William Craft

Born into slavery in Macon, Georgia, William Craft became one half of one of the most remarkable escape stories in American history. In 1848, he and his wife Ellen Craft fled the South by having Ellen, who could pass as white, travel openly while William posed as her enslaved servant.

After reaching freedom, the Crafts became active abolitionists. Their story was published in Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom, a vivid memoir that helped expose the realities of slavery to readers in the United States and Britain.

William Craft later spent years in England with Ellen Craft before returning to Georgia after the Civil War. He is remembered not only for his own courage, but also for helping turn lived experience into a powerful argument against slavery.