Jerry Rescue

[2] Other prominent abolitionists from the area were Frederick Douglass, Matilda Joslyn Gage, John W. Jones, William Marks and Harriet Tubman.

[3] Prior to the Civil War, due to the work of Reverend Jermain Wesley Loguen (a fugitive slave himself) and others in defiance of federal law, Syracuse became known as the "great central depot on the Underground Railroad."

He spoke at Frazee Hall for two hours and warned that the Fugitive Slave Law would be enforced even "here in Syracuse in the midst of the next Anti-Slavery Convention, if the occasion shall arise.

[6] In 1818, when Jerry was seven years old, William Henry pursued manifest destiny and moved his operations to the town of Hannibal in Marion County, Missouri.

Although Jerry's initial destination is unknown, it is speculated that he found himself in the Illinois town of Quincy, only twelve miles north of William Henry's residence in Hannibal.

Although Jerry's exact escape route has been lost to history, there is evidence that he evaded capture twice, once in Chicago, Illinois, and also in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Due to these failed captures, his owner, and presumed father, William Henry, sold off the rights to Jerry to Thomas Miller for $400.

As this sale had taken place after the Fugitive Slave Act had passed, it enabled Miller to more effectively continue the search to return Jerry to slavery.

Through his travels, he had heard of anti-slavery nature that the community of Syracuse fostered and desired to make a home there, rather than continuing his journey to Canada.

In 1851, Jerry made the decision to leave Williston's shop and work at Morrell's cooperage in order to make better wages.

Jerry was frequently arrested for crimes such as theft and assault and battery ("as a result of his heated relationship with Sarah Colwell"),[6] of which he was never guilty.

Following finalization of the plan, Ira Cobb and the Reverend L. D. Mansfield, both vigilance committee members, proceeded to the courtroom to monitor events so they could give the signal to begin.

[6] On October 1, the day of Jerry's arrest, there was a Liberty Party meeting in the Syracuse Congregationalist Church, which was attended by many prominent abolitionists, including Gerrit Smith.

Smith would go on to help plan the rescue, and would use his contacts as a prominent abolitionist to secure Jerry's passage out of Syracuse and into safety in Canada.

Due to Smith's wealth, the perpetrators were able to procure a carriage and access to multiple safe houses to transport and hide Jerry on his way to Canada.

Gibbs delayed the proceedings by requesting that James Lear hand over his weapons, and also demanded that Jerry be unshackled (Murphy, 78).

Although he was returned, his escape cost his persecutors much time, and had the effect of gathering further support; many on the streets were appalled at the way Jerry was treated by the federal marshals.

Davis can be more aptly described as part of the second group due to his staunch upset at the militia intervening in the Jerry Rescue and his lack of continued role in Syracuse's attempts at abolition.

Still, the two groups' interests converged in this moment, and Caleb Davis played a key role in bringing Jerry out of Syracuse and into freedom in Canada.

One story is that Caleb Davis put Jerry at the bottom of his cart and went out on his weekly drive to collect beef for his butcher shop.

Although Davis was followed by other wagons that wanted to recapture Jerry and bring him back to the South to be put into slavery again, they were helped by a tollkeeper whom he had bribed a few hours earlier to pretend to be asleep.

Some say that James Davis and Jason Hoyt actually came and collected Jerry to bring him to the next stop in his escape to Canada, and they were the ones that went through the harrowing ordeal of the wagon chase.

Described in the book The Jerry Rescue by Angela F. Murphy, participants "heard speeches, read poetry, sang songs, and passed resolutions that upheld the right to resist laws for slavery.

After Garrison spoke, pressing for an emphasis on moral suasion in the fight against slavery, Douglass lifted up a pair of broken shackles, said to be those that held Jerry, and he asked "how many arguments, frowns, resolutions, appeals, and entreaties would be necessary to break them.

"[6] These celebrations would come to an end because one of its most important founding members and annual speaker, Gerrit Smith, became frustrated with the country's limited progress toward emancipation.