Center City East in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Ona Judge Seizes Her Freedom
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Hercules Flees to Freedom
| | Enslaved People at the President's House | |
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 25, 2026
1. Ona Judge Seizes Her Freedom / Hercules Flees to Freedom Marker
Ona Judge Seizes Her Freedom
After Ona Judge escaped from Philadelphia, Washington attempted to recapture her. He found out where she was when a friend of Martha Washington's granddaughter happened to encounter Judge in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Washington wrote to the collector of customs in Portsmouth, requesting that he apprehend Judge and send her back.
The customs official declined to do so after speaking with Judge. Two years later, Washington asked his secretary and nephew, Burwell Bassett, Jr., to seize Judge and her child, born since her escape. Bassett confided his intentions to John Langdon, the governor of New Hampshire, while dining with him, but Langdon sent a warning to Judge. She escaped yet again and fled the town with her child. Near the end of her life, when Judge was old and had outlived all of her family, people who spoke with her were impressed by her dignity, her faith in God, and her abiding love of freedom.
Hercules Flees to Freedom
As the Washington's chef, Hercules maintained strict discipline in the kitchen and President Washington allowed Hercules to sell the leftovers from state banquets. With this income, Hercules improved his wardobe. He was seen in clothing made of linen "of exceptional whiteness and quality" with black silk breeches, waistcoat, and stocking. Donning a blue coat with a velvet collar and bright metal buttons, Hercules was known to enjoy his "evening promenade" in Philadelphia with a gold-headed cane in hand.
In 1791, Hercules knew that he was beingsent home to Virginia the following February to avoid gaining his freedom legally through Pennsylvania's Gradual Abolition Act. When Hercules' son Richmond was caught stealing at Mount Vernon in the summer of 1796, Washington took the precaution to leave Hercules in Virginia. While Washington was enjoying his birthday in Philadelphia the next February, it was reported that Hercules went missing from Mount Vernon. Despite efforts to locate and recapture him, Hercules remained free.
[Captions:]
Artist's rendering of Ona Judge
Hercules would have cooked on an open hearth like the one in this typical 18th century kitchen. Illustration from A History of the United States by Henry Eldridge Bourne and Elbert Jay Benton, 1921.
Erected 2026
this page online
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Law Enforcement. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #01 George Washington series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1791.
Location. 39° 57.017′ N, 75° 9.001′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in Center City East. It is on South Independence Mall West. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 101 S Independence Mall W, Philadelphia PA 19106, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, New Netherland, and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: History Lost & Found
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 25, 2026
2. Markers at the President's House Site that replaced The Dirty Business of Slavery
Other markers no longer nearby. "Freedom might be too great a temptation" (was here, next to this marker but has been permanently removed); Life Under Slavery (was here, next to this marker but has been permanently removed); " is hereby empowered to sieze such Fugitives" (was here, next to this marker but has been permanently removed); a different marker also named The President's House Site (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Additional commentary.
1. About the marker as propaganda
The marker acts as propaganda by framing George Washington's direct, persistent actions to hunt down and re-enslave human beings as polite "requests" or routine "precautions," sanitizing the violence of chattel slavery into a civil dispute. By dwelling on Hercules's fine clothes, gold-headed cane, and "evening promenades," it highlights the superficial privileges allowed by his enslaver to paint a false picture of benevolent, harmonious servitude. Ultimately, this framing shifts the narrative focus to Washington's leniency and high-society aesthetics rather than the systemic oppression and illegitimacy of enslavement itself.
— Submitted July 28, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
Additional keywords. human trafficking; self-emancipation
Credits. This page was last revised on July 30, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 28, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 7 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 28, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
