By Mike Simmons
In 1844, Pensacola was a southern town which was deep in the middle of the slavery issue of the day. Like most southern towns, some slaves lived in Pensacola, but not as many as a lot of places in the South. Because Pensacola was different from most southern towns – mostly due to the presence of the military – pro-slavery sentiments abounded. A few of the wealthy landowners owned many slaves, upward near 60. Most of those who did have slaves owned only 1 or 2. The vast majority of the city’s residents did not own any slaves. Many were vehemently opposed to the idea of one human being owning another.
Jonathan Walker was a white man who lived in Pensacola and opposed slavery. Walker, originally from Massachusetts, was a devout Christian who did not believe that one person should own another one, despite that it happened in Biblical times.
On June 22, 1844, Walker boarded a boat occupied by several black men. The destination was Nassau, The Bahamas, where the men would find freedom – thanks to Walker. Even though slaves regularly came and went throughout Pensacola, the discovery of the slaves’ disappearance caused fingers to be pointed at law enforcement. The June 29 edition of the Pensacola Gazette issued a scathing editorial criticizing the Pensacola police for not catching the slaves before they boarded the boat.
Of course, sailing in the warm waters of the Gulf in July caused many of the men to be ill, making for a long and turbulent journey. Further, on July 8, the boat was stopped and boarded by the captain and crew of the schooner Eliza Catharine. Believing that Walker was stealing slaves, the captain escorted the boat to Key West, where he appeared before a magistrate. He was ordered to be returned to Pensacola to stand trial. He arrived in Pensacola on July 19, met by Deputy U. S. Marshal James Gonzales, who Walker said treated him humanely.
Stealing property, or escorting people to their freedom – which was it? Walker was convinced that the courts would have no choice but to see that a person’s freedom is more important than another person’s property. He was wrong. After half an hour, the jury came back with a verdict of guilty. The sentence was unusual in today’s terms. Walker received from the judge fifteen days imprisonment, he was locked in the pillory (wooden stock) and exposed to rotten eggs and garbage for an hour and have “SS” for Slave Stealer branded into the palm of his right hand. He was also ordered to pay a $150 fine.
The accepted practice for the hour in the pillory was to cover the head of the accused. As Walker’s head was being covered, the owner of two of the men who escaped – George Willis – pulled off the cover and threw rotten eggs at him. After his hour, he washed up and was taken to the courtroom. His hand was tied to a post and U. S. Marshal Ebenezer Dorr sizzled the brand onto his palm for 20 seconds, while a silent Walker remained still. The prisoner was then sentenced to be incarcerated for 15 days. The trial made national news. The case of Jonathan Walker occurred during a time when it was assumed that the majority of northerners were against slavery, while it appeared that most southerners were pro-slavery, Once again, Pensacola was not typical. Protests against the arrest and sentence of Walker soon took place throughout the town. The basis of the protests was that slaves are people and should not be bought and sold as property and that Walker’s efforts to assist another person to freedom was more important than a person losing property.
A book entitled The Branded Hand; The Trial and Imprisonment of Jonathan Walker was written by the prisoner and enjoyed immense popularity nationwide, as did a poem entitled The Man with the Branded Hand – written by John Greenleaf. These brought national attention to Walker, to the case, and to Pensacola.
Jonathan Walker, a man of great discipline, had a habit that benefits us today. He kept a daily journal of his experiences and being in the Pensacola prison was no different. An interesting entry is the description of the jail: “The jail is a brick building of two stories, about eighteen by thirty-six feet, having upon each floor two rooms, the lower part for the occupation of the prisoners, and the upper part for the jailer’s family. The rooms for the prisoners are fifteen to sixteen feet square, with double doors, and two small grated windows from six to eight feet from the lower floor. Overhead is a single board floor, which but little obstructs the noise of the upper part from being distinctly heard below, and vice versa.”
On February 5, 1846 (1½ years after his trial and sentence), Walker was still in prison! A friend smuggled a pickaxe into him. Using it, he escaped, but was caught. His fine was paid, and he left Pensacola, never to return.
Interesting…