Illustrations of Group Escapes

1836 ||   Family Attempts to Escape by Boat (1836)

boat escape

A family of freedom seekers attempts to escape via boat // Schomburg Center, New York Public Library

1853 ||   Freedom Seekers Set Out for Canada (1853)

flight north star

A group of freedom seekers follow the North Star towards Canada, as depicted in the Uncle Tom’s Almanac published in 1853 // Schomburg Center, New York Public Library

1856 ||   Six Freedom Seekers Escape on Two Horses (1872)

six on two horses

The escape of six freedom seekers from Maryland in 1856, depicted in William Still’s The Underground Railroad (1872); illustration by John Osler // Schomburg Center, New York Public Library

1857 ||   Cambridge Stampede Liberates 28 African Americans (1872)

A group of an enslaved families escape from Cambridge, MD following advice from Harriet Tubman; depicted in William Still’s The Underground Railroad (1872); illustration by John Osler //  House Divided)

c. 1858 || Jacob Lawrence Depicts Harriet Tubman (1967)

“Forward” by African American artist Jacob Lawrence depicts Harriet Tubman carrying a revolver while leading a  group of runaways to freedom  // North Carolina Museum of Art

1861 || Frank Leslie’s Depicts Contrabands at Fort Monroe (1861)

“Stampede Among the Negroes in Virginia,”  Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, June 8, 1861 // Library of Congress

1861  || Harpers Depicts Contrabands Fleeing to Fort Monroe (1861)

“Stampede of Slaves from Hampton to Fortress Monroe,” Harper’s Weekly, August 17, 1861  // Library of Congress

1862 ||  Eastman Johnson Depicts Virginia Contrabands (1862)

Johnson Painting

“A Ride for Liberty” by Eastman Johnson, 1862 // Brooklyn Museum of Art

c. 1862 ||  “On To Liberty” by Theodor Kaufmann (1867)

“On To Liberty” by Theodor Kaufmann depicts a group of wartime runaways or contrabands // The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1863 || Contrabands Coming Into Camp (1863)

Harpers 1863

Sketch by Alfred Waud, Harpers Weekly, January 31, 1863

1863 || Enslaved from Davis Plantation in Mississippi (1863)

Freed slaves from the Jefferson Davis plantation arrive behind Union lines at Chickasaw Bayou in 1863. By Fred B. Schell // House Divided Project

1864 ||  Sailing to Safety (1864)

escape nighttime flatboat

Enslaved people escape aboard a flatboat, from Harper’s Weekly in 1864 // House Divided Project

1864 ||  Fleeing to Freedom (1864)

Contrabands escaping to Union lines by Aflred R. Waud. Harper’s Weekly 1864  // House Divided Project

1864 || Contrabands Entering Union Lines (1864)

Leslies 1864

“The War in Virginia – Contrabands coming to the Union camp,” Sketch by Edwin Forbes, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, August 20, 1864

1865 ||  Escaping to Freedom in North Carolina (1865)

Escaping by boat to Union lines in Wilmington, North Carolina, By Joseph Becker, from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper in 1865. (House Divided Project)

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