Disguise toward freedomSourced
They escaped slavery posing as owner and servant
In 1848, Ellen and William Craft escaped slavery in the United States by train and boat. Ellen posed as a white male planter and William as his servant. She wore an arm sling to conceal her inability to write.
Their plan used the society’s assumptions about appearance to reach freedom.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Ellen and William Craft · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-10