Home
Membership
An audacious escape from slavery

An audacious escape from slavery

Name: An audacious escape from slavery
Uploaded: 2024-09-19T11:14:36.099Z
Duration: 39 min 4 s

Ilyon Woo shares the extraordinary story of Ellen and William Craft, an enslaved couple who launched a dramatic escape

Ellie Cawthorne

Published: September 19, 2024 at 12:50 PM

Save

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on whatsapp
Email to a friend

On 20 December 1848, Ellen Craft placed a top hat on her head, slipped her arm into a sling, and perched dark green glasses on her nose. Once her disguise was complete, Ellen and her husband William embarked on almighty journey. The couple were enslaved, and had assumed fake identities in order to make a bold bid for freedom. But the journey they faced was more than 1,000 miles long, and fraught with danger. Ilyon Woo, author of a Pulitzer-prize winning biography of the Crafts, tells Ellie Cawthorne more about how they managed to make it undetected.

Authors

Ellie CawthorneHead of content (audio)

Ellie Cawthorne is head of content (audio) at HistoryExtra