National Harbor in Fort Washington in Prince George's County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Emancipation in Maryland
Photographed by Richard E. Miller, June 24, 2014
1. Emancipation in Maryland Marker
On November 1, 1864, new provisions of the Maryland State Constitution brought freedom to the enslaved people of Maryland after 200 years of bondage. Article 24 stated,
That hereafter, in this State, there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except in punishment of crime and all persons held to service or labor as slaves, are hereby free.
Though enslaved people in the states that seceded from the Union had been freed in 1863, the Lincoln Emancipation Proclamation allowed loyal states like Maryland to continue slavery. While many opposed emancipation in Maryland, when put to a public vote it passed. Most slaveholders would not be compensated, as they had demanded, for the resulting loss of their slaves. The first actions of the newly freed as they began to build lives in freedom were to find and reunite with lost family members who had been sold or who had escaped from slavery.
[Captions:]
Twenty-eight Fugitives Escaping from the Eastern Shore of Maryland Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Reproduction of an ad in the Washington, DC, newspaper, National Intelligencer - Courtesy of the Archives of Someplace
Maryland Free!
Slavery Forever AbolishedProclamation of Gov. Bradford The New Constitution Adopted The Soldiers Votes Opinion of the Governor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
Emancipation by Thomas Nast, ca. 1865. Wood engraving printed in black and rose. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Erected 2014 by Tanger Outlets: Experience Salubria.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Industry & Commerce • War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is November 1895.
Location. 38° 47.566′ N, 77° 0.196′ W. Marker is in Fort Washington, Maryland, in Prince George's County. It is in the National Harbor. It can be reached from Oxon Hill Road (Maryland Route 414) 0.3 miles south of Harborview Avenue, on the left when traveling south. Marker is in the Salubria Memorial Garden at the southwest corner of the Tanger Outlet Mall. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7100 Oxon Hill Rd, Oxon Hill MD 20745, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Dr. John H. Bayne of Salubria Prince of Horticulture (here, next to this marker); Dr. John H. Bayne: A Leader In His Community (a few steps from this marker); Slavery in the Potomac Valley (within shouting
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), May 7, 2025
2. Emancipation in Maryland Marker
Unfortunately the marker has experienced weather damage.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Judah and Resistance (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been confirmed missing).
Photographed by Allen C. Browne, April 14, 2018
3. Emancipation in Maryland Marker
Internet Archive
4. Twenty-eight Fugitives Escaping from the Eastern Shore of Maryland
From The Underground Rail Road by William Still, 1872.
Library of Congress
5. Emancipation
Wood engraving by Thomas Nast, ca. 1865, printed in black and rose.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 7, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 16, 2014, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 843 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 16, 2014, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 2. submitted on May 7, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3. submitted on May 10, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 4, 5. submitted on April 20, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
