Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production
Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly
Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V.
Speaker 2: Wilson.
Speaker 1: So I got reminded of today's episode because it's been,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of lingering in the background for a
Speaker 1: while while I was researching something else. And I'm sure
Speaker 1: this has happened to you where you're looking at a
Speaker 1: historical paper online and then you see a headline in
Speaker 1: another column and you go, oh, yeah, those two things
Speaker 1: were happening around the same time.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 1: So this is the Christiana Incident. Sometimes it's also called
Speaker 1: the Christiana Riot. It has other names as well, But
Speaker 1: it offers a kind of unique snapshot of the US
Speaker 1: when the country was sorting into states where slavery was
Speaker 1: upheld and states that had abolished it, and what the
Speaker 1: resulting discord and racist tension really looked like at the
Speaker 1: borders between those sides of the conflict in the mid
Speaker 1: eighteen fifties. And this also offers insights into the lives
Speaker 1: of the people most impacted by the practice of slavery,
Speaker 1: black people, both enslaved and free. This is really considered
Speaker 1: an important moment in the pre Civil War years of
Speaker 1: the US because it led to the first legal test
Speaker 1: of the Fugitive Slave Law of eighteen fifty which we'll
Speaker 1: talk about in some detail. And in addition to looking
Speaker 1: at the ways this impacted people's lives, the immediate aftermath
Speaker 1: of the events at Christiania in eighteen fifty one also
Speaker 1: gives us a glimpse into how the press, even in
Speaker 1: abolitionist states, talked about and framed the violence in regard
Speaker 1: to race. So that's what we're going to talk about today.
Speaker 2: In eighteen forty nine, Noah Buley, Nelson Ford, George Hammond,
Speaker 2: and Joshua Hammond all escaped enslavement from Edward Gorsitch's farm
Speaker 2: in Baltimore County, Maryland. They made their way to Christiana, Pennsylvania,
Speaker 2: a borough in Lancaster County. They found haven in the
Speaker 2: hall of a man named William Parker, who had also
Speaker 2: escaped enslavement, and he had made a life for himself
Speaker 2: in Pennsylvania. He's really important to this story, so we're
Speaker 2: going to take a minute to talk more about his history.
Speaker 2: So William Parker was born on a Maryland plantation owned
Speaker 2: by Major William Brogden and the plantation known as Rodown
Speaker 2: was where his mother, Luisa Simms, was enslaved. Parker shared
Speaker 2: his story with The Atlantic later in his life. We'll
Speaker 2: talk about that down the road. And he never mentioned
Speaker 2: a father in that story. It's a little unclear if
Speaker 2: his narrative is intended to point to Major Brogden as
Speaker 2: his father. That seems possible, although that is not his
Speaker 2: last name, and we don't know where the name Parker
Speaker 2: comes from in that case. But he wrote of Brogden quote,
Speaker 2: my old master died while I was very young, so
Speaker 2: I know little about him, except from statements received from
Speaker 2: my fellow slaves or casual remarks made in my hearing
Speaker 2: from time to time by white persons. I conclude that
Speaker 2: he was in no way peculiar, but should be classed
Speaker 2: with those slaveholders who are not remarkable, either for the
Speaker 2: severity or the indulgence they extend to their people. Luisa
Speaker 2: also died when William was a little boy, and at
Speaker 2: that point his grandmother, who was also enslaved at wrote
Speaker 2: Down as the cook for the main house, was his
Speaker 2: nearest relative. She cared for him, but because she was
Speaker 2: in demand at the house for so much of the day.
Speaker 2: She only saw William very briefly. The rest of the time,
Speaker 2: he was looked after by other enslaved people, who he
Speaker 2: said were abusive to him until he learned to fight back.
Speaker 2: After Major Brogden died, the plantation continued for several years
Speaker 2: before the major's two sons split the property, and William
Speaker 2: then became enslaved by David Brogden. Parker's account of life
Speaker 2: enslaved by the Brogdens offers a lot of insight into
Speaker 2: the various ways that enslaved people were dehumanized. For example,
Speaker 2: he wrote quote slaveholders are particular to keep the pedigree
Speaker 2: and age of favorite horses and dogs, but are quite
Speaker 2: indifferent about the age of their servants until they want
Speaker 2: to purchase. He also talks about specific instances of people
Speaker 2: being sold off and the casual ways that families were separated.
Speaker 2: Something he said that they all treated like a funeral
Speaker 2: because they knew they were never going to see those
Speaker 2: loved ones again. From the time he was young, William,
Speaker 2: after having seen his first sale of enslaved people that
Speaker 2: he had grown up with, plotted an escape. He had
Speaker 2: tried to convince other young men to join him at
Speaker 2: various times, but they were all generally too fearful of
Speaker 2: the very real risks of running away, so he and
Speaker 2: his brother Charles began just quietly planning to escape just
Speaker 2: between themselves. Parker also wrote about how he actually wanted
Speaker 2: to wait to leave until David Brogden mistreated him in
Speaker 2: some way, noting quote, I was ignorant enough to think
Speaker 2: that something besides the fact that I was a slave
Speaker 2: was necess to exonerate me from blame in running away.
Speaker 2: A cross word, a blow, a good fright, anything would do.
Speaker 2: After a physical altercation with Brogden, in which William defended
Speaker 2: himself and inflicted some sort of injury that we don't
Speaker 2: specifically know what, William and his brother Charles just ram
Speaker 2: He talked about how, even as a fugitive, the promise
Speaker 2: of freedom quote lends wings to the feet, buoys up
Speaker 2: the spirit within. The passage through Baltimore to Philadelphia was
Speaker 2: trickier than the two men anticipated because they didn't realize
Speaker 2: how quickly the news of their escape and the warrant
Speaker 2: for their capture would spread. But they made it to
Speaker 2: Pennsylvania and took various odd jobs to make money. William
Speaker 2: wrote quote, I thought of my fellow servants left behind,
Speaker 2: bound in the chains of slavery, and I was free.
Speaker 2: I thought that if I had the power, they should
Speaker 2: soon be as free as I was. And I formed
Speaker 2: a resolution that I would assist in liberating everyone within
Speaker 2: reach at the risk of my life, and that I
Speaker 2: would devise some plan for their entire liberation. He was
Speaker 2: able to see William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglas speak together.
Speaker 2: Parker had met Douglas when both men were enslaved, and
Speaker 2: he was moved and inspired to see that he had
Speaker 2: become an important voice in the abolitionist movement. Freshly inspired,
Speaker 2: one of the things that Parker did was banned together
Speaker 2: with other formerly enslaved people, to start a mutual protection group.
Speaker 2: There were often kidnappers in the area looking for black
Speaker 2: people to drag to slave states, hoping for a payoff,
Speaker 2: whether those people had been enslaved previously or not. Before
Speaker 2: the Christiania incident we're talking about today, Parker was involved
Speaker 2: in a number of conflicts that often included physical altercations,
Speaker 2: as he and others in their protection group fought with
Speaker 2: kidnappers to get black captives away from them. When the
Speaker 2: wife of a friend suggested that maybe they shouldn't be
Speaker 2: so ready to fight, and that they could perhaps avoid
Speaker 2: trouble instead of getting into it. Parker later said that
Speaker 2: he told her quote, we must have trouble before we
Speaker 2: could have peace. He was very frank in telling his
Speaker 2: life story that these altercations often resulted in injuries and
Speaker 2: even deaths for both kidnappers and protectors, but that even
Speaker 2: knowing that could happen, their group always answered the call
Speaker 2: when someone raised the alert that people were in danger
Speaker 2: of being snatched. On one occasion, Parker and his group
Speaker 2: learned that a black man who lived near Christiana had
Speaker 2: been taking people who had run from enslavement into his
Speaker 2: own home and then gaining their trust enough to get
Speaker 2: their stories, and then turning and relaying their location to
Speaker 2: their enslavers so that they could be recaptured. And William's
Speaker 2: words quote at last, the betrayer's connection with these transactions
Speaker 2: was clearly tracked, and it was decided to force him
Speaker 2: to quit the nefarious business. This man was actually difficult
Speaker 2: for Parker and his associates to corner, so after a
Speaker 2: long run of failures, they decided to burn his home
Speaker 2: to the ground, which they did. This is a pretty
Speaker 2: good indicator of just how serious William Parker was about
Speaker 2: ending enslavement for as many people as possible and through
Speaker 2: whatever means. It took.
Speaker 1: Christiana, where Parker lived and where the four men who
Speaker 1: had escaped Gorsuch's enslavement sought safety, is about seventy miles
Speaker 1: from Baltimore and a little less than twenty five miles
Speaker 1: from the Maryland state line. At the time, Maryland was
Speaker 1: a slave state, So though there was inherent danger for
Speaker 1: Parker in living there, he also recognized that Christiana, which
Speaker 1: had a large Quaker and abolitionist population, could serve as
Speaker 1: a refuge for people escaping enslavement In Maryland. Parker and
Speaker 1: his wife, Eliza Ann Howard, who had also been enslaved,
Speaker 1: rented a two story home that welcomed people in need
Speaker 1: of shelter.
Speaker 2: Coming up, we'll talk about the Fugitive Slave Act of
Speaker 2: eighteen fifty, but first we'll pause or a sponsor break.
Speaker 1: On September eighteenth, eighteen fifty, a piece of legislation that
Speaker 1: has come up many times on the show was made
Speaker 1: law by Congress. That was the Fugitive Slave Act, which then,
Speaker 1: of course became the fugitive slave law. This was not
Speaker 1: the first fugitive slave legislation, there had been one in
Speaker 1: seventeen ninety three, but the eighteen fifty Act, part of
Speaker 1: the Compromise of eighteen fifty, which sought to relieve some
Speaker 1: of the tension between North and South over the issue
Speaker 1: of slavery, gave a lot more agency and power to
Speaker 1: enslavers and rendered some of the legal workarounds that had
Speaker 1: been found to thwart the seventeen ninety three law useless.
Speaker 1: This act stated that if a person quote held to
Speaker 1: service or labor i e. Enslaved or to escape, that
Speaker 1: the quote person or persons to whom such service or
Speaker 1: labor may be due, or his her or their agent
Speaker 1: or attorney, duly authorized by power of attorney in writing,
Speaker 1: acknowledged and certified under the seal of some legal officer
Speaker 1: or court of the state or territory in which the
Speaker 1: say may be executed, may pursue and reclaim such fugitive person.
Speaker 1: This could be done quote by seizing and arresting such fugitive,
Speaker 1: where the same could be done without process, and by
Speaker 1: taking or causing such person to be taken forthwith before
Speaker 1: such court, judge or Commissioner, whose duty it shall be
Speaker 1: to hear and determine the case of such claimant in
Speaker 1: a summary manner. The law clearly stated that the testimony
Speaker 1: of the apprehended person would not be admitted into evidence,
Speaker 1: and that they could be taken back to the state
Speaker 1: they ran from, even if they were captured in a
Speaker 1: state that did not have legal enslavement.
Speaker 2: The act also noted that it was illegal to help
Speaker 2: anyone escape from enslavement. This is relevant to today's story.
Speaker 2: Read that section quote that any person who shall knowingly
Speaker 2: and willingly obstruct, hinder, or prevent such claimant, his agent
Speaker 2: or attorney, or any person or person's lawfully assisting him, her,
Speaker 2: or them from arresting such a fugitive from service or labor,
Speaker 2: either with or without process, as aforsaid, or shall rescue
Speaker 2: or attempt to rescue such fugitive from service or labor
Speaker 2: from the custody of such claimant, his or her agent
Speaker 2: or attorney, or other person or person's lawfully assisting as aforesaid,
Speaker 2: when so arrested, pursue it to the authority herein given
Speaker 2: and declared, or shall aid a bet or assist such
Speaker 2: person so owing service or labor as aforesaid, directly or
Speaker 2: indirectly to escape from such claimant, his agent or attorney,
Speaker 2: or other person or persons legally authorized as aforesaid, or
Speaker 2: shall harbor or conceal such fugitive so as to prevent
Speaker 2: the discovery and arrest of such person after notice or
Speaker 2: knowledge of the fact that such person was a fugitive
Speaker 2: from service or labor, as aforesaid, shall or either of
Speaker 2: set offenses be subject to a fine not exceeding one
Speaker 2: thousand dollars and imprisonment not exceeding six months.
Speaker 1: With the fugitive slave law in place, Edward Gorsuch believed
Speaker 1: that he had a right to retrieve the four men
Speaker 1: who had escaped from his farm in eighteen forty nine,
Speaker 1: and so on September ninth, eighteen fifty one, he arrived
Speaker 1: in Philadelphia to get all the paperwork in order to
Speaker 1: follow up on a tip that the men were being
Speaker 1: sheltered nearby. He went to a judge invokes a Fugitive
Speaker 1: Slave Act and asked for warrants to get beuley Ford
Speaker 1: and the Hammonds, and he received those warrants. The US
Speaker 1: Deputy Marshall HH Klein was authorized to arrest the men
Speaker 1: and two Philadelphia police officers, John Agent and Thompson Tully,
Speaker 1: were brought onto the team by Gorsicch to back up climb.
Speaker 2: The group did not initially head to William Parker's home together.
Speaker 2: They split up and then reconvened at Gap, Pennsylvania, which
Speaker 2: is a little less than three miles north of Christiana.
Speaker 2: There's some confusing back and forth as the men all
Speaker 2: tried to meet back up, but by one am on
Speaker 2: September eleventh, they had all arrived at Gap and set
Speaker 2: out for Christiana together on foot. In addition to the
Speaker 2: men already mentioned, the party included Gorsich's son Dickinson and
Speaker 2: his nephew Joshua, as well as three other men acquainted
Speaker 2: with the Gorsics family. Those were Nathan Nelson, Thomas Pearce,
Speaker 2: and Nicholas Hutchings. They also had a guide who met
Speaker 2: them as they approached Christiana. That guide, William Paget, had
Speaker 2: given Gorsich information about where to find the escaped men
Speaker 2: in exchange for payment. He did not stay with the
Speaker 2: group once they reached their destination of Parker's home. That
Speaker 2: is probably because Paget, who was a white farm hand,
Speaker 2: eventually was revealed to have been a person who would
Speaker 2: feign to be friendly to black people who had escaped
Speaker 2: enslavement and then get their stories, and then he would
Speaker 2: sell them out. So he probably did not want anyone
Speaker 2: at William Parker's home to see him. According to Parker's account,
Speaker 2: he had heard that slaveholders were planning to show up
Speaker 2: at his house, but he also didn't think much of
Speaker 2: it because he heard that literally all the time. He
Speaker 2: was so involved in this fight that there was always
Speaker 2: someone coming to get him. But there was also another
Speaker 2: group of people heading to his house. Because while William
Speaker 2: Parker had not been convinced of the imminent arrival of
Speaker 2: the Gorsach Posse, many people in Philadelphia were, and they
Speaker 2: had been organizing their own counter attack. There had been
Speaker 2: numerous instances in the twelve months since the Fugitive Slave
Speaker 2: Act was passed of people being taken from Christiania, never
Speaker 2: to be heard from again, and no follow up ever
Speaker 2: presented as to what had become of them, and that
Speaker 2: had put the area's residence on very high alert. Since
Speaker 2: the passing of the eighteen fifty Fugitive Slave Law, a
Speaker 2: resistance force against kidnappers who planned to invoke it had
Speaker 2: been organizing and they knew that Parker's house was a target.
Speaker 2: According to Parker, this group was known as the Special
Speaker 2: Secret Committee, and a member of this group, Samuel Williams,
Speaker 2: had done some very impressive and really courageous spy work
Speaker 2: in tailing Kleine as he made his way through Pennsylvania,
Speaker 2: and Samuel also got close enough to the Gorsach gang
Speaker 2: to gather all of the pertinent information about their plans
Speaker 2: at Parker's farm, and then he carried that information back
Speaker 2: to the organized group. When the Gorsach posse approached the house,
Speaker 2: they found the group who had assembled to keep them
Speaker 2: from kidnapping anyone, but the Gorsach group yelled for the
Speaker 2: escaped men to come out. When nobody did, there were
Speaker 2: threats that they would burn the house down and shoot
Speaker 2: everybody inside, but still no one emerged. At this point,
Speaker 2: there were seven people in the house, William Parker and
Speaker 2: his wife Eliza, Eliza's sister Hannah, Hannah's husband Alexander Abraham Johnson,
Speaker 2: and two of the men Gorsuch was hunting, Nelson Ford
Speaker 2: and Joshua Hammond. After making several demands that the escaped
Speaker 2: men come out, Gorsich and his men advanced toward the home,
Speaker 2: and at that point they saw a black man running
Speaker 2: from it. Gorsuch believed it had been one of the
Speaker 2: men he wished to apprehend, and Cleine pursued him, although
Speaker 2: then Kleine fell when he encountered an obstacle in the yard.
Speaker 2: Several other members of Gorsich's group entered the house through
Speaker 2: the open door and continue their demands that the sought
Speaker 2: after men come down, but again nobody did. They attempted
Speaker 2: to climb the stairs, but they were met with a
Speaker 2: fish gig that is a tool that looks kind of
Speaker 2: like a trident, and then an axe was allegedly thrown
Speaker 2: down at them, and they went outside at that point
Speaker 2: and yelled up at the second story windows, although Kleine,
Speaker 2: who had recovered his balance and come into the house,
Speaker 2: tried shooting up the stairs, but he didn't hit anything
Speaker 2: of note. According to Parker's version of events, he had
Speaker 2: been the one who actually met them on the stairs.
Speaker 2: He doesn't mention holding this fish gig, but he did
Speaker 2: tell them to leave. The Gorsach party once again asserted
Speaker 2: their legal right to be there and to pursue the
Speaker 2: men who had escaped enslavement. As all of this was
Speaker 2: playing out, a black passerby saw this commotion, and when
Speaker 2: he tried to approach the scene, somebody brandished a gun
Speaker 2: at him. He left, but he spread the news as
Speaker 2: quickly as he could that there were kidnappers at William
Speaker 2: Parker's house, and soon more men started to arrive on
Speaker 2: the scene, carrying a variety of makeshift weapons. In addition
Speaker 2: to the mostly black crowd, there were two white Quakers,
Speaker 2: Castner Hanway and Elijah Lewis, who arrived on site. Hanway
Speaker 2: was a miller and Lewis was a shopkeeper. The members
Speaker 2: of Gorsuch's group had mixed reads of what their intent was.
Speaker 2: Klein believed they were there to help with the seizure
Speaker 2: of the escaped men, but they did not. Hanway actually
Speaker 2: tried to disperse both sides of the dispute, telling Klein
Speaker 2: that if they proceeded with their plan, it would likely
Speaker 2: go very badly. He also tried to motion to the
Speaker 2: assembled black crowd to back down. According to accounts relayed later,
Speaker 2: Klein took off into an adjacent field, calling to the
Speaker 2: other members of the Gorsach group to retreat, but Edward
Speaker 2: Gorsich would not, and was adamant that he was going
Speaker 2: to retrieve his property. The tension of the situation escalated.
Speaker 1: And soon there was a violent melee. This whole thing
Speaker 1: from when Gorsich and his group arrived to when it
Speaker 1: was all over was less than two hours, but the
Speaker 1: details of what precisely happened during the ensuing fight were
Speaker 1: very inconsistent from account to account. Will probably never know
Speaker 1: exactly how everything played out.
Speaker 2: In a moment, we'll talk about the way this incident
Speaker 2: was initially reported and how the ensuing trial played out.
Speaker 2: But first we will hear from the sponsors that keep
Speaker 2: Stuffy Miss in history class going. Here's how the early
Speaker 2: reports in newspapers recounted the scene in the days immediately
Speaker 2: following this conflict. This one that we're reading is from
Speaker 2: the Boston Evening transcript quote, A fearful fugitive slave riot
Speaker 2: occurred at Christiania, Lancaster County, yesterday morning. Mister Gorsuch, the
Speaker 2: owner of the slave, was killed and his son mortally wounded.
Speaker 2: Several other persons were injured. The officers were driven from
Speaker 2: the ground by eighty armed negroes. That number of armed
Speaker 2: black men was wildly different from account to account, and
Speaker 2: when I say wildly, some account say fifteen, some say
Speaker 2: two hundred. That's a big range.
Speaker 1: The largest end of the scale actually probably wasn't realistic
Speaker 1: given the number of black people living in the area,
Speaker 1: like those numbers just could not have assembled. And some
Speaker 1: estimates based on who would have been living nearby and
Speaker 1: able to mobilize in the short period of time that
Speaker 1: this conflict took place, taking into account a planned group
Speaker 1: that also came to protect the enslaved people, put the
Speaker 1: number closer to like maybe two or three dozen men.
Speaker 1: Additional details that appeared in early news coverage make it
Speaker 1: clear that the information journalists received was not entirely accurate.
Speaker 1: For example, that same account says that Gorsuch was hunting
Speaker 1: two men, not four, and that his two sons were
Speaker 1: with him rather than a son and a nephew. One
Speaker 1: update to this story stated that Dickinson Gorsich had also
Speaker 1: been killed. That was incorrect, although he did sustain serious injuries.
Speaker 1: Black men assembled are also described as all carrying guns,
Speaker 1: but in reality, there were just a couple of guns.
Speaker 1: Most of them were carrying things like axes and corn knives,
Speaker 1: things they could just pick up on. Really short notice.
Speaker 1: Some accounts stated that a horn had been blown in
Speaker 1: the house, which called between sixty and eighty armed black
Speaker 1: men out of the woods. There was a horn, and
Speaker 1: it was blown by Parker's wife, Eliza, both to warn
Speaker 1: people and to call for help. She was shot at
Speaker 1: as soon as she started blowing it, but the bullets
Speaker 1: missed and she kept going ducking down in the window
Speaker 1: for safety. So these first ride ups, which informed early
Speaker 1: opinions on what had happened, had a range of errors,
Speaker 1: some of them relatively harmless, but others that really misrepresented
Speaker 1: the situation. And because Edward Gorsuch had been killed, authorities
Speaker 1: were eager to arrest someone that they could charge with
Speaker 1: the murder.
Speaker 2: It was also reported that the murderer was definitely one
Speaker 2: of the men who had escaped from Gorsich in Maryland.
Speaker 2: Two weeks later, The New York Times ran an account
Speaker 2: of the events at Christiania as told by Gorsich's son,
Speaker 2: stating quote, it is written by the son of mister Gorsich,
Speaker 2: who is a clergyman and a man of good standing
Speaker 2: and character. His narrative is undoubtedly reliable and presents an
Speaker 2: accurate statement of all the circumstances of this atrocious outrage.
Speaker 2: The affair was even worse than what we had suspected.
Speaker 2: It was evidently a conspiracy planned beforehand to resist the
Speaker 2: officers of the law and the execution of their duty.
Speaker 2: And even then it was not confined to the negroes,
Speaker 2: but was apparently under the guidance and control of whites. So,
Speaker 2: according to Dickinson Gorsuch's version of the story, as relaid
Speaker 2: by the New York Times, when a Quaker white man
Speaker 2: rode up on a horse, this was Castner Hanway, who,
Speaker 2: by the way, rode up on a horse because he
Speaker 2: really was not in great health and couldn't walk the
Speaker 2: short distance to the house that this arrival inspired the
Speaker 2: crowd quote with renewed hostility. Dickinson also claimed that Hanway
Speaker 2: threatened the officers after he refused to help them apprehend
Speaker 2: the fugitive men, and this narrative carried with it a
Speaker 2: decidedly anti abolitionist take quote, no plea of conscience or
Speaker 2: regard for divine law will be made by the perpetrators
Speaker 2: of this outrage. A man would be adjudged insane who
Speaker 2: should seriously claim that God's law required him to murder
Speaker 2: men charged with the execution of the laws of the land.
Speaker 2: The write up goes on to claim that the writer
Speaker 2: respects that different people have different values, noting, however, that
Speaker 2: quote the laws excuse the Quakers who plead regard for
Speaker 2: a higher law as a reason for not obeying the
Speaker 2: law which enjoins the performance of military duty. But it
Speaker 2: would scarcely tolerate an armed attempt on the part of
Speaker 2: the Quakers to prevent anybody else from obeying the law.
Speaker 2: The truth is, as we said, we do not know
Speaker 2: with certainty exactly how things played out in the conflict,
Speaker 2: as accounts differ greatly. But even in those examples we've
Speaker 2: been reading, right, it sounds almost like in the warning
Speaker 2: that Hanway gave to the Gorsach people to go away,
Speaker 2: he was trying to say, if you believe one version, hey,
Speaker 2: this is not going to go well. For everyone's safety,
Speaker 2: you should leave. And in the Dickinson version he was
Speaker 2: threatening them that they had to leave. So what gets
Speaker 2: interesting is that even accounts given by the same witness
Speaker 2: changed in some instances. So US Deputy Marshall Henry Klein,
Speaker 2: who as we've been talking about, was part of the
Speaker 2: crew that Gorsetch rode into Christiana with gave testimony on
Speaker 2: the stand that Castner Hanway had started the violence by
Speaker 2: riling up the black resistors, but that story changed when
Speaker 2: he was cross examined. Once he was asked more pointed questions,
Speaker 2: the truth came out he had actually hidden in the
Speaker 2: cornfield when things got contentious, so he didn't really see
Speaker 2: what happened. After that bit of detail emerged, Hanway's defense
Speaker 2: team had literally dozens of character witnesses who were willing
Speaker 2: to state that Klein was known to be an habitual liar,
Speaker 2: a known kidnapper of black people for his own benefit,
Speaker 2: and a completely untrustworthy person. And the trial in which
Speaker 2: all of that came out was the treason trial of
Speaker 2: Castner Hanway. He and two other Quakers, Elijah Lewis and
Speaker 2: Jeremiah Scarlett, had been arrested and charged, as well as
Speaker 2: twenty five black men. There were a total of thirty
Speaker 2: nine indictments, but not all of those named on the
Speaker 2: indictments could be found. It was believed those outside the
Speaker 2: twenty eight in custody had escaped. To be clear, there
Speaker 2: were a lot more arrests than that, because once the
Speaker 2: dust had self professed quote, slave catchers came out of
Speaker 2: the woodwork. They captured any person of color they saw
Speaker 2: in the hopes that they could profit from it. But
Speaker 2: other than the thirty one people mentioned, no charges were
Speaker 2: made against the dozens of others taken in. William Parker
Speaker 2: had made his way to Canada to avoid arrest. Hanway, Lewis,
Speaker 2: and Scarlett were allowed to spend their days together in
Speaker 2: a cell. In the two months in change that they
Speaker 2: were held before the trial. They had a lot of
Speaker 2: regular visitors who brought them food and kept them company.
Speaker 2: The black detainees, by contrast, were not allowed to socialize
Speaker 2: even with one another. The plan was to try all
Speaker 2: of these people for treason against the United States. If
Speaker 2: acquitted on that charge, there would be a second round
Speaker 2: of charges of murder, and then, if acquitted, a third
Speaker 2: charge of obstructing the marshal and aiding enslaved people in escape.
Speaker 2: But the prosecution had opted to try each defendant separately,
Speaker 2: and Hanway's trial was first, as he had been characterized
Speaker 2: as the ring leader of the group that overtook Gorsich
Speaker 2: and his crew. The thinking on the part of the
Speaker 2: prosecution was that if they could get a guilty verdict
Speaker 2: against him.
Speaker 1: A white man and a Quaker, the rest of their
Speaker 1: work was going to be easy, but this strategy backfired.
Speaker 1: Abolitionist Thatdius Stevens was the head of the defense team.
Speaker 1: The prosecution was led by US District Attorney John w Ashmead.
Speaker 1: This trial played out over three weeks, starting November twenty
Speaker 1: fourth and running until December sixteenth. The opening statement of
Speaker 1: the defense lays the groundwork to discredit the treason charge
Speaker 1: for all of the men arrested for the incident in Christiana,
Speaker 1: although the primary setup establishes that Castner Hanway was not
Speaker 1: responsible for any of it. Quote, this defendant gentleman, is
Speaker 1: not here, through his council, to defend those sad deeds
Speaker 1: which disgraced the sweet and peaceful valley near Christiani on
Speaker 1: the ninth of September last, or by one unkind or
Speaker 1: reproachful word to open again the yet fresh wounds of
Speaker 1: any member of that family which suffered so deeply there.
Speaker 1: It is no part of his defense to defend those
Speaker 1: who took part in that conflict. His defense is simply
Speaker 1: that he was in no way a party to these outrages,
Speaker 1: but as a precaution, I shall pass beyond this line,
Speaker 1: and added to this will open to you that, however
Speaker 1: grave and serious may be and is the offense of
Speaker 1: those who took part in those outrages, yet it does
Speaker 1: not amount to the offense charged in the indictment on
Speaker 1: the borders of Lancaster County. Their realty is a band
Speaker 1: of miscreants who are well known to the laws and
Speaker 1: well known to the records of the penitentiary in this state.
Speaker 1: They are professional kidnappers. These men, by a series of
Speaker 1: lawless and diabolical outrages, have invaded the peace of this valley,
Speaker 1: begetting and every household and a general sense of insecurity
Speaker 1: in every home. Treason shall consist only in levying war
Speaker 1: against the United States. Do the facts of the case
Speaker 1: sustain the charge?
Speaker 2: Sir? Did you hear it that three harmless, non resisting
Speaker 2: Quakers and eight and thirty wretched, miserable, penniless negroes, armed
Speaker 2: with corn cutters, clubs, and a few muskets, and headed
Speaker 2: by a miller in a felt hat, without a coat,
Speaker 2: without arms, and mounted on a sorrel nag, levied war
Speaker 2: against the United States. Blessed be God that our union
Speaker 2: has survived the shock. I love a little sarcasm. The
Speaker 2: prosecution saw witness after witness failed to help their case
Speaker 2: on the stand. Most of them were caught in lies,
Speaker 2: just as Klein had been. While the various witnesses called
Speaker 2: by both sides told different versions of the story, a
Speaker 2: few facts were consistent throughout, and most damning was that
Speaker 2: it had actually been or such as group that had
Speaker 2: been the first to become violent. When the court proceedings concluded,
Speaker 2: the jury only deliberated for fifteen minutes before coming back
Speaker 2: with a not guilty verdict for Hanway, and the opposite
Speaker 2: of the prosecution's plan played out from there. Because Klein
Speaker 2: had been the lynchpin of their entire case and their
Speaker 2: plan going forward with all of the subsequent charges, and
Speaker 2: when he was discredited in the first trial and no
Speaker 2: other hard evidence had been presented, there really wasn't anything
Speaker 2: to move forward with. The grand jury dismissed all remaining
Speaker 2: charges and all of the men who had been charged
Speaker 2: were released by January sixteenth, eighteen fifty two. The result
Speaker 2: of the trial incensed many Southerners, who felt it was
Speaker 2: always unfairly biased because it took place in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.
Speaker 2: There had already been a sentiment that the Fugitive Slave
Speaker 2: Law was a case of the federal government infringing on states' rights,
Speaker 2: but as the prosecution failed to establish any real evidence
Speaker 2: for their narrative in the case against Tanway or any
Speaker 2: of the defendants, really that point is almost moot. Just
Speaker 2: the same, the controversy over the outcome only added to
Speaker 2: the already tense relations between the northern and Southern states.
Speaker 2: It's sometimes called the first Battle of the Civil War.
Speaker 2: In a surprising coda to this story, Edward Gorsuch's son Dickinson,
Speaker 2: who as we mentioned, had been really seriously injured, was
Speaker 2: nursed back to health by a Christiana Quaker named Levi Pownall,
Speaker 2: and over the course of receiving Pownall's care, it appears
Speaker 2: that Dickinson actually had a fairly significant change of heart
Speaker 2: regarding the situation, and he eventually sought to reconcile with
Speaker 2: the people that his family had fought against, and he
Speaker 2: reportedly enjoyed a pretty positive relationship with many of Christiana's
Speaker 2: citizens up until his death. In eighteen eighty two, William
Speaker 2: Parker relocated to Buxton, cam and settled there while he
Speaker 2: had initially run away from Christiana without Eliza. The two
Speaker 2: of them were reunited in Canada, although he eventually left
Speaker 2: Eliza for another woman, and eighteen sixty six The Atlantic
Speaker 2: Monthly published his life story in two parts. That is
Speaker 2: the piece which we quoted from a good bit in
Speaker 2: the early part of this, and I will say there
Speaker 2: are some general notations about like we don't know how
Speaker 2: accurate his version is or not, But to me it's
Speaker 2: his lived experience and thus becomes a pretty important narrative
Speaker 2: of what was going on at the time. As for
Speaker 2: the four men whose escape started the whole thing, Noah
Speaker 2: Bulee Nelson for George Hammond and Joshua Hammond, what happened
Speaker 2: to them after the incident is not known. They were
Speaker 2: not captured, and it is often speculated that they followed
Speaker 2: William Parker to Canada.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this story is so so ceaselessly interesting to me.
Speaker 1: I particularly am fascinated by the press coverage. But in
Speaker 1: the meantime I have very unrelated listener mail. This is
Speaker 1: from our listener James, who writes, Hi, Holly and Tracy. First,
Speaker 1: let me say I love your show. I've been listening
Speaker 1: since high school, right around the time the show became yours.
Speaker 1: I used to listen on the bus on my way
Speaker 1: to school. Now I listen while I clean stalls and
Speaker 1: portion out. Hey, you make the dullest and hardest tasks
Speaker 1: go by so fast. I honestly don't know how I
Speaker 1: would make it through my longest work days without your help.
Speaker 1: About a year ago, I got divorced. I remember your divorce.
Speaker 1: Ranch's episode came out about a month after the topic
Speaker 1: had been broached between my now ex wife and I.
Speaker 1: As stressed out and depressed as I was, the episode
Speaker 1: inspired me. I couldn't take the time off of work
Speaker 1: to go to Nevada for six weeks, but I did
Speaker 1: take a few days and took off for the coast
Speaker 1: all alone, my first trip by myself in six years.
Speaker 1: It was a big step for me at the time,
Speaker 1: and I'm happy to say I'm doing much better these days,
Speaker 1: and I'm very happy to be an independent person again.
Speaker 1: I'm so glad you were doing well since my divorce.
Speaker 1: I've had a second Spotify profile sitting around collecting dust.
Speaker 1: When you released your episode on yan Arison, I was
Speaker 1: struck with inspiration. I sent my grandma up on Spotify
Speaker 1: and I'm happy to report this. She's becoming an avid listener.
Speaker 1: She's been telling all her elderly friends about your show
Speaker 1: and was thrilled to discover a distant personal connection to
Speaker 1: Joan Arison. One of her lifelong friends has Icelandic ancestry
Speaker 1: and claims as many do Joan Arison as a direct ancestor.
Speaker 1: I have attached my pet tax to Bambino sphinxes. The
Speaker 1: big Siamese is Quirk, my fat little boy, built like
Speaker 1: a bulldog and easily confused. The Tortoiseshell is Dax, my frail,
Speaker 1: middle aged old lady eternally grumpy unless she's in a lap.
Speaker 1: Also a picture of Evi and Xander grazing two of
Speaker 1: my favorite horses at the Thoroughbred Sanctuary. I love these
Speaker 1: pet tax pictures. I love these names for your cats. Hello,
Speaker 1: little Star Trek reference makes me happy, and the horses
Speaker 1: are absolutely gorgeous. Thank you so much for sharing this
Speaker 1: story with us. I love the idea that you turned
Speaker 1: your grandma on to new things and new ways to
Speaker 1: talk about history. I love it so much. So I'm
Speaker 1: glad you're doing well, James, and I will be thinking
Speaker 1: of you if you would like to write to us,
Speaker 1: you can do so at History podcast at iHeartRadio dot com.
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Speaker 1: you haven't gotten around to it yet, I promise is
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