A Beacon to Freedom

A Beacon to Freedom. . , Due west of the beach, across Delaware Bay, were the slave states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The lighthouse, erected in 1859 near the site of two earlier ones, was a true beacon to enslaved people across the bay. Many braved the currents to reach the free state of New Jersey, landing in Cape May. , William Still, a Philadelphia-based, African American abolitionist, businessman, historian and civil rights activist, often called the Father of the Underground Railroad, interviewed hundreds of escaped enslaved people. In his book, Underground Railroad Records, he details two accounts from 1858 and 1860 respectively, of freedom seekers landing at this beach: Crossing the Bay in a Skiff and Crossing the Bay in a Batteau. In the latter, Still detailed the bravery of Thomas Sipple and wife, Mary Ann, Henry Burkett and Elizabeth, his wife, John Purnell and Hale Burton -- six freedom seekers setting out from Kunkletown near Worcester County, Maryland. “The Delaware Bay lay between them and the Jersey shore, which the desired to reach. They managed to find out the direction of the shore, and about the length of time that it might take them to reach it. Undaunted by the perils before them the party repaired to the bay, and at ten o’clock P.M. embarked direct for the other shore… They did not calculate, however, that before leaving the Delaware shore they would have to contend with the enemy. Near Kate’s Hammock on the Delaware shore, they were attacked by five white men in a small boat.” After coming to blows, the freedom seekers escaped, bloodied from oars and wounded by gunshot. Yet, they rowed away vigorously and finally landed on the Jersey beach. In the morning they walked about a mile and found an oyster boat captain who offered to take them to Philadelphia. “When they found the captain, they were not far from the Cape May light-house,” wrote Still.