Pogue's Runaway Slave

Runaway Slave 

If you recall from my last blog, Col. Robert Pogue brought a black servant named David with him when he came to Fort Amanda in 1812. 

Pogue a wealthy tobacco farmer owned 11 slaves at the time. Ten years later on Tuesday, January 22, 1822, David walked away from the Pogue farm without permission and without telling anyone. He traveled 12 miles south as far as Flemingsburg, Ky. when, for whatever reason, he decided he wanted to return to home. When got to Flemingsburg, he went straight to the home of a man named James K. Bunch, who happened to be a friend of Col Pogue. Fearing some sort of reprisal from Pogue, David asked Bunch to intercede on his behalf. Bunch did so in the form of a letter (below).


Davids Journey from Mayslick to Flemingsburg, Ky. A Distance of 12 Miles

Presbyterian Church - Flemingsburg, Ky.  Built 1819

  Flemingsburg, January 22, 1822
My dear friend

Your black man, David just visited at my house, and solicited me to give him a pass to return home. He says he left home this morning without your permission or knowledge. He declares to me that it is his desire and intention to return home this evening. He fears chastisement for his conduct. He appears penitent. He promises future obedience and submission. He begs me to intercede for him.
My dear friend will you forgive him. Make trial I doubt not but he deserves chastisement, but perhaps his promises are sincere. Perhaps he will keep them. Alas! How often has we disobeyed, offended and run away from our Master in Heaven. And how often has he kindly forgiven us.
May the Lord God of …… bless you and your dear companion and children and servants.
Yours most sincerely and affectionately
James K. Bunch
My dear brother in Christ If I have done wrong you will forgive
Flemingsburg, January 22, 1822
My dear friend

 

Until I found this letter, the only thing I knew about David was his name. Now after reading and re-reading it several times, I've made a few observations readers might find interesting. First of all, my best guess is that David was between 15 - 20 when he came to Ft. Amanda as Col. Pogue's servant in 1813. I say that because Pogue needed someone old enough and strong enough to perform physical labor and withstand the rigors of camp life compared to an older man who might not be able to. This would then mean that when the events in the letter took place, David may have been between 20 and 25. If he was married, that could help explain his change of heart and wanting to return home. At this point, my obsession for details kicked in and I had to now how the escape took place, including the time. But first the following needed to be taken into consideration:

1: The moon phase the night of Jan. 22, 1822 was a waning crescent meaning there was very little light from the moon that night. It was perfect for someone trying to travel unnoticed.

2: There was only about 11 hours of daylight on this date. (7 AM to 6 PM)

3: It was the middle of Winter, cold with possible snow and ice on the ground.

4. It was 12 miles from the Pogue farm near Mayslick to Flemingsburg, Ky.

5: David wanted to return that same day and if he wanted to be home by 6, he'd have to leave Flemingsburg by 2 that afternoon.

Taking all this into consideration, I created the following scenario of what Davids escape may have looked like showing that David left the Pogue farm shortly after midnight on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 22, 1822.

I believe David left the Pogue farm shortly after midnight on Tuesday morning. He knew there was only a 7 hour window of darkness between midnight and daybreak at 7 o'clock AM. David knew he had to travel after dark to avoid capture either by Pogues men or even worse by slave hunters. There was very little moonlight that night so he had to travel slowly to avoid stepping in holes, ditches, etc., plus there may have been snow and ice covering the road. He also had to walk slowly to avoid working up a sweat, getting wet and risk pneumonia or even worse, freezing to death. Somewhere along the way David, for whatever reason decided he wanted to return home. He knew that at daybreak, Pogue would be alerted to his being missing so he had to get to Flemingsburg before daylight. Allowing 5 hours for slow travel and rest stops, my guess is he arrived at the Bunch home around 5:00 that morning meaning Bunch was probably still in bed. He knew that James Bunch, who lived there was a friend of Pogue otherwise he wouldn't have gone there. Bunch would have known David as well otherwise he may not have let him into his home, especially at that hour of the night. Once inside, the two men talked for about an hour during which David made clear that he wanted to come home and he wouldn't try to escape again. Bunch then penned the letter to Pogue. David had requested that he be allowed to return home that day and they both knew that if that if he was to be home by dark David would have to leave Flemingsburg no later than 2 o'clock that afternoon. By this time it would be approaching 7 o'clock in the morning. Bunch would have made arrangements for a rider on horseback to deliver the letter to Pogue. Leaving Flemingsburg around 6:30 AM, the rider would have gotten to Pogues farm around 9 o'clock. Assuming Pogue got the message right away, he would have written Bunch a brief note, given it to the rider and sent him back to Flemingsburg around 9:30 AM. Arriving back in Flemingsburg around noon, Bunch would have shared Pogue's response. Assuming it was favorable, David probably left the Bunch home shortly after noon and arrived back in Mayslick between 4 and 5 o'clock that afternoon. If Jane Pogue's Last Will and Testament is any indication of the Pogue family's relationship with their servants, I feel certain that while David may have received some sort of reprimand, it wasn't too harsh.

A lot of time and thought went into creating this timeline and I may be totally off base, but by doing so, rather than looking at the letter as just an old letter about a run away slave, it's helped give me a better perception and more appreciation for all this man went through.

Note: interesting that Bunch refers to David as a "black man," and a few years earlier, in 1813 Pogue referred to David as his "servant." Neither used the term "slave." In addition, the second line in Pogues wife will that money be put aside to secure the freedom of "Charles Canterbury." Again, there was mention of the word, slave or servant. Was it because David and the others had lived with the Pogues for so many years, they were considered more as servants rather than slaves per se. In addition, when I located the old Pogue graveyard in an overgrown woods in Kentucky in 2000, we learned that some of the family "servants" were buried in the same family grave yard.