Accomplices to Runaway Slaves

October 18

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

Who was the subject of an advertisement in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Virginia Gazette [Purdie] (October 18, 1776).
“RUN away … a negro man named BACCHUS.”

Like many other enslavers seeking to recover their human property, John Greenhow placed a newspaper advertisement that described the enslaved man who liberated himself by running away from him and offered a reward for his capture and return.  In this instance, Greenhow inserted an advertisement about Bacchus in the October 18, 1776, edition of Alexander Purdie’s Virginia Gazette.  By that time, Bacchus had eluded Greenhow for three months.

Greenhow suspected that Bacchus had help.  He explained that the enslaved man “formerly belonged to mr. John Wilkinson, not far from New Kent courthouse.”  He reported that Bacchus headed that direction because he “has a father and other relations in that family, and has several times been seen there since he ran away.”  Furthermore, Greenhow had “great reason to believe he is harboured and employed in that neighbourhood.”  He did not mention whether Bacchus had any notable skills, yet Greenhow seemed certain that the formerly enslaved man managed to find work in the vicinity.  He was so confident that was the case that he offered a reward “to any person that will prove in court who the villain is that conceals and employs him.”  If Greenhow was correct, that meant that Bacchus received help not only from his “father and other relations” and other Black people but also from a white employer who did not ask too many questions about his background or who might even have been sympathetic to his situation.

Although Greenhow did not write the advertisement with the intention of creating a truncated biography of Bacchus, the notice revealed choices that the Black man made during the Revolutionary War.  Among the many disruptions caused by the war, enslaved men and women had the option of making their way to British forces in hopes of earning their freedom.  Both men and women could provide services in camp, while men could also fight.  In November 1775, John Murray, the Earl of Dunmore and the last royal governor of Virginia, issued a proclamation that offered freedom to enslaved people “appertaining to rebels” (or enslaved by patriots) who were “willing to bear arms” and “join[ed] his Majesty’s troops.”  Some advertisements indicated that enslaved men and women who liberated themselves were likely making their way to the British.  Yet Bacchus did not make that choice; at least, Greenhow did not think that he did.  Instead, Bacchus chose to reunite with his father and other members of his family.  He called on bonds with family and friends and forged some sort of agreement with an employer to keep him hidden from Greenhow.  Still in danger of discovery, Bacchus was in a better position than if he did not have allies who aided him in seeking freedom.

September 30

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Sep 30 - 9:30:1767 Georgia Gazette
Georgia Gazette (September 30, 1767).

“RUN AWAY … a NEGROE FELLOW, named LONDON.”

Hundreds of advertisements for runaway slaves appeared in colonial American newspapers every year throughout the 1760s, documenting one form of resistance to the institution of slavery. From New Hampshire to Georgia, readers would have recognized them as a familiar component of the public prints, published alongside advertisements for consumer goods and assorted legal notices. Many runaway advertisements focused solely on the experiences of particular runaways, but some also told stories about other members of colonial communities.

Grey Elliott inserted such an advertisement in the September 30, 1767, issue of the Georgia Gazette. In it, he reported that London, a “NEGROE FELLOW … well known in and about Savannah” ran away a month earlier. Elliott offered a reward, ten shillings, to whoever captured London and delivered him either to Elliott or “the Warden of the Work house in Savannah.” In addition, he detailed two other awards. Suspecting that London had assistance from accomplices, Elliott announced rewards for anyone “who shall discover him or her by whom the said negroe is harboured.” In other words, he was interested in learning where London was hiding out and who concealed him from his master and colonial authorities. The awards varied: “TWENTY SHILLINGS if a slave” (twice as much as the reward for capturing London) and “FIVE POUNDS … if a white person” (ten times as much as the reward for capturing the runaway). The wording makes it difficult to determine definitively if Elliott meant a slave informant would receive twenty shillings and a white one five pounds or of he meant that the rewards would depend on whether London received aid from a fellow slave or a white accomplice.

Either way, Elliott’s advertisement demonstrates that runaways did not always go it alone when they absconded from their masters. Instead, they benefited from assistance provided by other slaves and, perhaps, sometimes even sympathetic white colonists. Other runaway advertisements provided even more specific information, sometimes noting family relationships that might have drawn runaways to particular places or influenced others to provide aid and comfort. Running away was an act of resistance undertaken by many slaves, but it also had ripple effects. Those who provided assistance to runaways engaged in their own acts of resistance as member of a community allied against the power and authority of slaveholders.