After the American Revolution, slavery was abolished in Massachusetts. By the mid-nineteenth century the Commonwealth was an important center of abolitionism.
“The slaves were forwarded, by placing them on vessels engaged in the lumber trade... and the captains of which had hearts.”
- Robert Purvis, Philadelphia African-American leader, on fugitive slaves escaping by sea
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Ship to Shore
For some fugitive slaves the Underground Railroad became a seaway. Some were brought to Boston and other northern ports by sympathetic sea captains engaged in the coastal trade. Others stowed away and risked capture. New Bedford became a particularly important destination. A fugitive slave could disappear for months or years on a whaling voyage.
Stowing Away: Elizabeth Blakesley
Elizabeth Blakesley of Wilmington, North Carolina, hid on a brig bound for Boston. Before departure her owner boarded the ship and attemped to smoke her out three times with sulfur and tobacco. Frederick Douglass later said, “The woman lay there in the hold, almost suffocated but she resolved to die rather than come forward.” She arrived in Boston, “barely able to crawl” and moved to New Bedford.
- White House Art Collection
The Vigilance Committee in Boston Harbor
“I belonged to several secret societies in Boston aiming to impede the capture of fugitive slaves…One of these societies owned a boat, in which men used to go down in the harbor to meet Southern vessels. The practice was, to take along a colored woman with fresh fruit, pies and etc. – she easily got on board & when there, usually found out if there was any fugitive on board: then he was sometimes taken away by night.” Thomas Wentworth Higginson
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston