Bill > HRes336

This resolution recognizes and honors the historic escape attempt of 77 enslaved individuals aboard the schooner Pearl on April 16, 1848, which is considered the largest known escape attempt by enslaved persons in American history. The escape was initiated by free Blacks Paul Jennings and Paul Edmonson, and supported by White abolitionists like William Chaplin and Gerrit Smith, with Daniel Drayton serving as the ship's captain. Despite sailing down the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay in pursuit of freedom, the enslaved people were intercepted near Point Lookout, Maryland, by a 35-man posse and returned to the District of Columbia. The ensuing Washington Riot of 1848 saw slavery supporters attacking both White abolitionists and free Blacks, and the captured enslaved individuals were sold to traders and sent to New Orleans. Two of the escapees were later purchased and freed by Henry Ward Beecher's church, and Drayton and two other ship workers were arrested but eventually pardoned by President Millard Fillmore after serving four years in prison. The resolution specifically honors the legacy of those who worked to further freedom from slavery and acknowledges their significant importance to the history of the District of Columbia and the United States.

Government Affairs

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-resolution/336/all-info