Underground railroad saga of Lucy and Wesner’s perilous escape
Five years before the Civil War Charles Bradley recounts aiding George Wesner in rescuing Lucy a white slave of the Coverly family. They establish a refuge, smuggle slaves north by sea and by river, and lead a daring rescue when Lucy is betrayed and pursued to Louisiana.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
George Wesner
Charles Bradley
Attakapas County
Underground Railroad
Wesner
Lucy
Coverly
New York
Antislavery Society
Winer
Andover
Cairo
Boston
Pierce
Gregg
Louisiana
Cromwells
J. P. Macomber
O. K
Bentham
White River
George
Mason
Obed
Attakapas
New Iberia
New Orleans
North
Lafayette
St. Charles
Charlie
Path Beyond the Levee Rescue on the Mississippi
Wesner foils a plan to free Lucy and expose two Confederate operatives aboard the Aurora steamboat. He confronts the thieves Jules and Somes, saves the kidnapped enslaved people, and arranges their return while pursuing a hidden plot connected to Bentham and Gregg in Shreveport.
Desperate chase on river boat ends with standoff and escape plan
On a Mississippi steamer a wounded deputy marshal seeks the runaway girl Lucy as Wesner plots to steal five enslaved people from Muhl Babbage at Atkins yard. The Aurora voyage details expose a web of criminals and a looming confrontation as passengers assist Gregg and fear spreads.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Aurora
Pittsburg
Louisville
Mississippi
Southwest
Missis
New Orleans
Gregg
Lucy
Shaughnessy
United States
Louisiana
Cairo
Wesner Ha J
Charleston
Wesner
Atkins
Atkins’ Yard
Muhl Babbage
Kentucky
Babbage
Bradley
George
Somes
Jules
Fillmore
Dale
James Wilson
Floyd County
Raid-plot letters spur mission from Shreveport
In New York Entwissle reads a bitter anti slavery letter urging raids. The unnamed writer, linked to Box 91 Shreveport La, hints at stolen enslaved people and Cuba trade. The narrator plans a cautious crossing toward Shreveport under disguise to uncover aims and possible conspirators.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Entwissle
Shreveport
Attakapas
Cuba
Box
Simon
Rama
New River Canyon Battlefield View Near Gauley Bridge
View east from the north side of New River above Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, shows the C and O branch crossing Narrow Falls and joining the main line at Gauley Junction. It recalls Confederate General Floyd’s night assault, lowering guns the m Mountain side, and bombardment of Rosecrans and Cox at Thompkins farm and Gauley Bridge for eight days.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New River
Gauley Bridge
W. Va
Narrow Falls
Gauley Junction
Floyd
General Rosecrans
Thompkins
Hymens Speech and Atkinson Band Parade
A playful column imagines Hymen as a hustler of hearts praising spring amorous activity and profits for florists and vendors. It then shifts to Lewiston Evening Journal style coverage of an Atkinson Band parade led by brass musicians and a crowd gathering for a political speech.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Maine
Atkinson
His Handicaps and the Rise of a Couple
A Chicago Times-Herald poem extols a wife's influence in lifting her impoverished partner. She nourished his growth with books and discipline, supported him through toil, and bore his children. As he gains status, others pity the burden on his wife and her worn but steadfast devotion.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eyee
Who travels alone without Love at his side
A lyric meditation on solitary travel and hollow triumph. The speaker contrasts bold journeys and high winnings with inner loss, noting that courage fades with sunset and wisdom with a soul bereft of companionship. The joy of life lies in the pace and love shared, not in speed or solitary conquest.
Rammed in, hollow heads: a grim schoolroom lament
A stark poem portrays exhausted students with pinched pale faces as teachers force dense lessons into their minds. The voice condemns relentless cramming across algebra, geometry, history, rhetoric, and more, ending with a haunting image of hollow heads.
Hood's Sarsaparilla Promises Reform for Weak Souls
An 19th century style plea for relief from weariness and pride ends with a claim that Hood's Sarsaparilla can transform bad blood into good blood. The piece frames spiritual and physical weakness as solvable through a tonic. It reflects rural revival era advertising rhetoric.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Cromwell
Wes
Hiram
Cromwell’s
Yey Oi
Facummings
S.s.mcclure CO
Sunday Commercial Tribune
Walbridge
Walbridge House
Chicago
Flatboat
The
Teche
Memphis
Atkins’ Landing
M. C
J. Somes
Babbagé
Vidalia
Edieu
Bubba
Wesker
Lynch
Acadian
Baton Rouge
Canada
Postoffice
Orose
Tennessee
New River Canyon
Robert H. Miller
Hinton, W. Va
Hymen
New York Sun
Cupid
the Atkinson Band
Lewiston Evening Journal
Tall Man
Short Man
Kings of the Pike
Chicago Times-Herald
Rehoboth Sunday Herald
Atlanta Constitution
Hood
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