Here, then, is the story not only of the powerful lure of freedom but also of George Washington's determination to recapture his property by whatever means necessary. And, risking everything she knew, leaving behind everyone she loved and had known her entire life, she fled. Having interacted with Philadelphia's sizable free black community, Ona Judge observed and soon longed for liberation. Among the slaves to figure out this subterfuge was Ona Judge, Martha Washington's chief attendant. Yet George Washington thought he could outwit and circumvent the law by sending his slaves south every six months, thereby resetting the clock.

Indeed, there was even a law requiring slaveholders to free their slaves after six months.

Slavery, in Philadelphia at least, was looked down upon. There was a new climate to adjust to, and new mores as well. The North was different for the entire household, free and enslaved, white and black. They would serve as cooks and horsemen, as house servants and personal attendants. 'When George and Martha Washington moved from their beloved Mount Vernon in Virginia to Philadelphia, then the seat of the nation's capital, they took nine enslaved people with them. 'A revelatory account of the actions taken by the first president to retain his slaves in spite of Northern laws profiles one of the slaves, Ona Judge, describing the intense manhunt that ensued when she ran away.'-NoveList. Includes bibliographical references and index.Įpiogue: Ona's sister : Philadelphia Costin. Never caught : the Washingtons' relentless pursuit of their runaway slave, Ona Judge / Erica Armstrong Dunbar.įirst 37 Ink/Atria Books hardcover edition. Request This Author Dunbar, Erica Armstrong, author.

Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar