Notes on a Criminal Conspiracy

An annotated reader for The Underground Railroad by William Still

The UNDERGROUND RAILROAD A RECORD OF FACTS, AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE, LETTERS, &C., Narrating the Hardships, Hair-breadth Escapes and Death Struggles OF THE Slaves in their efforts of Freedom, AS RELATED BY THEMSELVES AND OTHERS, OR WITNESSED BY THE AUTHOR; TOGETHER WITH SKETCHES OF SOME OF THE LARGEST STOCKHOLDERS, AND MOST LIBERAL AIDERS AND ADVISERS, OF THE ROAD. BY WILLIAM STILL
The Underground Railroad: A record of facts, authentic narratives, letters &c., narrating the hardships, hair-breadth escapes and death struggles of the slaves in their efforts for freedom, as related by themselves and others, or witnessed by the author by William Still 1
"In these Records will be found interesting narratives of the escapes of many men, women and children, from the prisonhouse of bondage; from cities and plantations; from rice swamps and cotton fields; from kitchens and mechanic shops; from Border States and Gulf States; from cruel masters and mild masters; — some guided by the north star alone, penniless, braving the perils of land and sea, eluding the keen scent of the blood-hound as well as the more dangerous pursuit of the savage slave-hunter;"
William Still, Preface to The Underground Rail Road (1872)2

As chairman of the Vigilance Committee of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society and conductor on the Philadelphia Underground Railroad station, William Still recorded the "hardships, hair-breadth escapes, and death struggles" of nearly a thousand self-emancipators who traveled through the Philadelphia station. Almost three hundred of these freedom seekers were fleeing slavery in Virginia.

Still's records include detailed information3 about a person's age, sex, mode of transportation, literacy, date of escape, whether or not they were armed, and the reward amount for their capture, if any. These accounts also offer an opportunity for an analysis of the themes and topics discussed in the testimonies themselves.

Each of these stories is rich with reflections on family and friends, joy and pain, freedom and slavery, memories and future aspirations. I'm grateful for the efforts of the people documented in these records. That gratitude also extends to William Still, who in his efforts to preserve these stories risked his own life. He championed these fugitives as their own heroes and recognized the necessity of preserving their stories:

Underground Railroad Data Dashboard

Train

Underground Railroad Ticket

Passenger Info

From

Martinsburg, VA

Date

November, 2 1853

Passengers

Wesley Harris, Craven Matterson, [Unknown] Matterson, [Unknown] Matterson

FootHorse & Carriage

Wesley Harris, alias Robert Jackson, and the Matterson Brothers.

"In setting out for freedom, Wesley was the leader of this party. After two nights of fatiguing travel at a distance of about sixty miles from home, the young aspirants for liberty were betrayed, and in an attempt made to capture them a most bloody conflict ensued. Both fugitives and pursuers were the recipients of severe wounds from gun shots, and other weapons used in the contest."

hiring outthreat/attempt to sellarmedcombat

77 recorded escapes in 10 localities

1,342 years of enslavement

Escape Outcomes
70 Success
7 Capture
70 recorded escapes by Success7 recorded escapes by Capture
Recorded Escapes by Sex
60 males
3 unknown
14 females
60 recorded escapes by males3 recorded escapes by unknown14 recorded escapes by females
Locality
Escapes
Accomack CountyCulpeper CountyACCOMACKALBEMARLEALLEGHANYAMELIAAMHERSTAPPO- MATTOXARLINGTONAUGUSTABATHBEDFORDBLANDBOTETOURTBRUNS- WICKBUCHANANBUCKINGHAMCAMPBELLCAROLINECARROLLCHARLES CITYCHARLOTTECHESTER- FIELDCLARKECRAIGCULPEPERCUMBERLANDDICKEN- SONDINWIDDIEESSEXFAIRFAXFAUQUIERFLOYDFLUVANNAFRANKLINFREDERICKGILESGLOUCESTERGOOCHLANDGRAYSONGREENEGREENS- VILLEHALIFAXHANOVERHEN- RICOHENRYHIGHLANDISLE OF WIGHTJAMES CITYKING AND QUEENKING GEORGEKING WILLIAMLANCASTERLEELOUDOUNLOUISALUNENBURGMADISONMATHEWSMECKLENBURGMIDDLESEXMONT- GOMERYNELSONNEW KENTNORTHAMPTONNORTH- UMBERLANDNOTTOWAYORANGEPOWHATANROCKINGHAMPAGEPATRICKPITTSYLVANIAPRINCE EDWARDPRINCE GEORGEPRINCE WILLIAMPULASKIRAPPA- HANNOCKRICHMONDROANOKEROCK- BRIDGERUSSELLSCOTTSHENANDOAHSMYTHSOUTHAMPTONSPOTSYLVANIASTAF- FORDSURRYSUSSEXTAZEWELLWASHINGTONWESTMORELANDWISEWYTHEWARRENYORK1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 181920 21 222324 25 26 27 28 2930 3132 33 34 35 3637 38
image/svg+xml
Escapes by Locality
foot16 recorded escapes by foothorse2 recorded escapes by horsecarriage8 recorded escapes by carriagetrain4 recorded escapes by trainsteamer15 recorded escapes by steamerschooner21 recorded escapes by schoonerskiff5 recorded escapes by skiffboat5 recorded escapes by boat

Modes of Transportation

Recorded Escapes by Age
451 recorded escape at age 45441 recorded escape at age 44430 recorded escapes at age 43420 recorded escapes at age 42410 recorded escapes at age 41403 recorded escapes at age 40390 recorded escapes at age 39381 recorded escape at age 38370 recorded escapes at age 37363 recorded escapes at age 36351 recorded escape at age 35341 recorded escape at age 34331 recorded escape at age 33322 recorded escapes at age 32314 recorded escapes at age 31304 recorded escapes at age 30291 recorded escape at age 29283 recorded escapes at age 28271 recorded escape at age 27262 recorded escapes at age 26253 recorded escapes at age 25242 recorded escapes at age 24232 recorded escapes at age 23222 recorded escapes at age 22212 recorded escapes at age 21202 recorded escapes at age 20194 recorded escapes at age 19180 recorded escapes at age 18170 recorded escapes at age 17160 recorded escapes at age 16150 recorded escapes at age 15141 recorded escape at age 14130 recorded escapes at age 13120 recorded escapes at age 12110 recorded escapes at age 11100 recorded escapes at age 1090 recorded escapes at age 980 recorded escapes at age 870 recorded escapes at age 760 recorded escapes at age 650 recorded escapes at age 540 recorded escapes at age 430 recorded escapes at age 320 recorded escapes at age 210 recorded escapes at age 100 recorded escapes at age 0
First Name
Last Name
Month
Day
Year
Sex
Age
City
County
Transportation
Enslaver
Account
WesleyHarrisNovember21853M22MartinsburgHenryfoot, carriagePhilip PendeltonRead Account
CravenMattersonNovember21853MMartinsburgHenryfoot, carriagePhilip PendeltonRead Account
[Unknown]MattersonNovember21853MMartinsburgHenryfoot, carriagePhilip PendeltonRead Account
[Unknown]MattersonNovember21853MMartinsburgHenryfoot, carriagePhilip PendeltonRead Account
IsaacFormanDecember1853M23NorfolkNorfolksteamerMrs. SandersRead Account
WilliamDavisDecember131853M31PortsmouthNorfolksteamerJoseph ReynoldsRead Account
WillisRedickDecember131853M32PortsmouthNorfolksteamerS.J. WilsonRead Account
ArcherBarlow1853M31NorfolkNorfolksteamerDr. George WilsonRead Account
HenryBrownMarch1849MRichmondHenrico CountytrainRead Account
JamesBurrellMarch111853M32WilliamsburgJames CityRead Account
DanielWigginsMarch161854M29NorfolkNorfolkRichard ScottRead Account
WilliamRobinsonMarch191853M28FauquierJohn G. Beal, Esq.Read Account
CeliaPeadenMarch271853FNorfolkNorfolkboatDavid BainesRead Account
EdwardPeadenMarch271853M44NorfolkNorfolkboatDr. PriceRead Account
HarrietPeadenMarch271853FNorfolkNorfolkboatDavid BainesRead Account
HarrisonBellApril101854M40NorfolkNorfolkboatJames SnyderRead Account
HarrietBellApril101854F14NorfolkNorfolkboatJohn G. HodgsonRead Account
DanielDavisApril121854M20HedgesvilleBerkeleyfoot, trainHon. Charles J. FortnerRead Account
AdamNicholsonApril121854MHedgesvilleBerkeleyfoot, trainAlexander HillRead Account
ReubenBowlesApril121854MHedgesvilleBerkeleyfoot, trainJohn SabbardRead Account

Citations

1. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library. (1872). William Still; The underground railroad, [Frontispiece and title page] Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/1f90dba0-c6ef-012f-9145-58d385a7bc34

2. Still, William. (1872). The underground rail road. Porter & Coates. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.5479/sil.1064014.39088018649533

3. Sacco, Nick. "William Still’s Underground Railroad Data, 1853-1861." Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation 5, no. 3 (2024): 32-38. https://doi.org/10.25971/5hwk-ye87.

About FDP

About Methodology References

Digital Collections

Contraband of War The Underground Railroad