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The Underground Railroad was a secret operation that went on from 1842-1861.

(An organized system began during the late 18th century)

It was an operation to free the slaves and bring them to a free state or to Canada where they could be free.

It was called the Underground Railroad because of the emerging steam railroads. The Underground Railroad even used train terms such as station, depot, conductor, and stationmaster.

As you may have guessed it wasn't easy to transport all of these slaves to freedom.

It all had to be done secretly, so there are a couple of theories on how they communicated about the way to freedom.

One theory is the quilt code.

Secret codes in quilts helped guide slaves on the underground railroad.

It was illegal for a slave to learn to read or write.

So the symbols on the quilts communicated certain things such as safe houses and direction.

Quilt worker patterns often had roots from Africa. History and stories came out of memories and were passed down orally, quilt patterns were also exchanged this way.

The symbols from these quilts were used in the Underground Railroad quilts.

The quilts were hung out on fences and windowsills seemingly to dry. This was common on plantations, so the masters were none the wiser.

The symbols, themselves, were quite common such as the monkey wrench.

It is suggested that stitching and knotting on the quilts may have communicated distance and or map routes between safe houses.

There is controversy of quilt code theory because again there is not really any written history of the Underground Railroad.

It is believed that one of the other ways slaves would find their way on the Underground Railroad was through songs.

The masters of the house would just assume the slaves were singing while they worked, but really they were communicating about the railroad which is very possible was passed to them through and underground conductor or possibly a free relative.

Some songs are claimed to be songs from the time of the Underground Railroad, such as Follow Drinking Gourd.

It is more likely that these songs are loosely based off of old underground songs.

Follow the Drinking Gourd

The first part of the lyrics describes the best time on which to leave.

They are told to follow the drinking gourd because it was a hollowed out gourd used by slaves as a water dipper.

It meant to follow the Big Dipper, the North Star.

Several other parts of the lyrics describe rivers and certain landmarks.

It is rumored that this song was passed out by a conductor called Peg Leg Pete although his existence is also arguable.

Songs were often used a signals.

Some songs were considered warning songs such as Wade in the Water, meaning to travel in or by the riverbank, so the dogs would be thrown off their scent.

It is rumored that Harriet Tubman used a song to warn whether to stay hidden or to come out of hiding.

Wisconsin was an important stop for slaves on their way to Canada.

1842-1861 more than 100 helped to freedom in Canada through Wisconsin.

In fact Waukesha editor Chauncey Olin was involved with both of Wisconsin's most famous Underground Railroad escapes.

Olin was the proprietor of the Waukesha Freeman, one of the state's most radical abolitionist newspapers, before the Civil War.

Wisconsin's two most famous escapes are Caroline Quarrels and Joshua Glover.

Caroline Quarlls

Caroline Quarlls from St. Louis, Missouri. July 4, 1842. 1st recorded fugitive slave who went through us.

She had a 100 dollars on her person from her free grandmother.

She illegally took a steamboat across the Mississippi to Alton, Illinois. Crossed by Stage (stage coach) to Milwaukee and arrived early August.

She hidden by sympathetic allies.

When authorities caught wind, she was spirited away to Waukesha which was known for anti-slavery radicals.

Late summer she was moved farm to farm through Walworth and Racine counties.

Then Lyman drove her around Chicago through Indiana and Michigan where she escaped through Detroit to Canada. She rode in cover of potato chutes and barrels.

Joshua Glover

Glover escaped his owner in 1852 in Missouri.

He was working in Racine until his master located him there in 1854.

He was arrested under the fugitive slave law and brought to Milwaukee jail.

He was taken to a Milwaukee jail because their abolitionist population was less and their jail was stronger.

100 Racine abolitionists took a steamer to Milwaukee.

They Joined forces with abolitionists in Milwaukee led by Sherman Booth.

Then free him. They hid him away in Waukesha and then later boarded a steamer in Racine to Canada.

Prosecution against Booth because of the fugitive slave law led to Wisconsin Supreme Court to reject it.

Wisconsin's Famous Underground Stop

In 1838, Joseph Goodrich, originally from New York, left for the West.

He founded Milton by moving a cabin to his new property.

He expanded the cabin to create the original Milton Inn.

He needed more space and began expanding it to the Milton House.

Joseph Goodrich openly spoke out against slavery, so Historians believe that he was a stop on the Underground.

Runaway slaves used the tunnel to move from the cabin to a more secure hiding place in the basement of the Milton House.

The Milton House is the most well known stop in Wisconsin.

http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/topics/undergroundrr/

http://www.teachingwithstories.com/students/episode1.ht

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/wi1.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.html

http://www.berkshistory.org/articles/underground.html

http://www.history.com/topics/wisconsin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad

http://www.osblackhistory.com/quilts.php

http://www.followthedrinkinggourd.org/What_The_Lyrics_Mean.htm

http://www.followthedrinkinggourd.org/

http://www.osblackhistory.com/songs.php

That's Sherman.

The rescue of Joshua Glover March 11, 1854 from Milwaukee Jail.

There was a tunnel discovered much later connecting a small cabin to underneath the Milton House.

Originally dug from the earth and lined in limestone, it was just large enough for a person to crawl through.

1850 fugitive slave act formed which forced all citizens to help return any escaping slaves to their owners.

Waukesha was one of Wisconsin's most liberal cities. It was crawling with abolitionists.

The Milton House

Details are scarce because the operation needed to be kept absolutely quiet because both the escaping slaves and their helpers would be punished severely.

The Underground Railroad

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