The Heroic Slave

This fictionalized account of major events in the life of Madison Washington, a slave from Virginia, is told as a series of episodes in which Madison Washington meets with a fictional narrator "Mr. Listwell," who first becomes converted to the abolitionist cause by hearing Washington speak, later helps him to escape to Canada, and finally meets him again as he is boarding the ship "Creole" as a slave again, and provides him with 3 files to saw off his chains. Little is known of the real Madison Washington except that he managed to escape to Canada but could not rest there with thoughts of his wife as a slave. Returning to Virginia to rescue her, he tried to make contact with her but they were discovered and soon recaptured. In Douglass' story she was killed but in other accounts she reappeared on the slave ship "Creole" and was eventually reunited with Washington on the ship. On Nov. 7, 1841 he led a slave revolt on the "Creole," took over as its captain, sailed to British waters and landed at Nassau where all the slaves were eventually freed.