An essay on "Master Slave, Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom" by Ilyon Woo

Author: Laura Lagerstedt 

BUILD Member 

Reading about the incredible journey of William and Ellen Craft, I realized how much of U.S. history I had either forgotten or, more likely, never learned. The incredible way in which they escaped together, with Ellen disguised as a white male slaveholder and her husband William as her slave, via public transportation, "…they moved in full view of the world, harnessing the latest technologies of their day: steamboats, stagecoaches, and above all, an actual railroad…" (pg. 4)

The book had me on the edge of my seat, rooting for the couple throughout their ordeal, and particularly disappointed and heartbroken by Woo's description of the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. (pg. 204) Passed in the 31st United States Congress, years after the Crafts had escaped to the north and had been on the lecture circuit with other abolitionists, after they had settled down and started their lives anew with profitable businesses and plans for their futures in Boston, their struggle was reignited.

​The book had me on the edge of my seat, rooting for the couple throughout their ordeal, and particularly disappointed and heartbroken by Woo's description of the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Later, Woo had me laughing out loud and cheering for the couple when the slave catchers sent to return the Crafts to Georgia, and back to the bonds of slavery were thwarted by the courts, Craft's legal team, and a large crowd of protesters in the north disgusted with the institution in the south. Instead of apprehending the fugitive slaves, the slave catchers were themselves arrested, "Hughes and Knight were charged with slander for having called William Craft a slave and thus "causing damage to his business and character, and for carrying dangerous weapons with the intent to assault William." After they were let out on bail, "…new posters were made up to alert all of Boston. "SLAVE HUNTERS IN BOSTON!!!" the handbills screamed. They included unflattering physical descriptions of the Georgians, with the kinds of information about size and color usually found on public notices for escaped slaves." (pg. 230)
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Later, Woo had me laughing out loud and cheering for the couple when the slave catchers sent to return the Crafts to Georgia, and back to the bonds of slavery were thwarted by the courts, Craft's legal team, and a large crowd of protesters in the north disgusted with the institution in the south. 

Eventually, the couple was forced to flee to England, from where Ellen and William wrote the second half of their lives, which included publishing the narrative of their escape, "Running A Thousand Miles for Freedom." Their journey continued, sometimes together and sometimes apart, and included a long-awaited reunion of Ellen and her mother Maria shortly after June 19th, 1865, when, “…on a hot day in July,…”, a letter was read to Maria in Macon, Georgia from her daughter in London by, “…a young Union General, James Harrison Wilson,...” (pg. 327)

With hope for the future while keeping ourselves grounded in the truth of our past, wishing everyone a Happy Juneteenth 2025!