“A gripping and true story about five boys who were kidnapped in the North and smuggled into slavery in the Deep South- and their daring attempt to escape and bring their captors to justice.” Provided by Publisher
George Mason held men, women, and children in bondage until the end of his life. . . And yet, Mason’s writings reveal his intense dislike of the institution of slavery. He was outspoken and consistent in his disapproval.
The number of enslaved people in Virginia on the eve of the Civil War is detailed in this map based on the U.S. Census figures of 1860, which was the last official count of enslaved African Americans in the United States. The map, created by the…
In 1853, the Commonwealth of Virginia began an annual registration of births and deaths. The Birth Index of Slaves, 1853-1865 was later transcribed by the Works Project Administration (WPA) and recorded on microfilm. While the information-name of…
On the evening of August 21–22, 1831, an enslaved preacher and self-styled prophet named Nat Turner launched the deadliest slave revolt in the history of the United States.
Throughout these years, the (Quaker) settlers befriended and supported economic independence and land ownership by free African Americans in the Woodlawn neighborhood and at Gum Springs, the nearby free black community established by West Ford.
William Gooding operated a tavern on Little River Turnpike just west of the Little River United Church of Christ. He enslaved over twenty people. Some of the enslaved are believed to be buried near the church property.
Text: Ona (or Oney) Judge, born into slavery at Mount Vernon, became Martha Washington's personal attendant as a child. After George Washington was elected president in 1789, Judge was brought to New York City and later…
Freedom at Green Spring . . . Sooner or Later Our Stories and Perspectives
Sixty-six years prior to the Civil War in1795, John Moss wrote a deed of manumission (a release from slavery) for 14 enslaved men and women at Green Spring Farm. Each…
A selection of runaway slave advertisements from the Virginia Gazette and the Maryland Gazette between the years 1745 -1775 are included on line. Advertisements usually include a description of the enslaved, the reward offered, and the name of the…
A planned study completed for the WPA by the Federal Writer’s Program. African American staff of the Writer’s Program interviewed @300 once enslaved from Virginia to tell the “story of the Negro” from the African American point of view. Using the…
NOVA Parks unveiled two signs along the W&OD Trail about how Jim Crow laws affected passengers taking the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) train line in the 1900s.
The slave ship was the means by which nearly 12.5 million enslaved Africans were transported from Africa to the Americas between 1500 and 1866 as part of the transatlantic slave trade. Slave ships ranged in size from the ten-ton Hesketh, which could…
The transatlantic slave trade involved the purchase by Europeans of enslaved men, women, and children from Africa and their transportation to the Americas, where they were sold for profit. Between 1517 and 1867, about 12.5 million Africans began the…
