Escape on the Pearl : The Heroic Bid for Freedom on the Underground Railroad tells of a failed attempt to transport upwards of 70 enslaved persons to freedom on a schooner sailing from Washington, D.C. up the Chesapeake Bay. Although the Pearl was captured before it reached the Bay, the event drew the attention of the Northern press and helped sway public opinion toward the abolitionist cause. The plight of two teen-age sisters, Mary and Emily Edmonson, illustrated the fate of countless other young women sold away from family members and into concubinage.

Many well-known historical figures appear in the story. The slaves on the Pearl were known to many prominent Washington personalities. One of the would-be escapees was owned by former first lady Dolley Madison. Henry Ward Beecher made his first speech for the abolitionist cause at a Broadway Tabernacle fundraiser to raise money to purchase Mary and Emily Edmonson's freedom. The sisters were befriended by former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Harriet Beecher Stowe took a personal interest in the sisters' education, and she included the story of the Edmonson family in her Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin, a non-fiction follow-up to her successful novel. Barton Key, son of Francis Scott Key, was the prosecutor for the trials of the Pearl's captain and the man who hired the ship. Congressman Horace Mann headed the defense team.

It was disturbing to realize the extent to which monetary considerations drove actions. Many people's financial security depended on slavery. People who technically were not slave owners benefited from slave labor by hiring the services of slaves from their owners. Owners who freed their slaves often required the newly-freed person to work out their purchase price over a term of months or years. Slave trader Joseph Bruin, who purchased Mary and Emily Edmonson and several of their brothers after the failed escape attempt, was proud of his reputation as a humane trader, yet he refused to take any less for the sisters' freedom than he would receive for them in the New Orleans market. Even when their cause was taken up by influential people, the Edmonsons still had difficulty raising the large sums needed to purchase freedom for the enslaved family members.

Although this is a popular account, it is thoroughly documented. Interested readers will find plenty of references to material for additional reading and research. The well-chosen illustrations include a map of Washington, D.C. in 1848 identifying many of the locations mentioned in the text and a rare photograph of an antislavery rally from 1850, where the two Edmonson sisters and Frederick Douglass are among those on the platform. The photograph that really surprised me is an undated picture of Dolley Madison. She is so strongly associated with the War of 1812 that I had no idea she was still living in the era of photography.

Highly recommended to readers interested in the history of slavery, abolitionism, and 19th century U.S. history. The book's focus on the Edmonson family will also be of interest to genealogists, particularly those with an interest in African American genealogy. ( )

The daring escape of 77 African-American men, women, and children serves as the backdrop for this dramatic history of the time period leading up to the Civil War. Their flight to freedom ignited a bitter confrontation in our nation’s capital and across the country. The author provides a detailed portrait of how slavery was interwoven into everyday life and the extraordinary struggle of those who fought to overcome “our peculiar institution.” This insightful glimpse into our past provides the reader with many opportunities to assess the tensions that divided the country.

Reviewed by: Tom