Cumberland Times-News

Local News

March 14, 2010

Historians want to re-create escape vessel

More than 70 slaves set sail for freedom

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of educators and historians believes it has found the right tool to tell the story of the largest recorded slave escape attempt in American history.

The group is working to bring a boat similar to the slaves’ getaway vessel called the Pearl to Washington. The boat is stuck in El Salvador, though, awaiting $300,000 in repairs before it can sail to its new home.

In April 1848, more than 70 slaves from D.C., Maryland and Virginia boarded the Pearl at a Washington pier, hoping to escape to freedom. But they got caught in a storm on the Chesapeake Bay and were recaptured.

Historians say the event 160 years ago shook Washington and the Congress.

The group is working with the city and developers of the Southwest Waterfront to find a home for the floating museum piece.

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