Freedom Bound:
Runaways of the Chesapeake
Freedom Bound: Runaways of the Chesapeake
Freedom Bound: Runaways of the Chesapeake tells a story of resistance to bondage and servitude in the Chesapeake Region from the Colonial Period to the American Civil War (1728-1864).
In this exhibition, visitors will meet nine people stripped of their human rights and treated as property. These individuals resisted these abuses and asserted some degree of control over their own lives by running away. Each person’s story is unique but they all show the universal desire for freedom.
Each of the displays represent an actual individual’s story, but each also tells part of a larger experience shared by thousands of bound workers—slaves, indentured servants, and convict servants—who lived and labored in the Chesapeake region.
This exhibition was made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Butler Family Geneology Resources
Butler Family Tree: Click to view the Butler family tree
GU272 Memory Project: Click here for more information on the Butler family
MD State Archives: View the digitized version of the 1792 Butler family depositions
View more of our online teaching resources HERE
Related Programs
Freedom Bound: Runaways of the Chesapeake Virtual Tour
Explore stories of resistance to bondage and servitude in the Chesapeake Region from the Colonial Period to the American Civil War (1728-1864) by meeting nine bound workers—slaves, indentured servants, and convict servants— who asserted control over their own lives by running away. Students will analyze their runaway ads from the Maryland Gazette and view recorded living history vignettes during this guided virtual experience. Grades: 4 – 12
Click HERE to Request Your Virtual Tour
Educator’s Webinar: Civil War and Reconstruction
Saturday, November 7, 14 & 21, 2020
12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Cost: $15
Examine the Civil War and Reconstruction through the lens of the African American experience with content lectures, a virtual tour and interactive instruction from An African American Journey Resource Guide. This course includes home assignments and implementing a curriculum lesson to obtain 1 MSDE credit hour. In partnership with Maryland Center for History and Culture.
Educator Webinar: Freedom Bound Conversations Through Literature
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
4 – 5:30 p.m.
Cost: $5
Explore the road to freedom during the antebellum period for African American runaways as portrayed in children’s literature with a panel discussion with children’s authors and illustrators Elizbeth Zunon, Jerdine Nolen and Carole Boston Weatherford. A lesson resource will be provided. In conjunction with Freedom Bound: Runaways of the Chesapeake. In partnership with Maryland Center for History and Culture.