no mercy upon us, "nor sympathy for any negro who they cannot enslave.

"They say that God made the Black man to be "a slave for the white and act as though they "really believe that all free persons of color "are an open rebellion to a direct command "from heaven, for instance.

"A bill has been introduced into the "Tennessee Legislature to prevent free negroes from traveling on the railroads."

PROF. VERDUN: In response to the freedom seekers escaping to the North, the Southern planters urged Congress to pass the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

This was a really harsh act.

This act made it easier for the slave patrollers to prove that a particular person was in fact their property, it made it impossible for the enslaved person or the free person or the person who was accused to prove that they were not the property of another because they couldn't even testify.

NARRATOR: We begin our journey in Louisiana.

PROF. VERDUN: Since the early 1600s, Louisiana was the major point of entry for Africans coming into the Americas.

Many African families were immediately separated when they arrived.

They had no respect for mother and child, father and son.

Instead, they were sold separately in a way that they may never see their loved ones again.

NARRATOR: William Craft and his family were separated in such a fashion.

When their owner came into trouble with his gambling debts, he sold William's family.

Sixteen-year-old William, his sister, brother, and parents were each sold separately.

William would remain in Macon, Georgia, while his now-broken family spread throughout the South.

It is in Macon, Georgia, where William would meet Ellen, a fair-skinned slave woman who was put to work as a lady's maid at a local plantation.

William and Ellen were soon married, and though they would eventually pull off a legendary escape from slavery, they were initially somewhat resigned to their station.

SHAUN: "After puzzling our brains for years, "we were reluctantly driven to the sad conclusion "that it was almost impossible to "escape from slavery in Georgia and travel a thousand miles across slave states."

"We therefore resolve "to get the consent of our owners "to be married and settle down in slavery "and endeavor to make our lives as "comfortable as possible under that system, "but at the same time to keep our dim "eyes steadily fixed upon the glimmering "hope of liberty "and earnestly pray God mercifully to assist us to escape from our unjust throttle."

PROF. VERDUN: William and Ellen were married, but they chose not to have children because they knew that if they had children, they could have been sold away from them.

They would have a life of bondage and they might never, ever see them again.

NARRATOR: However, William and Ellen's resolve to make the most of their current circumstance would waver as their desire to have children grew.

William and Ellen remained firm that the only existence that they could bear a child into was a free one.

And if their present circumstances could not allow for that, they were left with one choice to make their escape.

PROF. VERDUN: Ellen was of mixed race.

Her mother was biracial, which means that she was the product of a slave and a white owner.

And then Ellen was the product of her biracial mother and her white owner.

That means she was one quarter African.

Ellen's skin was so fair that she could easily pass for being white.

Ellen's husband, William, on the other hand, was as dark as black cherries, reflecting his pure African heritage.

NARRATOR: The contrast between Ellen and William's complexions was the spark for their ingenious plan.

SHAUN: "Knowing that "slaveholders have the privilege "of taking their slaves to any part of the country, "it occurred to me that as my wife was nearly white, "I might get her to disguise herself as a "invalid gentleman and assume to be my master "while I could attend as his slave.

"And that in this manner, we might affect our escape."

PROF. VERDUN: Because Ellen's skin was so fair, she could disguise herself as a white person.

And in this case as a white man, where she masqueraded as the owner of her slave husband, William.

They would make their escape, not going through swamps and- and caves and trails, but rather on first-class passage on the actual railroad.

Many slave owners provided training for their captives because it made them more valuable.

And William benefited from that because as a carpenter, he was not only able to pay his owner, but he was able to work extra and save money, which facilitated his escape.

NARRATOR: With the money that William managed to save from his work as a carpenter, they were able to purchase the clothes necessary for Ellen's disguise.

The remaining money was kept on hand to pay for passage along their journey.

PROF. VERDUN: Ellen, dressed as an upscale white planter, was able to travel in the first-class car.

She was separated from William, who had to join other slaves in the slave car.

Even though they were traveling first-class, it was still very dangerous.

They were hiding in plain sight.

But at any point, they could have been discovered, captured, and sent back to bondage.

And to think the Underground Railroad was secret.

There were no signs, there were no trails, there were no maps.

So how would one know where to go?

NARRATOR: The Underground Railroad was shrouded in a veil of mystery.

Yet as daring as the Crafts' escape would prove to be, so too were the secrets of the Underground Railroad hidden in plain sight.

LESSA: What we've discovered through research about what happened here on Elmwood Plantation is how this house would have been used to share information.

What they would call tunnel would have been used as a significant place to glean information.

They would take quilts, they would wet the quilts with water, and they would either have someone holding them next to the walls.

The wet quilt itself would have kept the sound waves from going beyond the passageway, so they could talk freely about information that had been shared with them about what ship was coming here, what day, when it was leaving.

If it wasn't a high production time, it was said that the children would play on the lawn.

They'd hear the slave owner's children singing a nursery rhyme.

They would take the words, but they would have a whole different meaning when they were sung.

So if children were out here singing, Ring around the rosie, pocket full of posies Ashes, ashes, we all fall down Enslaved people had the brilliance to take that nursery rhyme and working with abolitionists and black jacks, turn it into a whole different code about how to get on a ship.

"Ring Around the Rosie" when it was sung on the port would signal to an abolitionist to throw ashes in the air, signaling it was safe to move through the pine woods and now start moving toward the port with the possibility of getting on that ship.

There's a second verse to "Ring Around the Rosie" we don't traditionally sing, but it was used as a warning.

Cows in the cornfield eating up the buttercups Ashes, ashes, we all fall down Cows in the cornfields were slave traders, bounty hunters, the sheriff, anybody looking for a runaway.

And the freedom seeker would be the buttercup.

That would be a warning, don't go near the port.

Enslaved people would often make these songs up themselves, and they would only be shared with the people that needed to know them.

Most people know "Wade Through the Water."

Harriet Tubman used that a lot on the Combahee River when she was working with the Union Army.

And the words go, Wade Through the Water, Wade Through the Water.

Wade in the water Wade in the water, children Wade in the water Gods are gonna trouble It was directed to stay near water.

If you hear dogs barking, you hear people come, get in the water.

It makes it harder for the dogs to pick up your scent.

It was right there in plain sight all of the time.

but they use their genius to be able to share information.

And to the untrained ear, you're just listening to a song.

You hear it one way, but the enslaved person that knows what it means, it's a directive.

NARRATOR: Through songs, freedom seekers would learn the mysterious routes needed to plan their escape.

SHAUN: "We set up all night discussing the plan.

"Now, just before the time arrived in the morning "for us to leave, I cut off my wife's hair, "square all in the back of her head, "and got her to dress up in disguise and "stand on the floor.

"Found her to be a most respectable "looking gentleman.

"She said, I think I can make a poultice and bind up my right hand in a sling."

"And with propriety, asked the officers to register my name for me."

PROF. VERDUN: I think it's important to note that Ellen pretended to be wounded.

she put her arm in a sling because she knew she couldn't read or write, and she thought that would be a good excuse for not signing her name.

NARRATOR: December 18th, 1848, Macon, Georgia.

William and Ellen Craft had obtained a few days' leave of absence pass, as was customary around the holidays.

They would use this pass to create some distance between themselves and the violent slave catchers.

PROF. VERDUN: Stepping out into that cold December night, Ellen and William had to be afraid.

In fact, Ellen wept on William's shoulder.

They were leaving everything they knew for the total unknown.

While William and Ellen were making their way to a train station and first-class passage, there was another prominent group of freedom seekers.

They lived in the swamps and the caves, really near to the homes of their former owners.

In fact, swamps and caves would have been their chosen path towards freedom.

This set of freedom seekers would be known as the Maroons.

You had freedom seekers who had to go through the swamp, and then you had the Maroons, and the Maroons were actually people who lived in that swamp territory.

They formed hidden communities in the swamps and wetlands in Louisiana.

They were hiding in plain sight.

Escaping through the swamps in Louisiana would lead you to another wetlands area in South Carolina called the Four Holes Swamp.

This was a prime location where the Maroons would help other freedom seekers on their path to freedom.

NARRATOR: Tendanji Bailey is the founder of Gullah Geechee Features and an expert on historic American Maroon communities.

TENDANJI: So right now we are standing in the middle of Four Hole Swamps.

This became the home to Maroon communities.

Maroon is the Spanish word really, simmarron, translates to wild or untamed.

Really these were freedom- seeking people who wanted to get away from bondage.

Mainly these are African- born enslaved people who were brought here to work on rice plantations, cotton plantations, indigo plantations, and they wanted to get away.

And so the way to do that was to get as far away from the plantation as possible and to find a place where they can find fresh water, where they could hunt, where they could fish, and really create community among themselves.

Oftentimes, enslaved people would run away.

You know, you have to begin to figure out how to survive here.

And if they couldn't figure out how to survive, they would oftentimes end up going back, unfortunately, to the plantation.

But when they gathered in their groups, they were able to create these settlements.

They would be able to gather resources so they could purchase weapons.

And so not only are they able to- to hunt and survive in this space, but they are able to protect themselves from the danger of, you know, white slave owners wanting to come and bring them back into bondage.

They're really, really brilliant people to be able to do all of these things with no resources, right?

Or the resources that they would- would use would be the things that were around them.

Let's say, you know, you're fresh off of, you know, escaping the plantation, finding yourself here in these swamps.

So in order to be a part of this Maroon community, the Maroons would put you through a few tests.

They would make sure that you could be a fully functioning part of their community, contributing to the hunting, to the farming that they would have here.

The Maroons had to be very careful about not only who they let into their community, but also who they let out.

There was always a fear of slave owners wanting to get their property back.

So if you were a freedom seeker who had made a stop with the Maroons on your journey, the Maroons had a process by which you couldn't leave for a certain period of time.

You had to prove your loyalty to the Maroon community because of their fear of being caught and found.

And so this would be a holding place for some who would eventually head up North to continue their freedom-seeking journey.

NARRATOR: Maroon communities such as these provided safe passageway through difficult and mysterious routes toward freedom.

PROF. VERDUN: The Maroons provided things that the freedom seekers needed, like food and shelter and rest, and very importantly, directions, as they proceeded along their journey.

But the Crafts, while escaping in first-class passage, were no less free from danger than those who were escaping in the swamps.

Very soon after departing on that cold December night, they were almost immediately discovered and caught.

SHAUN: "I took the nearest possible way to the train "for fear I would be recognized by someone.

"I got into the negro car in which I knew I "should have to ride.

"But my master, as I now will call my wife, "took the longer way around and only arrived there "with a bulk of passengers.

"He obtained a ticket for himself and "one for his slave.

"Me.

"To Savannah, Georgia, the first port.

"My master looked around the carriage "and was terror-stricken to find.

"A Mr. Cray, an old friend of my wife's master, "who dined with the family the night before "and knew my wife from childhood, sitting on the same seat."

PROF. VERDUN: This would have been the end for William and Ellen Craft.

PROF. VERDUN: Ellen, dressed as an upscale white planter, was able to travel in the first-class car.

She was separated from William, who had to join other slaves in the slave car.

But the Crafts, while escaping in first-class passage, were no less free from danger than those who were escaping in the swamps.

Very soon after departing on that cold December night, they were almost immediately discovered and caught.

SHAUN: "But just before the train moved off, "I peeped through the window "and was terror-stricken "to find an old friend of my wife's master sitting on the same seat."

PROF. VERDUN: This would have been the end for William and Ellen Craft.

Ellen Craft was brilliant.

In fact, Craft is a good name for her.

She not only disguised herself as a cripple, but also as someone deaf, so that if anyone spoke to her, she wouldn't have to speak back in her feminine voice.

SHAUN: "Her first impression "after seeing Mr. Cray "was that he was there for the purpose of securing her "and for fear that Mr. Cray might draw my "wife into conversation and recognize her "voice as not masculine.

"She resolved to feign deafness as the only means of self-defense."

PROF. VERDUN: So Ellen traveled in silence.

Turned out to be a really good thing because she was listening in on conversations and gathering information that would be useful for them on their travels.

SHAUN: "The gentleman then turned the conversation "upon the three topics of discussion in "first-class circles in Georgia, namely negroes, cotton, and the Abolitionists."

NARRATOR: The Abolitionist movement sought to end slavery and liberate slaves around the world.

Abolitionists believed that slavery was a national sin and that it was the moral obligation of every American to eradicate it.

PROF. VERDUN: The Southern planters used really vile language and fearful tactics in order to convince the enslaved people that the Abolitionists were evil and that they would bring harm to them.

SHAUN: "My master had often heard of Abolitionists, "but in such a connection to cause him to think "that they were a fearful kind of wild animal.

"But he was highly delighted to learn "from the gentleman's conversation "that the Abolitionists were opposed to oppression "and therefore, in his opinion, "not the lowest, but the very highest of God's creatures."

NARRATOR: The Crafts continue their escape, arriving safely into Savannah, Georgia, where they sought refuge for the evening before traveling to Charleston, South Carolina, in the morning.

PROF. VERDUN: Savannah, Georgia had the highest concentration of enslaved people of any city or any place in Georgia.

NARRATOR: Because of the high population of enslaved people in Savannah, it became a hotbed for Abolitionists who had to operate covertly to avoid suspicion.

On the other hand, the city was also often crawling with slave catchers, returning escaped slaves to their owners.

It goes without saying that these slave catchers and their employers did not take very kindly to the Abolitionists.

This made Savannah a powder keg of tension and danger.

PROF. VERDUN: It was not uncommon along the Underground Railroad for people to provide very small hiding spaces for the freedom seekers.

For example, in the First African Baptist Church, they had spaces under the floorboards with little air holes so that the freedom seekers could breathe.

NARRATOR: Located at 23 Montgomery Street, Savannah, Georgia, this unassuming building played host to an unknown number of freedom seekers seeking a resting place on the Underground Railroad.

This is the First African Baptist Church.

The First African Baptist Church is the oldest Black church in North America.

Many freedom seekers making their way through Savannah would go to First African Baptist Church, where they would be moved from the city's riverbanks through tunnels that ran under the church.

They would remain in these tunnels for days or even weeks, using these holes in the floorboards to breathe.

They remained here in silence until the passage was clear to move on to the next stop.

The Crafts had also found lodging for the evening.

Ellen, with her fair mulatto skin and in disguise as an upstanding white man, afforded herself a room in a hotel.

William, on the other hand, found solace among the other African servants along the riverbanks.

SHAUN: "On arriving at the house, the landlord ran out "and opened the door.

"But judging by the poultices, that my master "was an invalid, he took him very tenderly by one arm and ordered his man to take the other."

PROF. VERDUN: Nightfall in Savannah brought on a host of new dangers, particularly for William, who could have been caught, captured by one of the patrollers or slave catchers, taken back into slavery because of the Fugitive Slave Act.

His journey to freedom could have ended right then and there.

So to keep safe, freedom seekers had to kind of stay to themselves and be silent.

They couldn't talk and tell too much of their story for fear that someone might turn on them and turn them in.

And that's what William Craft had to do.

Just avoid talking.

SHAUN: "I then ordered dinner "and took my master's boots out to polish them.

"I entered into conversation "with one of the slaves.

"I may state here that on the sea coast "of South Carolina and Georgia, the slaves "speak worse English than any other part "of the country.

"This is owing to the frequent importation "or smuggling in of Africans who "mingle with the natives.

"Consequently, the language cannot properly "be called English or African, but a "corruption of the two.

"And the shrewd son of African parents "to whom I referred said to me, "Say, brother, where you come from?

"And which side you going up that way?

"I replied, Philadelphia.

"What?

He exclaimed with "astonishment.

Philadelphia?

"Yeah.

By squash, I wish I "was going with you.

"I hears them got those slaves up that "way in them parts.

"Is that so?

"I've heard the same thing.

"And just as I took the boots up and started off, "he caught my hand between his two "and gave it a hearty shake, "and with tears streaming "down his cheeks, he said, God bless you, brother, "and may the Lord be with you.

"When you get down to freedom, and sitting "under your own wine and your own fig tree, don't forget to pray for poor Pompey."

NARRATOR: By morning, December 21st, it was now time for the Crafts to continue their journey to Philadelphia, by way of Charleston, South Carolina.

Together, they boarded a steamship and continued their voyage toward freedom.

PROF. VERDUN: There are many routes one could take to escape slavery in the South.

If you escape from Louisiana, one might have to go through Mississippi and Kentucky before arriving in Ohio.

This was the Underground Railroad.

Escaping through Missouri would mean going through the Kansas and Nebraska territories to the West.

This is known as the Overland Mayo Route.

Each route had its own set of dangers, weather conditions, all kinds of difficulties along the way.

The number of runaways made it even more difficult for that final passage from that slave state to the free state.

That's where a lot of freedom seekers ended up being caught.

NARRATOR: While the Crafts' outside the box plan was contingent on boldly embracing in-person confrontation by hiding in plain sight, many freedom seekers strive to avoid detection at all costs.

And for one freedom seeker, that meant being clever enough to think inside the box.

PROF. VERDUN: Not everyone chose the dangerous route of traveling on foot.

Not everyone chose an ingenious route like traveling first-class.

But Henry Box Brown mailed himself to liberty.

NARRATOR: Henry Box Brown was an enslaved person who succeeded in escaping slavery in the most clever of ways.

Brown and his immediate family were all enslaved on a tobacco plantation near Richmond, Virginia.

Together, Brown raised three young children with his wife, Nancy.

When Nancy's abusive owner sold her and their children to an enslaver in North Carolina, Brown was devastated by the sale, as Nancy was pregnant with the couple's fourth child when she was sold.

Henry vowed to escape from the cruelties of slavery.

On March 23, 1849, Brown crawled into a box crate that was approximately three feet long by two and a half feet deep.

The crate had three holes in it through which Brown was able to breathe.

Henry's friend, a free man, took the crate to a shipping company and sent it to Philadelphia as dry goods.

The crate traveled by wagon, steamboat, and railroad, an uncomfortable journey of 27 hours, before being delivered near the office by the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, an abolitionist enclave where Henry was freed.

About the same time, however, the U.S. Congress had passed the second Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which provided for the seizure and return of enslaved people who had escaped from a slave state into a free state or into a federal territory.

PROF. VERDUN: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was directly targeted at abolitionists and the conductors of the Underground Railroad.

It exacted very severe penalties, 500, $1,000 per incident, jail time of up to a year for anyone who helped a freedom seeker to escape.

NARRATOR: Arriving in Charleston, South Carolina, the Crafts were met with an unexpected delay in their journey.

Only the day before, a fugitive slave had been caught hiding within one of the arriving steamships into Charleston.

So tensions were at an all-time high.

PROF. VERDUN: No matter the controversy, William and Ellen Craft had to purchase a ticket in Charleston to get to a free stay.

This was made difficult because they had just captured a runaway in this Charleston station only the day before.

So everyone was on high alert.

SHAUN: "When we reached the building, I helped "my master into the office, which was "crowded by passengers.

"He asked for a ticket for himself and one for "his slave to Philadelphia.

"This caused a very mean-looking, "cheese-colored fellow to come up, "and in a fierce tone of voice, he said to me, "Boy, do you belong to that gentleman?

I quickly replied, Yes, sir.

Yes, sir."

PROF. VERDUN: In order to buy a ticket, Ellen would have to sign for herself and for William.

Ellen had her hand in a sling because, remember, he couldn't read or write, so she had feigned an injury in order to avoid that.

SHAUN: "The tickets were handed out, "and as my master "was paying for them, the chief man said to them, "I wish you could register your name here, sir, "and also the name of your negro.

"My master, pointing to the hand that was in "the poultice, requested the officer to register "his name for him.

"Now this seemed to offend the high-bred "South Carolinian.

"Now he jumped up, shaking his head and "cramming his hands almost through the bottom of "his trouser pockets with a slave-bullying "air and said, I shall do it."

(book closes) PROF. VERDUN: It was quite incredible at the time for someone to carry a slave from a slave state into a free state.

Because everyone knew that the abolitionists would get a hold of him and convince him to stay.

It was very easy to spirit an enslaved person away into freedom in the free states.

So the ticket officer just didn't believe it.

It's like, no, no one is stupid enough to do that, to take their slave into a free state.

So he just stood his ground and said, "I'm not gonna give you a ticket."

NARRATOR: Just as it seems, this road is about to end for the Crafts.

A surprising twist of fate would guarantee their passage.

PROF. VERDUN: A total stranger that Ellen just happened to exchange pleasantries with, stepped in to save the day.

SHAUN: "Just then, the young military officer "with whom my master traveled and conversed "on the steamer from Savannah stepped in.

"He shook hands with my master "and pretended to know all about him.

The recognition was very much in my master's favor."

PROF. VERDUN: It was either a complete stroke of luck or he was a sympathizer who stepped in to save the day.

SHAUN: "Captain of the steamer, "perhaps not wishing to lose "his passenger, said in an offhand sailor-like manner, "I will register the gentleman's name and take the responsibility upon myself."

NARRATOR: Arriving to Virginia, they then quickly hurried to board a train for Baltimore.

This was the penultimate stop on their journey and their last in slave territory.

SHAUN: "Baltimore was the last slave port of any note "at which we stopped.

"We left our cottage on Wednesday morning, the "21st of December, 1848, and arrived at Baltimore "Saturday evening, the 24th.

Christmas Eve."

NARRATOR: Arriving into Baltimore must have brought upon a tidal wave of emotions for the Crafts.

Traveling thousands of miles for freedom and now you're that close.

The Crafts were now only but a few hours from freedom when their journey should be interrupted one final time.

SHAUN: "They are particularly "watchful at Baltimore "to prevent slaves from escaping into Pennsylvania, "which is a free state.

"After I've seen my master into one of the "best carriages and just about to step into mine, "an officer saw me.

"He tapped me on my shoulder, said in his "unmistakable native twang, together with "no little display of his authority: Where are you going, boy?"

PROF. VERDUN: This would have been the final checkpoint for the Crafts because Baltimore, Maryland was the last stop before they entered into the free state of Pennsylvania.

If the Crafts had been caught at this point, the railroad would have been responsible for the value of both Ellen and William Craft.

No one wanted to take on that responsibility.

NARRATOR: Just before being admitted passage, the Crafts were summoned to meet with the captain.

SHAUN: "Now on entering the room, "we found the principal man "to whom my master said: "Do you wish to see me, sir?

"It is against our rules, sir, to allow "any person to take a slave out of Baltimore "into Philadelphia, unless he can satisfy "us that he has the right to take him along.

"We felt as though we had come into deep waters and "were being overwhelmed, and if the slightest "mistake would clip asunder the last "brittle thread of hope "by which we were suspended and let us "down forever into the dark and horrible pit of "misery and degradation "from which we were straining "every nerve to escape.

"Just then the bell rang for the train to leave "and had it been the sudden shock of an earthquake "it could not have given us a greater thrill.

"As God would have it, the officer all at "once thrust his fingers through his hair "in a state of great agitation and said, "I don't really know what to do.

"I calculate it's all right.

"Let this gentleman and slave pass.

"As he is not well, it is a pity for him to stop here.

We'll let him go."

NARRATOR: From here, the Crafts would now board the train for their final journey into Philadelphia.

SHAUN: "As soon as the train "had reached the platform, "before it had fairly stopped, I hurried out "of my carriage to my master, whom I got "at once into a cab.

"And I placed the luggage on, jumped in myself, "and we drove to the boarding house, which "was so kindly recommended to me.

"Upon leaving the station, my master, "or rather, my wife, as I might now say, "grasped me by the hand and said, "Thank God, William.

We're safe.

"and burst into tears, "leant upon me and wept like a child.

"The reaction was fearful.

"So when we reached the house, "she was in reality so weak and faint "that she could scarcely stand alone.

"I got her into the apartments that "were pointed out, "and we knelt down on this Sabbath, "on this Christmas day, a day that will ever be "memorable to us, and poured out our heartfelt "gratitude to God for His goodness in enabling "us to overcome so many perilous difficulties and escaping out of the jaws of the wicked."

PROF. VERDUN: The most precious gift we have in this life is the gift of liberty.

And so when you strip all liberty, the right to have a family, the right to decide where you want to live, the right to decide how you want to earn a living.

All of those things were stripped from those people held in bondage.

But there are so many who have recounted the story of their journey to freedom.

Those are inspiring stories.

Those are the kinds of stories that make you really appreciate what freedom means and what liberty means.

I think we can never appreciate where we are now until we know where we have been.

I am Professor Vincene Verdun, and this is The Underground Railroad: The Paths & Places of Refuge.