author
Ellen Craft
1826–1891
Known for one of the most daring escapes from slavery in American history, this abolitionist traveled to freedom in 1848 while disguised as a white male planter. She later helped tell that story to a wide audience in a memoir that remains powerful today.
1 Audiobook
Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom Or, The Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery
by William Craft, Ellen Craft
About the author
Born into slavery in Georgia around 1826, she became famous for escaping bondage with her husband, William Craft, in December 1848. Because her complexion was very light, the two devised a bold plan: she disguised herself as a white gentleman traveling with an enslaved servant, while William posed as that servant, allowing them to move through trains and steamboats on their way north.
After reaching freedom, the Crafts became active in the abolitionist movement and spoke publicly about slavery. Their story was eventually published in Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom (1860), a vivid account of their escape and the pressures they faced even after reaching the North.
When the Fugitive Slave Act made their situation more dangerous, they spent years in Britain before later returning to the United States. Today, she is remembered not only for extraordinary courage and quick thinking, but also for the way her life exposes the brutal logic of slavery and the determination it took to resist it.