Ellen & William Craft

Did you know an enslaved Black woman escaped slavery disguised as a White male slaveholder—while her husband traveled beside her as "his" enslaved servant?

In December 1848, Ellen and William Craft escaped slavery in Macon, Georgia using one of the most ingenious disguises in American history.

Because Ellen was light-skinned, she disguised herself as an ill young White male slaveholder while her husband William traveled openly as "his" enslaved servant.

Ellen wore men's clothing, spectacles, a top hat, facial wrappings, and carried an arm in a sling. Because she could not read or write, the sling helped provide an explanation when circumstances might otherwise require her to sign.

The Crafts traveled publicly by train and steamer through the slave states and reached Philadelphia on Christmas morning, December 25, 1848.