Madison Washington

Madison Washington was an American enslaved man who led a slave rebellion in the United States on November 7, 1841, on board the brig Creole, which was transporting 134 other slaves from Virginia for sale in New Orleans, as part of the coastwise slave trade.

Washington was born into slavery in Virginia. After spending most of his life on a slave plantation he managed to escape in 1839 and, with the help of the Underground Railroad, he fled to Canada. During his travels he was harboured by abolitionist Robert Purvis. Purvis recalled that Washington was fascinated by a portrait of Joseph Cinqué, a slave who led a successful uprising aboard the schooner La Amistad. Washington later returned to Virginia to look for his still-enslaved wife, which resulted in his being recaptured by an overseer and placed aboard the Creole to be sold alongside her. Five had remained on the ship and chose to return to the United States and slavery. As 128 slaves gained freedom resulting from this revolt, it is considered the most successful in American history. This call for open rebellion was considered too radical for abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Frederick Douglass wrote a novella, The Heroic Slave (1853), whose lead character was inspired by and named Madison Washington. This short story is considered one of the first known pieces of African-American fictional literature. William Wells Brown included a chapter on Madison Washington in his book, The Black Man: His Antecedents, His Genius, and His Achievements. New York: Thomas Hamilton; Boston: R.F. Wallcut, 1863. Lydia Maria Child included a chapter on Madison Washington in her book, (1865).