Recognizing the historic abolitionist events surrounding the Pearl, and honoring its legacy in American history.
This is a non-binding House resolution recognizing and honoring the abolitionist events surrounding the 1848 Pearl escape. It recounts how 77 enslaved people fled slavery on the Pearl from the District of Columbia and Alexandria, with help from abolitionists and supporters, and it documents the subsequent pursuit, capture, and sale of the escapees, as well as legal and public responses. The resolution notes the alleged size of the escape, possible inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and the involvement of figures such as Daniel Drayton, Paul Jennings, Gerrit Smith, Horace Mann, and Millard Fillmore (through a presidential pardon). Its purpose is ceremonial: to honor those who advanced freedom and to recognize the significance of these events in DC history and in American history. It does not create policy or funding.
Key Points
- 1Recognizes the April 1848 Pearl escape, in which 77 enslaved people fled from the District of Columbia and Alexandria, traveling on the Pearl toward freedom.
- 2Names and connects key participants and supporters, including Daniel Drayton (captain/owner), Paul Jennings, Paul Edmonson, Gerrit Smith, and others who aided the escape; notes the ship’s arrival in DC and the role of abolitionists in financing and organizing the effort.
- 3Details the aftermath, including a posse of enslavers pursuing the Pearl near Point Lookout, the recapture and sale of the escapees, and the violence of the Washington Riot of 1848 against abolitionists and free Blacks.
- 4Describes subsequent legal actions and outcomes: arrests of Drayton and others, representation by Horace Mann, and eventual pardons after four years for Drayton and one other; two escaped individuals were freed in an effort led by Beecher’s Plymouth Congregational Church.
- 5States the broader significance of the escape as a historic catalyst in abolitionist history and its influence on American literature and history, including the possible inspiration for Uncle Tom’s Cabin; the resolution asks the House to honor those involved and recognize the events’ importance.