I live in northern Kentucky and work in Cincinnati, so I cross the Ohio River every day, along with thousands (or tens of thousands) of others, some going north like me, but many heading south. It's not a big deal; I've even walked home from work many times, a distance of about 2.5 miles.
150+ years ago, however, even that short distance was much longer than it seemed, at least for many African-Americans. The Ohio River was an unofficial border between the slave state of Kentucky and the free state of Ohio (as well as Indiana and Illinois - check out a map - Kentucky has a long northern border along the Ohio.)
If a slave tried to run away, oftentimes reaching the Ohio River, with stations on the Underground Railroad along its banks, north and south, was a major goal and milestone. It did not guarantee safety - Cincinnati was not the most progressive city regarding racial relations (some people even today say Cincinnati is like part of Kentucky, while others claim Northern Kentucky is more like Cincinnati than the rest of the state) and if escaping slaves could cross the river, so could slave catchers.
Nonetheless, it was an important boundary between North and South, free and slave, and it made cities like Cincinnati and Louisville into important trading ports. The border along the Ohio River was a key reason Abraham Lincoln considered keeping Kentucky in the Union to be so important. If the Confederates could set up defenses along the lower banks of the river, they could devastate Union trade in the west, prevent Union forces from penetrating the Deep South in the West (think Vicksburg, Shiloh, Corinth, Nashville among the key southern cities in this theater) and perhaps have a launching pad for attacking the Illinois, Indiana, Ohio or other Northern states with more than an occasional John Hunt Morgan raid.
Despite this, I cross this river twice a day and until today never really thought about it in a historical context. Does it make sense for me to try to picture escaping slaves (like Margaret Garner for one famous, though unsuccessful, example) while I'm in an air-conditioned (in the summer, heated in the winter) bus? Should it help me appreciate my good fortune or to understand better the differences between now and the past? How many African Americans would have absolutely loved to have safe, reliable transportation from my beloved Kentucky into Ohio or another northern state?
To me, the Ohio River is just a piece of everyday life, nothing really special or noteworthy, except for an occasional flood. Historically, however, this was a key border, a major crossing point, a place of hope for people to try to reach freedom, to escape bondage, to try to have some control over their lives. It is not a famous battlefield of dozens or hundreds of acres, with monuments and gift shops and tourists taking pictures. It is simply a wonder of Nature that human mapmakers once used as a separation point of what we call states, and which continues to flow southwards, just as it did 150 years ago. It has no mind or desires or other human emotions, but steadfastly flows until it reaches the mighty Mississippi. Yet this river, one of many throughout the country, even as constituted in 1865 and before, was very important, as a border into potential freedom and as a goal, to countless people who wanted to better their lives.
I often wonder what it would be like to live near a really famous battlefield like Gettysburg or Antietam or Shiloh. My appreciation for Perryville grows as I understand it more, but even that is a couple of hours away.
Yet here is an important place, just a few minutes from my home, that absolutely played a role in 19th century America and in the slavery controversy that at least contributed (though I believe caused) the bloody Civil War.
This is a perspective I had not considered before. I'm sure I'll think about it more often now, as I routinely cross this border so frequently and easily.
I was talking about this today, my other half and I were cross the river down, going into Indiana I said over 100's of years ago slaves were leaving KY to get to ohio but I could not remember why, I said I wonder were they crossed at, so your article pretty much covered all that but were did they cross at do you know that by any chance.
ReplyDeleteAfter my husband died in 2018, I bought a Chevy cargo van, gutted it, remade it into a "camper" and followed the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers. At the age of 73, I wanted to follow the routes that my historically remarkable ancestors had followed. Especially John Schofield (maternal), US Grant (paternal), and Rev. John Witherspoon Scott (paternal)--all first cousins 3, 3, and 4x removed. JW Scott (1800-1892), who had founded Oxford Women's Institute so his daughter, Caroline Lavinia Scott (married to President Benjamin Harrison) could graduate from College. He was an abolitionist who owned a station in Mt. Healthy, Ohio (now Mt. Pleasant). It is located at 7603 Hamilton Avenue and is on the North College Hill. I tried to find where the slaves crossed the river, but I believe it might have been just north of where the steamboats landed in Cincinnati. I read an account, somewhere, that Cincinnati had Germans (the largest number of immigrants), Irish (who were brought in by the Catholic church to build a church and seminary because the Germans were dying of cholera) and runaway slaves all landing in huge numbers at once. I guess it's possible that they crossed wherever they could, and it might have been wherever they could be "guaranteed" safety. However, Cincinnati is a long way, south of Mt. Healthy. So, they had to have support on their way there. I was frustrated not to find historical markers where I looked. Also, it was a million degrees, a giant electrical storm was coming and the traffic went nuts in the rain, so I moved along toward Grant's home. If you learn the exact crossing places, I'd like to add it to my agenda if I can get back there. By the way, I am now working on a book about a slave on our family tree who sued the estate of her master and father of her children (in Texas) for his plantation and won in local courts. She lost in the Supreme court. She had walked to Texas from Alabama. I have a website https://maryejaffe.com where you can see more.
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