Daniel Drayton was the captain of the Pearl, a boat on which seventy-seven slaves attempted to flee Washington, D.C., in April 1848. He was tried and eventually convicted for assisting in their escape.
Things did not always go well for Underground Railroad workers and passengers. Sometimes Underground Railroad plots were discovered. The runaways were returned to their owners. The Underground Railroad workers were often left to face the law.
That happened to ship Captain Daniel Drayton in 1847. He and another ship captain had planned a large-scale slave escape by water. They were going to take seventy-six slaves from Washington, D.C., to freedom.
Sadly, some slave owners found out about it. An armed police steamer overtook Drayton’s ship. He and the other ship captain were each fined $10,000. The men also went to prison for a time. The same thing sometimes happened to other Underground Railroad workers in slave escapes as well.
Daniel Drayton was the captain of the Pearl, a boat on which seventy-seven slaves attempted to flee Washington, D.C., in April 1848. He was tried and eventually convicted for assisting in their escape.
Slaves wearing handcuffs and shackles passing the United States Capitol, around 1815. Slaves and slave auctions were part of daily life in Washington, D.C.
Slaves were put on public display at auctions, while slave buyers shouted out bids. It was an humiliating experience that often ended in the slave being separated from his or her family.