# Understanding H. RES. 294: The Pearl Resolution

This resolution honors a remarkable but largely forgotten moment in American history—a mass escape attempt by enslaved people in 1848. On April 16 of that year, 77 enslaved men, women, and children boarded a ship called the Pearl in Washington, D.C., hoping to sail to freedom. The escape was organized by a diverse group of people: free Black men Paul Jennings (who had previously been enslaved by President James Madison) and Paul Edmonson, white abolitionists like William Chaplin and ship captain Daniel Drayton, and wealthy abolitionist Gerrit Smith who funded the operation. This was one of the largest coordinated escapes by enslaved people in American history.

The escape didn't succeed. Just days after the Pearl set sail down the Potomac River, slave owners organized a posse that caught up with the ship near Maryland and brought everyone back to Washington. The aftermath was brutal. Angry mobs attacked both the white abolitionists and free Black residents of the city in what became known as the Washington Riot of 1848. The enslaved people were sold to traders and shipped to New Orleans, though a church in Brooklyn later purchased and freed two of them. The white men who helped organize the escape faced arrest and prison time, though some were eventually pardoned.

What this resolution actually does is simple: it's Congress officially recognizing and honoring the people involved in the Pearl incident—both those who escaped and those who helped them. It's not a law that changes anything or affects anyone's daily life. Rather, it's a formal acknowledgment that this event was important to American history and deserves to be remembered. The resolution also notes that the Pearl incident may have inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe to write "Uncle Tom's Cabin," one of the most influential anti-slavery novels ever published. Essentially, Congress is saying: this happened, these people were brave, and we should remember their contribution to the fight against slavery.

Recognizing the historic abolitionist events surrounding the Pearl, and honoring its legacy in American history.

Norton, Eleanor Holmes

 <p>This resolution honors the legacy of all those who furthered freedom from slavery and were involved in the Pearl incident and recognizes their historical importance. (On April 15, 1848, 77 enslaved people attempted to flee the District of Columbia and Alexandria, Virginia, on the ship the <i>Pearl</i>, in what is known as the largest nonviolent attempt to escape from slavery in American history.)</p>