Escaped From A Den Of Lions

Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery on September 3^rd 1838.

Frederick Douglas, whose real birth date is unknown, was an orator, social reformer, statesman, writer and an escaped slave.  He tried to escape slavery the first time when his owner a Colonel Lloyd hired him out to the plantation Freeland, but was unsuccessful.  In 1836 with a new owner named Covey he tried and failed again.  In 1837 Douglass met a free black woman in Baltimore, Maryland; Anna Murray, and fell in love.  Murray’s freedom and Douglass’ feelings for her made him want his freedom even more.

Finally Douglass made good his escaped on September 3^rd 1838 by boarding a train disguised in a sailor’s uniform at Havre de Grace, Maryland.   Murray gave him her savings to cover his traveling cost, and obtained the uniform for him.  Douglass had gotten identification papers from a free black sailor.  He got off the train in Wilmington, Delaware and boarded the steamboat “The Quaker City” for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He then continued on another train, until reaching the safe house run by abolitionist David Ruggles in New York City.  Once he was safely in New York, Douglass sent for Murray, she joined him and they were married in the city September 15^th 1838.

At a later date Douglass would write of his arrival in New York City, “I have often been asked how I felt when first I found myself on free soil. And my readers may share the same curiosity. There is scarcely anything in my experience about which I could not give a more satisfactory answer. A new world had opened upon me. If life is more than breath, and the 'quick round of blood,' I lived more in one day than in a year of my slave life. It was a time of joyous excitement which words can but tamely describe. In a letter written to a friend soon after reaching New York, I said: 'I felt as one might feel upon escape from a den of hungry lions.' Anguish and grief, like darkness and rain, may be depicted; but gladness and joy, like the rainbow, defy the skill of pen or pencil.”

The First Second Lieutenant

Union Lieutenant Stephen Atkins Swails the first African American to be promoted to an officer was wounded for the second time April 11^th 1865.

Stephen Atkins Swails was born February 23^rd 1832.  He married and was working in Cooperstown, New York as a waiter prior to the war.  When Frederick Douglass called for recruits for the 54^th Massachusetts Swails enlisted in Elmira, New York as a private.  He became a member of Company “F” and was soon appointed First Sergeant.  Following the assault on Fort Wagner in which the 54^th lost a lot of men, Swails was appointed Sergeant Major on November 12^th 1863.

The 54^th was posted in Florida in early 1864 under Union General Truman Seymour.  Swails was wounded the first time at the Battle of Olustee on February 20^th 1864.  When promotions came out on March 26^th 1864, Swails was promoted to Second Lieutenant.  The promotion made him the first African American to receive a commission in the Union Army.  While the 54^th was on reconnaissance near Camden, South Carolina on April 11^th 1865 Swails was wounded a second time.  They were near a railroad junction when a locomotive was steamed up.  A detachment led by Swails captured the train.  He entered the cab and waved his hat in triumph which drew the attention of a Union sharpshooter who mistook Swails for the engineer, and shot him.  Swails was promoted to First Lieutenant April 28^th 1865.  He was mustered out of service with the rest of the 54^th August 20^th 1865 in Boston, Massachusetts.

After the war Swails became a lawyer and worked for the Freedman’s Bureau.  He settled in South Carolina where he was the mayor of Kingstree, South Carolina from 1868 to 1879.  After Reconstruction and an assassination attempt Swails resigned from office.  He went to work in Washington, DC at the United State Treasury and the United Post Office.  He died May 17^th 1900 and is buried the Friendly Society Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina.

A Man Of Others

Union Army Officer James Burton Pond was awarded the Medal of Honor on March 30th 1898 for his actions at the Battle of Baxter Springs.

James Burton Pond was born June 11th 1838 in Cuba, Allegany, New York. He moved with his family to Illinois in 1844 and then Wisconsin in 1847. Pond was an abolitionist, and reportedly a station master on the Underground Railroad. He learned the print trade working at several Fond du Lac County newspapers. He worked as a publisher, running “The Journal” in Markesan, Wisconsin 1860-61.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Pond enlisted in the 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry as a lieutenant. He fought Confederate William Quantrill and his Raiders at the Battle of Baxter Springs October 6th 1863. It was for his action during this battle that Pond was awarded the Medal of Honor. At the end of the war Pond had reached the rank of Major.

Following the war Pond began a career as a manager. His first client was Ann Eliza Young the 52nd wife of Brigham Young, who Pond set up on a national speaking tour. He bought the Lyceum Theatre Lecture Bureau, and moved his office to New York City. Among the people Pond managed were Mark Twain, PT Barnum, Frederick Douglass and Winston Churchill. He wrote a book about his work called “Eccentricities of Genius” in 1900. Pond died from complications of an amputation June 21st 1903. He is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York.

Pond’s Medal of Honor award read, “For extraordinary heroism on 6 October 1863, while serving with Company C, 3d Wisconsin Cavalry, in action at Baxter Springs, Kansas. While in command of two companies of Cavalry, First Lieutenant Pond was surprised and attacked by several times his own number of guerrillas, but gallantly rallied his men, and after a severe struggle drove the enemy outside the fortifications. First Lieutenant Pond then went outside the works and, alone and unaided, fired a howitzer three times, throwing the enemy into confusion and causing him to retire.”

Follow The North Star

The first edition of the abolitionist newspaper the “North Star” was published on December 3rd 1847, by former slave Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass an escaped slave, was inspired in 1838 after reading “The Liberator”, a newspaper published by William Lloyd Garrison. “The Liberator” was a weekly newspaper that supported a non-violent emancipation of slaves. Douglass’ supporters who helped buy his freedom, assisted him in acquiring a printing press. Douglass decided his African American newspaper would push for a anti-slavery political movement. Paying no attention to the advice of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Douglass published his first edition of the “North Star” in Rochester New York on December 3rd 1847. Douglass named his paper the “North Star” because runaway slaves followed the north star to freedom. He stated that his goals were to, “abolish slavery in all its forms and aspects, promote the moral and intellectual improvement of the colored people, and hasten the day of freedom to the Three Millions of our enslaved fellow countrymen."

Another interesting web site on this subject
State Archives Study of the Legacy of Slavery

They Surprised Many

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry, one of the first African American regiments left Boston on May 28th 1863 to fight for the Union.

Robert Gould Shaw; who organized the troop, was from a prominent Boston abolitionist family. He was appointed to be the Colonel of the 54th by Massachusetts Governor John A Andrew in February 1863. The 54th was formed a month latter in Readville, Massachusetts at Camp Meigs. After training, the 54th was sent to Hilton Head, South Carolinia, where on July 18th they were ordered to lead the attack on Fort Wagner. The troops of this unit showed that they were a strong fighting force against the Confederates, surprising those who felt Black troops were a bad idea.

The sons of Frederick Douglass, Lewis N and Charles Douglass were amoung the 54th’s recruits. Also the first African American to ever receive the Medal Honor, William Carney was part of this unit.