Record Data
Source citation
"Glimpses of the Future--Letter XVIII," Charleston (SC) Mercury, June 20, 1860, p. 1.
Newspaper: Publication
Charleston (SC) Mercury
Newspaper: Headline
Glimpses of the Future--Letter XVIII
Newspaper: Page(s)
1
Type
Newspaper
Date Certainty
Exact
Transcriber
Carrie Roush
Transcription date
Transcription
The following text is presented here in complete form, as it originally appeared in print. Spelling and typographical errors have been preserved as in the original.
Letter XVIII—Abductions of slaves in great numbers.
WASHINGTON, October 4, 18[illegible]—Within a few days reports reached this city of simultaneous “stampedes,” or concerted abductions of slaves in larger numbers than have ever occurred before. From one neighborhood of the eastern shore of Maryland there escaped two hundred and thirty-one slaves. The plan had been long and well arranged. A swift Northern steamer, under some pretext of needed repairs, had arrived a week before, and was in Patuxent river. All the arrangements for escape had previously been made. On the night of a Saturday, the engaged slaves, from three different farms and by various private routes, reached the landing place. At midnight all were on board, and the vessel floated off with the ebb tide until far enough to use steam, without attracting observation. As the absence of slaves through a Sunday, in most cases, is but little noticed, the steamer had a start of more than twelve hours before the state of the case was understood by the owners of the slaves, and it was not until Monday morning that any proper pursuit could be even attempted. It was then in vain. The steamer had passed through the Capes of Virginia early on Sunday, and was not afterwards seen until her freight was lauded in Boston, where both the negros and their deliverers were protected or sent on to Canada.
The other case was in Jefferson County, Kentucky. On the same Saturday night, by preconcert and direction of resident agents, the fugitives assembled at sundry different points of the Ohio river, all within a mile of each other, and embarked on boat of sufficient capacity, which had been sent there for the purpose. The boats were rowed to the river, in the State of Ohio. There the fugitives and their aids were safe, except from pursuit by the Kentucky people. To avoid this danger, light wagons, with good teams, and relays at every twenty or thirty miles distance, had been provided on the route. The party was soon in motion on the road, and reached Canada in safety. The salves, who were thus carried off, were 157 in number. All the arrangements required for these two successful expeditions were provided at the cost and under the general direction of the Northern organized association for aiding the escape of Southern slaves. This is deemed in the Northern States, a work of piety and benevolence, as well as of political policy; and many of the most respected individuals, including clergymen and ladies, are zealous and liberal members of the Association or “Underground Railroad Company.”
The late abductions of slaves, unprecedented in numbers, and for the boldness of the operations, and their occurring at one time, seem to indicate to the Southern people much more wide-spread plans, and perhaps for the insurrection, as well as for abduction of slaves. Everywhere there is increased diligence and new measures of safeguard, and for the detection and capture of Northern emissaries. The mustering and equipping of companies of volunteer militia have received a new and strong impulse. The Governors of all the slaveholding States have encouraged these reparations so far as their powers extend, independent of the Legislature.
In these, as in all other such cases of abducted slaves by Northern citizens, it would be idle and entirely useless to make legal requisitions for the criminals on the Governors of their States. Not only the offenders of this class, but all who have attempted to excite servile insurrection, or have induced and aided robberies and murders of Southerners by their slaves, and who, of course, fled to the Northern States, have been there protected by the State authorities, as well as by popular sympathy. Since SEWARD, when Governor of New York (in 1839) refused to deliver to the requisition of the Governor of Virginia three known abductors of slaves, and Governor KIRKWOOD of Iowa, and Governor DENNISON of Ohio, in 1860, refused to deliver the escaped murderers who had aided the Harper’s Ferry atrocity, there has been no case of any perpetrators of these crimes being delivered by a Northern State for trial, to the requisition of a Southern State. Thus, the most frequent and dangerous Northern offenders against Southern laws, though required by the Constitution of the United States to be surrendered for trial, yet are systematically screened from punishment by the violation of both the oaths and the duty of Northern State authorities. And since Mr. SEWARD has been President, and the Northern section ruling the Union, the Federal Government has, in these respects, followed up fully the previous examples of the Northern State governments.
It might be seen, from the state disposition and movements, that there is more alarm in the South than is justified by those two cases of wholesale abduction of slaves, or by any plausible suspicion of more extended conspiracy or hostile designs of the Northern Abolitionists. But any danger of servile insurrection, especially to fathers and husbands, is, of all calamities, the most alarming, for its possible bloody, merciless and horrible results. A negro insurrection in the Southern States never will or can occur, unless induced and stimulated by white plotters, or influence. And even if so incited, an insurrection cannot miss being suppressed and its actors punished, in a very short time. Therefore, if considered as an incident of the history of a country, or in a military aspect, nothing can be more fruitless, feeble or contemptible than a negro insurrection, even with all the aid to be bestowed by Northern philanthropy. These general truths are recognized by every Southerner. Yet, when an alarm of insurrection comes, with all the usual uncertainty, vagueness of reports and enormous exaggeration of statements, every head of a family at once thinks of the possibility of the near vicinity of the outbreak, and of all that are precious to him being among the victims. For, as there is no reason for the beginning, or chance of the success of insurrection anywhere—and as, wherever incited, it must be the effect of extraneous inducement and stimulation, applied to the gross ignorance of the slaves—it is nearly as likely to break out in one place as another; and where it would be the least expected, and the most quickly and certainly suppressed and avenged.
WASHINGTON, October 4, 18[illegible]—Within a few days reports reached this city of simultaneous “stampedes,” or concerted abductions of slaves in larger numbers than have ever occurred before. From one neighborhood of the eastern shore of Maryland there escaped two hundred and thirty-one slaves. The plan had been long and well arranged. A swift Northern steamer, under some pretext of needed repairs, had arrived a week before, and was in Patuxent river. All the arrangements for escape had previously been made. On the night of a Saturday, the engaged slaves, from three different farms and by various private routes, reached the landing place. At midnight all were on board, and the vessel floated off with the ebb tide until far enough to use steam, without attracting observation. As the absence of slaves through a Sunday, in most cases, is but little noticed, the steamer had a start of more than twelve hours before the state of the case was understood by the owners of the slaves, and it was not until Monday morning that any proper pursuit could be even attempted. It was then in vain. The steamer had passed through the Capes of Virginia early on Sunday, and was not afterwards seen until her freight was lauded in Boston, where both the negros and their deliverers were protected or sent on to Canada.
The other case was in Jefferson County, Kentucky. On the same Saturday night, by preconcert and direction of resident agents, the fugitives assembled at sundry different points of the Ohio river, all within a mile of each other, and embarked on boat of sufficient capacity, which had been sent there for the purpose. The boats were rowed to the river, in the State of Ohio. There the fugitives and their aids were safe, except from pursuit by the Kentucky people. To avoid this danger, light wagons, with good teams, and relays at every twenty or thirty miles distance, had been provided on the route. The party was soon in motion on the road, and reached Canada in safety. The salves, who were thus carried off, were 157 in number. All the arrangements required for these two successful expeditions were provided at the cost and under the general direction of the Northern organized association for aiding the escape of Southern slaves. This is deemed in the Northern States, a work of piety and benevolence, as well as of political policy; and many of the most respected individuals, including clergymen and ladies, are zealous and liberal members of the Association or “Underground Railroad Company.”
The late abductions of slaves, unprecedented in numbers, and for the boldness of the operations, and their occurring at one time, seem to indicate to the Southern people much more wide-spread plans, and perhaps for the insurrection, as well as for abduction of slaves. Everywhere there is increased diligence and new measures of safeguard, and for the detection and capture of Northern emissaries. The mustering and equipping of companies of volunteer militia have received a new and strong impulse. The Governors of all the slaveholding States have encouraged these reparations so far as their powers extend, independent of the Legislature.
In these, as in all other such cases of abducted slaves by Northern citizens, it would be idle and entirely useless to make legal requisitions for the criminals on the Governors of their States. Not only the offenders of this class, but all who have attempted to excite servile insurrection, or have induced and aided robberies and murders of Southerners by their slaves, and who, of course, fled to the Northern States, have been there protected by the State authorities, as well as by popular sympathy. Since SEWARD, when Governor of New York (in 1839) refused to deliver to the requisition of the Governor of Virginia three known abductors of slaves, and Governor KIRKWOOD of Iowa, and Governor DENNISON of Ohio, in 1860, refused to deliver the escaped murderers who had aided the Harper’s Ferry atrocity, there has been no case of any perpetrators of these crimes being delivered by a Northern State for trial, to the requisition of a Southern State. Thus, the most frequent and dangerous Northern offenders against Southern laws, though required by the Constitution of the United States to be surrendered for trial, yet are systematically screened from punishment by the violation of both the oaths and the duty of Northern State authorities. And since Mr. SEWARD has been President, and the Northern section ruling the Union, the Federal Government has, in these respects, followed up fully the previous examples of the Northern State governments.
It might be seen, from the state disposition and movements, that there is more alarm in the South than is justified by those two cases of wholesale abduction of slaves, or by any plausible suspicion of more extended conspiracy or hostile designs of the Northern Abolitionists. But any danger of servile insurrection, especially to fathers and husbands, is, of all calamities, the most alarming, for its possible bloody, merciless and horrible results. A negro insurrection in the Southern States never will or can occur, unless induced and stimulated by white plotters, or influence. And even if so incited, an insurrection cannot miss being suppressed and its actors punished, in a very short time. Therefore, if considered as an incident of the history of a country, or in a military aspect, nothing can be more fruitless, feeble or contemptible than a negro insurrection, even with all the aid to be bestowed by Northern philanthropy. These general truths are recognized by every Southerner. Yet, when an alarm of insurrection comes, with all the usual uncertainty, vagueness of reports and enormous exaggeration of statements, every head of a family at once thinks of the possibility of the near vicinity of the outbreak, and of all that are precious to him being among the victims. For, as there is no reason for the beginning, or chance of the success of insurrection anywhere—and as, wherever incited, it must be the effect of extraneous inducement and stimulation, applied to the gross ignorance of the slaves—it is nearly as likely to break out in one place as another; and where it would be the least expected, and the most quickly and certainly suppressed and avenged.