30. "My Property I will Have" (1851)

BY WILLIAM PARKER

Parker was an escaped slave who had married another fugitive and settled at Christiana, in the southern part of Pennsylvania. The neighborhood was a favorite one for escaped slaves, and Parker was at the head of an organization for mutual protection against slaveholders and kidnappers. After the event here described he escaped to Canada. The affair caused much excitement, and there was an unsuccessful attempt to convict Hanway, mentioned in the text, of treason. The piece has apparently received a literary dress from a more practised hand than that of a fugitive slave. Bibliography: McDougall, Fugitive Slaves, p. 127, No. 49.

TH

HUS matters stood in Philadelphia on the 9th of September, 1851, when Mr. Gorsuch and his gang of Maryland kidnappers arrived there. Their presence was soon known to the little band of true men who were called "The Special Secret Committee."

The trusty agent of this Special Committee, Mr. Samuel Williams, of Philadelphia, - a man true and faithful to his race, and courageous in the highest degree, came to Christiana, travelling most of the way in company with the very men whom Gorsuch had employed to drag into slavery four as good men as ever trod the earth. . . .

The information brought by Mr. Williams spread through the vicinity like a fire in the prairies; and when I went home from my work in the evening, I found Pinckney (whom I should have said before was my brother-in-law), Abraham Johnson, Samuel Thompson, and Joshua Kite at my house, all of them excited about the rumor. I laughed at them, and said it was all talk. This was the 10th of September, 1851. They stopped for the night with us, and we went to bed as usual. Before day-light, Joshua Kite rose, and started for his home. Directly, he ran back to the house, burst open the door, crying, "O William! kidnappers! kidnappers ! "

He said that, when he was just beyond the yard, two men crossed before him, as if to stop him, and others came up on either side. As he said this, they had reached the door. Joshua ran up stairs, (we slept up stairs,) and they followed him; but I met them at the landing, and asked, "Who are you?"

The leader, Kline, replied, "I am the United States Marshal."

I then told him to take another step, and I would break his neck.

He again said, "I am the United States Marshal."

I told him I did not care for him nor the United States. At that he turned and went down stairs. .

He then read the warrant, and said, "Now, you see, we are commanded to take you, dead or alive; so you may as well give up at once."

“Go up, Mr. Kline," then said Gorsuch, "you are the Marshal."

Kline started, and when a little way up said, "I am coming."

"You had better give up," said old Mr. Gorsuch, after another while, "and come down, for I have come a long way this morning, and want my breakfast; for my property I will have, or I'll breakfast in hell. I will go up and get it."

He then started up stairs, and came far enough to see us all plainly. We were just about to fire upon him, when Dickinson Gorsuch, who was standing on the old oven, before the door, and could see into the upstairs room through the window, jumped down and caught his father, saying, “O father, do come down! do come down! They have guns, swords, and all kinds of weapons! They'll kill you! Do come down!" The old man turned and left. . .

The whites, at this time, were coming from all quarters, and Kline was enrolling them as fast as they came.

Elijah Lewis, a Quaker, also came along about this time; I beckoned to him . . . but he came straight on, and was met by Kline, who ordered him to assist him. Lewis asked for his authority, and Kline handed him the warrant. While Lewis was reading, Castner Hanway came up, and Lewis handed the warrant to him. Lewis asked Kline what Parker said.

Kline replied, "He won't give up."

Then Lewis and Hanway both said to the Marshal,

"If Parker says they will not give up, you had better let them alone, for he will kill some We are not going to risk our lives; "—and they turned to go

of you.

away.

While they were talking, I came down and stood in the doorway, my men following behind. . .

Kline now came running up, and entreated Gorsuch to come away. "No," said the latter, “I will have my property, or go to hell." "What do you intend to do?" said Kline to me.

"I intend to fight," said I. "I intend to try your strength."

"If you will withdraw your men," he replied, "I will withdraw mine."

I told him it was too late. "You would not withdraw when you had the chance, you shall not now."

Kline then went back to Hanway and Lewis. Gorsuch made a signal to his men, and they all fell into line. I followed his example as well as I could; but as we were not more than ten paces apart, it was difficult to do so. At this time we numbered but ten, while there were between thirty and forty of the white men.

While I was talking to Gorsuch, his son said, "Father, will you take all this from a nigger?"

I answered him by saying that I respected old age; but that, if he would repeat that, I should knock his teeth down his throat. At this he fired upon me, and I ran up to him and knocked the pistol out of his hand, when he let the other one fall and ran in the field.

My brother-in-law, who was standing near, then said, "I can stop' him;"— and with his double-barrel gun he fired.

Young Gorsuch fell, but rose and ran on again. Pinckney fired a second time, and again Gorsuch fell, but was soon up again, and, running into the cornfield, lay down in the fence corner.

I returned to my men, and found Samuel Thompson talking to old Mr. Gorsuch, his master. They were both angry.

"Old man, you had better go home to Maryland," said Samuel. "You had better give up, and come home with me," said the old

man.

Thompson took Pinckney's gun from him, struck Gorsuch, and brought him to his knees. Gorsuch rose and signalled to his men. Thompson then knocked him down again, and he again rose. At this time all the white men opened fire, and we rushed upon them; when they turned, threw down their guns, and ran away. We, being closely engaged, clubbed our rifles. We were too closely pressed to fire, but we found a good deal could be done with empty guns.

Old Mr. Gorsuch was the bravest of his party; he held on to his pistols until the last, while all the others threw away their weapons. I saw as many as three at a time fighting with him. Sometimes he was on his knees, then on his back, and again his feet would be where his head should be. He was a fine soldier and a brave man. Whenever he saw the least opportunity, he would take aim.

Having driven the slavocrats off in every direction, our party now turned towards their several homes. Some of us, however, went back to my house, where we found several of the neighbors.

The riot, so called, was now entirely ended. The elder Gorsuch was dead; his son and nephew were both wounded, and I have reason to how many, it would be difficult to say. Of our

believe others were,

party, only two were wounded.

William Parker, The Freedman's Story, in Atlantic Monthly, March, 1866 (Boston), XVII, 281–288 passim.

31. Attack on a United States Court-House (1854)

BY RICHARD HENRY DANA

The attempted rescue of Burns was Boston's answer to the passage of the KansasNebraska Act. Those who protested against, or attempted to prevent, the rendition of the fugitive were of high social position; this fact, together with the national excitement caused by the case, made it the most important of the fugitive-slave episodes. Dana, who defended Burns, was one of Boston's most prominent lawyers. — For Dana, see No. 7 above. — Bibliography of Burns case: McDougall, Fugitive Slaves, p. 127, No. 57.

MA

AY 25 [1854]. Thursday. This morning, at a little before nine o'clock, as I was going past the court-house, a gentleman told me that there was a fugitive slave in custody in the United States courtroom. I went up immediately, and saw a negro, sitting in the usual place for prisoners, guarded by a large corps of officers. . . . I offered to act as his counsel. . . .

The claimant, Colonel Suttle of Richmond or Alexandria, Va., was present, and sat in full sight of the poor negro all the time. .

...

[May 26.] To-night a great meeting is to be held at Faneuil Hall. There is a strong feeling in favor of a rescue, and some of the abolitionists talk quite freely about it. But the most remarkable exhibition is from the Whigs, the Hunker Whigs, the Compromise men of 1850. Men who would not speak to me in 1850 and 1851, and who enrolled themselves as special policemen in the Sims affair, stop me in the street and talk treason. This is all owing to the Nebraska bill. I cannot respect their feeling at all, except as a return to sanity. The Webster delusion is passing off. . . .

May 27. Saturday. Last night an attempt was made to rescue the slave. It was conducted by a few and failed for want of numbers, the greater part being opposed to an action then. They broke in a door of the court-house and a few of them entered, but they were not supported.

They killed one man, a truckman named Batchelder, who has volunteered three times to assist in catching and keeping slaves, and the officers retreated. But the men who entered were at first driven back, and the crowd thought themselves repulsed and retreated also. The men who went in first were wounded, and on being driven out, they found that the crowd outside had deserted them. The leader of this mob, I am surprised to hear, in secrecy, was Rev. T. W. Higginson of Worcester. I knew his ardor and courage, but I hardly expected a married man, a clergyman, and a man of education to lead the mob. But Theodore Parker offered to lead a mob to the rescue of Sims, if one hundred men could be got to enroll themselves, but they could not get thirty.

Robert Carter tells me that Dr. Samuel G. Howe offered to lead a mob of two hundred to storm the court-house, and that it would probably have been done had not Higginson's attempt led the marshal to call out the military.

Immediately after this mob, the marshal sent for a company of United States marines from Charlestown, and a company of artillery from Fort Independence. The mayor, too, ordered out two or three companies of volunteer militia to keep the peace, but not to aid in the return of the slave.

The hearing began at ten o'clock. The court-house was filled with hireling soldiers of the standing army of the United States, nearly all of whom are foreigners. The lazy hounds were lounging all day out of the windows, and hanging over the stairs, but ready to shoot down good men at a word of command. Some difficulties occurred between them and the citizens, but nothing very serious. . .

The trial of the Burns case occupied all day of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 29th, 30th and 31st of May. Each day the court-room was filled with the United States marshal's "guard" as he called them, a gang of about one hundred and twenty men, the lowest villains in the community, keepers of brothels, bullies, blacklegs, convicts, prizefighters, etc. Mr. Andrews, the ex-jailer, says that he finds forty-five men among them who have been under his charge at various times. . . These are all armed with revolvers and other weapons and occupy the rows of seats behind the bar and the jury seats. A corps of marines from the navy yard, about sixty in number, commanded by Major Dulany, and two companies of United States Artillery, about one hundred and twenty men, commanded by Ridgely, occupy the court-house