The Fugitive Blacksmith: Or Events In The History Of James W C. Pennington

by James W.C. Pennington

The Fugitive Or Events In The History Of James W C. Pennington is a book written by James W. C. Pennington in 1849. The book is an autobiographical account of Pennington's life as a blacksmith and his escape from slavery. Pennington was born into slavery in Maryland in 1807 and was later sold to a plantation in Virginia. He managed to escape from slavery in 1828 and made his way to New York City. There, he became a blacksmith and eventually became a minister. The book details Pennington's experiences as a slave, his escape, and his life in New York City. It also includes his views on slavery and his efforts to help other slaves escape. The Fugitive Blacksmith is an important historical document that sheds light on the experiences of slaves in America and the struggle for freedom.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History

106 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1971

Reviews

[Denise Billings]

Pennington escaped from slavery 20 or so years before Frederick Douglass. Both amazed me in that they sent letters to their former masters. They wanted to know what happened to their relatives who were still in bondage. Douglass was attempting to purchase his freedom so he could finally stop looking over his shoulder for slave hunters. Hard to read. I read about Pennington in Douglass' book. Gotta read some lighter fare.

[Constance Cole]

Informative

There are so few first accounts written by the enslaved and this is very informative as a first person account.

[Catherine Botts]

Pennington in his 60+ page book leaves us with a powerful message as he has written a letter to his former owner from his religious point of view as an anti-slave preacher.

A powerful message we can all learn from for our own choices on this side of heaven.

[Anthony Johnson]

Good

Another good read. His understanding of the gospel is holistic. It shows how black Christians could distguish from biblical truth and a lie

[James]

"Talk not then about kind and christian masters. They are not masters of the system. The system is master of them; and the slaves are their vassals."

[Douglas]

I was interested in hearing about the author's journey from slavery to becoming a Presbyterian Pastor. While the book mostly focuses on his captivity and escape, the two letters at the end of the book, one to his family that never made it out of slavery and the other to his former slave master, are beautiful.

"I know not where the boy is, but I have no doubt he is worth more to himself than he ever was to his master, high as he fixes the price on him."

[Felicia]

They don't teach you this stuff in school. You don't get a good picture of what slavery was like until you read the words of a former slave. This should be read in every high school.