The case of the schooner "Pearl"

The "Pearl" schooner case was associated with the largest collective attempt to escape black slaves in the United States. On April 15, 1848, seventy-six slaves attempted to escape from Washington, where the law allowed slave possession and trafficking. The 29-year-old Daniel Drayton, a man without a profession, despised slavery, and at the same time needed money. A group of slaves promised him a large sum of money for transportation to the free areas.

Drayton hired for $ 100 the captain of the 54-ton pearly bay smith, Edward Sayres, with whom they jointly prepared the ship for the road. At night, a group of refugees - men, women and children - arrived in the hands of three white men (along with Drayton and Sayres on board also found a cook called English). The plan was to sail down the Potomac River and then up Chesapeake Bay to Delaware, where slavery was not tolerated. The opposite wind and the beginning of the tide prevented the boat from entering the bay, so Sayres decided to anchor the estuary and wait until morning.

Meanwhile, the slave owners discovered the escape and sent a chase. As he wrote years later in his memoirs, Drayton: "Dodge of Georgetown, a rich old gentleman, saw the lack of his three slaves, and his little steamer, Salem, was ready for the road. Thirty-five armed men, including two sons of the old Dodge, launched the ship and on Sunday at noon the chase started. " "Salem" caught up with "Perlo" on Monday morning and - after a brief shuffle - both ships turned to Washington. choose a land route, or go in another direction.It was suspected that someone involved in the matter of escape betrayed.It turned out to be slave Judson Didds, who was admitted to the secret.

Among the slave owners there was an atmosphere of danger, bordering on hysteria. They began to find guilty to organize the escape. The suspicion fell on Dr. Gamaliela Bailey, publisher of "The National Era", the writings of clear pro-abolitionist sympathies; The crowd of owners and their supporters attacked the editorial office, almost demolishing it almost. At the same time, a discussion began as to how to punish escaped slaves. As a result, all seventy-six were sold to auction houses in Alexandria, but where, thanks to the help of abolitionists, their own odds and luck, they regained their freedom. The most numerous group (11 people) was the Edmonson family, whose descendants live to the present day in the USA and Australia.

Drayton, Sayres and English stood before the court. Their lawyer was the famous abortionist Horace Mann. The trial began in July, with Drayton and Sayres accused; English was released, because the court found that his participation was accidental. Drayton and Sayres - after the appeal - were sentenced to a fine, but in the face of insolvency they were sent to prison. After four years, Senator Charles Sumner wrote to President Fillmore asking for the pardon of both convicts. The president made a positive decision in 1852.

The incident caused the Congress to issue a compromise bill in 1850, according to which the slave trade was banned in the District of Columbia, although their possession was prohibited. "Pearl" in culture

The failed escape inspired Harold Beecher Stowe to write a novel by Uncle Tom's Cabin, published in Boston in 1852. Bibliography

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