Terrified and hopeless, Tom, a Virginia slave, sat shackled in the dark hull of a schooner as it lay anchored in the Potomac River outside of Mount Vernon. The ship was preparing to set sail for the Caribbean, where Tom undoubtedly understood he’d soon be transferred into some of the worst slave conditions imaginable. The voyage ahead was the equivalent of a death sentence. This was his punishment for defying his master, George Washington.
Tom’s is one of the many stories of men, women, and children who were enslaved by George Washington, which are now part of a temporary exhibit, Lives Bound Together, which runs at Mount Vernon through September 2018. Using Washington’s own records, the exhibit explores the lives of his slaves, as well as his views on the institution. The numbers speak for themselves. Of the 317 slaves under Washington’s control, at least 47 attempted to run away on at least one occasion. Clearly, life in bondage under Washington was not all roses.
Washington’s own records indicate that Tom, who had been an enslaved overseer on one of his nearby plantations, ran away in 1766. Tom’s freedom was short lived. After Washington’s men recaptured Tom, the colonial general paid the schooner’s captain to dispose of his problem. In a letter, General Washington warned that Tom was a “rogue and a runaway” and advised the captain to “keep him handcuffed ‘til you get to sea.” Washington’s records show Tom was sold on the island of St. Kitts, though there is no further indication of what happened to him. Caribbean sugar plantations were well known to be unusually cruel places with high mortality rates. Some historians estimate that the average lifespan for a slave on these plantations was seven years. For his part, Washington received 66 gallons of liquor, candied fruits, and a handful of Spanish and Portuguese silver coins as Tom’s sale price.
In recent years, much has been written about how America’s first president, who while a slaveholder, claimed to have had a personal aversion to the institution. Some historians argue that Washington’s views on slavery evolved over time and that he was a rare man of honor among the slaveholding Founding Fathers. Many point to the fact that he freed all of his slaves in his final will as proof. But a current exhibit at the Mount Vernon Historical Site honoring the people enslaved under Washington offers a more complete narrative of the slaveholder.
Washington directly owned 123 slaves. Aside from a few dozen or so slaves rented from neighboring plantations, the remainder of the slaves at Mount Vernon belonged to Martha Washington as a life inheritance from her late first husband, Daniel Custis. These slaves were held by the Washingtons, but upon Mrs. Washington’s death, they legally reverted to her grandchildren. So, even the grand gesture that Washington is hailed for – the emancipation of his slaves in his final will – did not affect the majority of slaves at Mount Vernon. Moreover, Washington’s will only immediately freed a single slave – his former personal valet William Lee. According to the will, the other 122 were to be freed only after Martha’s death. Luckily for them, Mrs. Washington feared someone might hasten her demise in order for the emancipation to take effect, so she decided to free them herself on January 1, 1801.
While George Washington’s writings and commentary on slavery signaled that he recognized the institution was evil, he not only failed to free a single slave during his lifetime, but even took steps to preserve his hold over them. Most notable, was Washington’s attempt to thwart emancipation laws in Pennsylvania while he lived there as President, before the capital was moved to Washington, DC. Under Pennsylvania law at the time, any slave that remained in the state for longer than six consecutive months would be deemed free. While members of Congress and their slaves were exempt from the law, it was unclear whether that immunity extended to members of the executive branch. As a precaution, Washington regularly cycled out the slaves at the Presidential Mansion, or took them on short visits outside of the state to avoid the chance they might becoming free. Moreover, when slaves did run, Washington’s own records demonstrate that he regularly paid slave catchers for the return of his property, and even sent men after escaped slaves he learned had made it to the North.
Two of Washington’s slaves – his personal chef and Mrs. Washington’s personal maid – did manage to escape to freedom, never to return to bondage.
Washington’s attempt to reclaim the First Lady’s maid, Oney Judge, is a striking illustration of his inability to recognize his own contributions to the evils of slavery. After learning that she had made it to Portsmouth, NH, where she’d begun to set up a life for herself, Washington dispatched men to ensure Ms. Judge’s return. The Portsmouth harbormaster was disinclined to remove her by force, fearing a riot by the city’s abolitionist. Instead, the harbormaster reportedly got Ms. Judge to agree to return if the Washingtons agreed to free her upon their deaths. Washington’s rejection of the offer illustrates his habit of putting his personal interests over his humanity:
I regret that the attempt you made to restore the girl (Oney Judge as she called herself while with us, and who, without the least provocation absconded from her Mistress) should have been attended with so little success. To enter into such a compromise, as she has suggested to you, is totally inadmissible, for reasons that must strike at first view: for however well disposed I might be to a gradual abolition, or even to an entire emancipation of that description of People (if the latter was in itself practicable at this Moment) it would neither be politic or just, to reward unfaithfulness with a premature preference; and thereby discontent, beforehand, the minds of all her fellow Servants; who by their steady adherence, are far more deserving than herself, of favor.
Ultimately, Washington never forced Ms. Judge's return, fearing the public relations backlash in the North. But it remained a thorn in his side for the rest of his life.
The only other Washington slave who succeeded in escaping bondage was the President’s personal chef, Hercules. Hercules was renowned for his culinary skills and was described by Washington’s nephew, George Custis, as a “celebrated artiste.” Hercules served as the chef in the Presidential Mansion in Philadelphia but, despite his popularity and favor by the Washington, was sent back to Mount Vernon in 1797. There Hercules was relegated to general labor duties digging ditches and laying bricks. Soon thereafter, he escaped. Again, Washington’s lack of perspective and inflated belief in his own benevolence resulted in shock and resentment that Hercules had fled. The President apparently believed that Hercules had led a “privileged” existence, pointing out that he was even given a gift of rum when his wife died. Hercules may be one of the few American slaves to have his portrait painted. Celebrated artist Gilbert Stuart, whose famed full-length portrait of George Washington hangs in the Smithsonian’s Portrait Gallery’s Hall of Presidents, painted a portrait of black man in chef regalia while in Philadelphia during that period. The untitled portrait is widely believed to be of Hercules and now hangs in Madrid’s Prado Museum.
The exhibit at Mount Vernon is a provocative examination of the human beings who were dehumanized by the institution of slavery. The fact that one of America’s greatest freedom fighter did little to ensure the freedom of so many is an important contribution to our national narrative.
Where: Mount Vernon
3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway
Mount Vernon, Virginia 22121
When: the exhibit runs through September 2018
Hours: Daily, 9am – 5pm
Admission: $20 adult; $18 seniors; $10 youth (6-11); children under 6 free Website: www.mountvernon.org