Episode 140 William and Ellen Craft - Desperate Leap to Liberty

William and Ellen Craft escaped slavery in Macon, Georgia by traveling to Philadelphia in 1848. Ellen, the light skinned daughter of her mixed race mother and their enslaver, posed as a young white male planter and William posed as her slave.Their daring escape made international headlines and the Crafts became two of the most famous emancipated people in American history.

Want more Southern Mysteries? 

Hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries

Connect

Website: southernmysteries.comFacebook: Southern Mysteries PodcastInstagram: @shannonballard_Email: [email protected] 

Episode Sources

Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom: Or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery (Dover Thrift Editions: Black History) 

Time Magazine: The Remarkable True Story of the Couple Who Posed as Master and Slave to Escape Bondage

Smithsonian Magazine: The Great Escape From Slavery of Ellen and William Craft

National Park Service: "A Desperate Leap for Liberty": The Escape of William and Ellen Craft

History: The Daring Disguise that Helped One Enslaved Couple Escape to Freedom

Georgia Women of Achievement: Ellen Smith Craft

BBC: Ellen and William Craft: Blue plaque for abolitionists who fled slavery

Episode Music

Traveller by Kevin MacLeod  Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Source: http://incompetech.com