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| Shipwrecked Great Lakes schooner 'Home' |
Great Lakes vessels helped free slaves on Underground Railroad
Wisconsin Maritime Museum
Abigail DiazFor USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
In 1843, a two-masted schooner was built in Sandusky, Ohio. Unbeknownst to its builder or Chicagoan owners, this vessel was fated to impact the Great Lakes maritime landscape for more than a century to come. Built to carry grain and lumber around the Great Lakes, Home soon took on a different role.
In the mid-1800s, Sandusky was a bustling port with ships coming and going often, heading to destinations throughout the U.S. and Canada; these maritime connections made the city an ideal place for an Underground Railroad hub. The Maritime Museum of Sandusky estimates that 30 to 50 enslaved people arrived in Sandusky daily.
Despite the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, which made assisting enslaved people to freedom illegal, there were brave men and women, both white and Black, who continued to fight for the end of slavery. The captain of the schooner Home was one such man.
As an abolitionist, Captain James Nugent was active in the Underground Railroad. Though his activities aboard Home were never confirmed, various historical records tell of these daring escapades to sneak enslaved people across the border. His name is listed as an operator in "The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom." In 1852, Captain Nugent’s role as a conductor was documented when he aided runaways from Detroit to Canada.
Captain Nugent wasn’t alone in his convictions. Many Wisconsinites felt compelled to help. Separated from Canada by the Great Lakes, schooners and steamers were used to expedite escape. Joshua Glover fled to Wisconsin in 1852. He was discovered and jailed in Milwaukee, but abolitionists broke down the doors to free him. After hiding in Waukesha, he boarded a steamer in Racine and lived out his life in Canada as a free man.
More than ships were involved in the maritime Underground Railroad. As freedom-seekers raced the border, they followed the waterways. Lighthouses, like the Grand River Light, were safe harbors for runaways.
The passenger steamers like Niagara, operated by General Charles Reed, were also known as a safe refuge for those seeking to escape slavery. Reed employed Black people on his vessels, which enabled those escaping to pass for workers until they reached Canada. He would dock in Racine, Wisconsin, to pick up fugitives, allowing free passage north. Captain Appleby, using his vessel Sultana, was another famed abolitionist.
Though white citizens helped with the Underground Railroad, it was largely organized and operated by Black people, either free people living in the North or formerly enslaved people like Harriet Tubman. Joel Stone, in his book on passenger steamships, discusses notable examples from the Great Lakes region. George DeBaptiste, a free Black man in Detroit, was a leader of this movement. He purchased the steamer T. Whitney to better help move people to freedom. William Wells Brown was employed as a porter on various streamers and claims to have helped 69 runaways reach Canada.
The Sultana
The Niagra
According to research from underwater archaeologists Keith Meverden and Tamara Thomsen, Great Lakes vessels like Arrow, United States, Mayflower and Bay City were known to be involved in the Underground Railroad because they were caught. It’s almost impossible to know which vessels were involved in the network if they were successful. Today, we read through personal accounts of escapees and abolitionists to better understand the ways in which the Great Lakes maritime community aided enslaved people.
Fairport Lighthouse was a vital part of the underground railroad.
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