Mobile in Mobile County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Wallace Turnage

Photographed By Mark Hilton, July 26, 2015

1. Wallace Turnage Marker

Inscription. In 1864, Wallace Turnage, a seventeen year old slave was owned by a merchant, Collier Minge, whose house stood on this site. Turnage escaped wartime Mobile by walking 25 miles down the western shore of Mobile Bay. After surviving three weeks in the Fowl River estuary, he paddled a row boat into the Bay. In late August, 1864, he was taken to Fort Gaines and freed. Turnage's heroic emancipation was one of the most dramatic for African Americans in the Civil War. He later lived in New York City where he wrote his rare narrative, discovered in 2003 and published in 2007 in the book, A Slave No More . Through bravery and determination on this, his fifth attempt to escape, Turnage seized his own freedom.

Erected 2009 by The African-American Heritage Trail of Mobile. (Marker Number 8.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • War, US Civil • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Dora Franklin Finley African-American Heritage Trail of Mobile series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1864.

Location. 30° 41.426′ N, 88° 2.626′ W. Marker is in Mobile, Alabama, in Mobile County. Marker is at the intersection of Conti Street and South Joachim Street

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, on the right when traveling west on Conti Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 260 Conti Street, Mobile AL 36602, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. On this Spot Woodrow Wilson Said: (a few steps from this marker); Nicola Marschall Residence (within shouting distance of this marker); Saenger Theatre (within shouting distance of this marker); WALA-TV, Channel 10 (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Mobile City Limits (about 400 feet away); Portier House (about 400 feet away); Government Street Presbyterian Church (about 400 feet away); Le Marquis de Lafayette visited Mobile (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mobile.

Also see . . .
1. A Slave’s Audacious Bid For Freedom. (Submitted on July 28, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
2. C-Span video about Turnage book. (Submitted on July 28, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Former location of Collier Minge house. image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mark Hilton, July 26, 2015

2. Former location of Collier Minge house.

View from marker towards South Joachim Street. image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mark Hilton, July 26, 2015

3. View from marker towards South Joachim Street.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 20, 2022. It was originally submitted on July 28, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,520 times since then and 96 times this year. Last updated on March 20, 2022, by Daniel Eisenberg of Boca Raton, Florida. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 28, 2015, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.