How did it work?
The Underground Railroad was an organization that worked secretly and quickly. At that time, trains were gaining popularity. The Underground Railroad decided to take advantage of this and use trains to transport the slaves. It was literally a railroad network. They had them going all throughout the colonies and up into Canada. There were even a few routes that led to Mexico and Florida. The railroad use reached its peak in the 1850's. By that time some 100,000 slaves escaped using the Underground Railroad. Although, only about 1,000 slaves escaped in a year. Only about half of the slaves that escaped where noticed. Most escaped without their masters noticing.
"The battle was fought less with guns than with secret codes, maps, midnight journeys, disguises and deception. (The Underground Railroad:a Primary Source of History of the Journey of Freedom, Philip Wolny)"
They would sneak out in the middle of the night, and only took what they had or what they could carry on their backs. Most time they just took their families and nothing else. They could even get out in broad daylight if their masters weren't looking. They would use codes as ways to pass messages between two places. Some could be as simple as a telegram, or it could be a quilt that has some symbols on it that all slaves understood. They would have places called "safe houses" where slaves could safely stay so that nobody would find them. They usually had basements or secret rooms that were well hidden. While some rode trains to get to their freedom, most walked in groups of 2-3. routes would never be direct so that if someone were to follow them and they did not have a map, they would get lost. So, paths were not clear and were usually covered with greenery. and if they did not have shoes, they could get diseases or, if it was cold, frostbite.
They had certain terminology that they used.
"The battle was fought less with guns than with secret codes, maps, midnight journeys, disguises and deception. (The Underground Railroad:a Primary Source of History of the Journey of Freedom, Philip Wolny)"
They would sneak out in the middle of the night, and only took what they had or what they could carry on their backs. Most time they just took their families and nothing else. They could even get out in broad daylight if their masters weren't looking. They would use codes as ways to pass messages between two places. Some could be as simple as a telegram, or it could be a quilt that has some symbols on it that all slaves understood. They would have places called "safe houses" where slaves could safely stay so that nobody would find them. They usually had basements or secret rooms that were well hidden. While some rode trains to get to their freedom, most walked in groups of 2-3. routes would never be direct so that if someone were to follow them and they did not have a map, they would get lost. So, paths were not clear and were usually covered with greenery. and if they did not have shoes, they could get diseases or, if it was cold, frostbite.
They had certain terminology that they used.
- People who helped them find safe houses where called "Agents"
- Guides were known as "Conductors"
- Free blacks that helped other slaves escape were called "Abductors"
- Safe houses were called "Stations"
- The people who owned the safe houses were called the "station master"
- Slaves were referred to as "cargo"