Patton: NH Rescues George Washington's Runaway Slave

Christopher Klein has written a marvelous column in the Boston Globe (4/26/15) explaining why some events become enshrined in history, while similar incidents are ignored. For example. Klein tells of the explosion on the Mississippi River of the riverboat Sultana, which was carrying Union soldiers home from the Civil War, killing 1800 of them. That’s 300 more people killed than perished in the sinking of the Titanic. Yet, the Titanic is remembered, but the Sultana is not.

Why? In part, bad timing. The explosion occurred at the same time Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train crossed America and Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth, was arrested. In addition, the losses of human life in the Civil War were so staggering that the public had grown immune to body counts.

One other story written by Klein relates directly to New Hampshire. He notes that the public downplays news that tarnishes the reputation of national heroes because it wants to see them as perfect. The fact that George Washington owned slaves is fairly well known, but the lengths to which he went to keep at least one of them enslaved is not.

Ona Judge Staines worked in the Washington household in Mount Vernon. As a child, Ona “played with the Washington’s granddaughter Nelly. She also did chores for the Washingtons such as churning butter, cooking, candlemaking and washing clothes. Her mother taught her how to sew, and it was as a seamstress that she was most valued. George Washington called her ‘a perfect Mistress of the needle.’ She received no education or religious training.” (New England Historical Society).

When Washington was elected President and moved to Philadelphia, Ona went along to serve his family. In 1780, Pennsylvania passed a law that gradually eliminated slavery. Non-residents (like Washington) were allowed to keep their slaves for six months. After that, they were free. “George and Martha Washington evaded the law by traveling outside of Pennsylvania at least one day every six months. They also rotated their slaves in and out of states so they wouldn’t establish a six month residency.” (New England Historical Society).

As Washington’s term as president neared an end in 1796, he made plans to move back to Virginia. Ona realized that she would never gain her freedom in Virginia, so she made plans to escape. One evening while the Washingtons were eating dinner, she quietly left the house and with the help of friends went into hiding.
And here’s where we stand up and cheer for New Hampshire. Eventually, Ona located a sloop, the Nancy, whose captain , John Bowles, agreed to discreetly transport Ona from Philadelphia to Portsmouth, NH. “Ona found refuge in the seacoast city, where the people ‘were in favor of universal freedom.’” (New England Historical Society). Hurrah for Portsmouth!

Word got back to George Washington that Ona was in Portsmouth, and he attempted to return her to Virginia according to the terms of the Fugitive Slave Act. That act required Portsmouth officials to arrest Ona and return her to Washington. However, John Whipple, Portsmouth collector of customs did his best to avoid doing so without angering Washington. Double hurrah for Whipple!

However, George Washington was not about give up. In September of 1798, he sent his nephew, Burwell Bassett, to Portsmouth to bring Ona back. Bassett was the house guest of NH Senator John Langdon. Over dinner with Langdon, Bassett revealed a plan to kidnap Ona. Langdon, however, secretly sent word to Ona to go into hiding, and Bassett returned to Virginia without Ona. Three cheers for John Langdon!

Well, New Hampshire looks pretty good in that story. Washington? Not so much. Should we banish Washington from our history books? Nobody’s perfect; not you; not me; not anybody. Based on the totality of his record, Washington did more good than harm. I would put an asterisk next to his name in history books where Washington is acclaimed to remind readers that our First President was an able and courageous man, but , like so many other historic figures, not a perfect one.

Gary Patton is the author of “Outtastatahs: Newcomers’ Adventures in New Hampshire.” “Outtastatahs” (out-of-staters) can be purchased on-line at Amazon.com and at local bookstores in Concord, Portsmouth, Exeter, and Hampton. Patton’s second book, a satiric novel entitled “Selling Mt. Washington” will be available this summer.