Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom

First published in 1860, “Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom”, by William and Ellen Craft, is the fascinating true story of their escape from slavery in Georgia. Ellen was born into slavery in 1826 in Clinton, Georgia. As a result of her mother being a mixed-race slave and her father being a wealthy white plantation master, Ellen closely resembled her white half-siblings. William Craft was also born in Georgia and first met Ellen when he was 16 and he was sold to settle his owner’s gambling debt. The pair married a few years later and planned their escape so they could raise a family. In 1848, Ellen posed as a white male planter and William as her personal servant and the pair travelled openly by train and steamboat to Philadelphia. Their bold escape was widely publicized and became a popular story. Sadly, the Crafts came to fear for their safety and freedom when the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850 and the couple moved to England, where they went on to have five children. Their thrilling tale of bravery and determination continues to be a compelling story of race, class, and gender in nineteenth-century America.