Letter describing defeat of slave catchers in a battle with ten fugitives

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A wove paper letter (ab) and original envelope (c) from 13-year old Jasper L. Hall to his brother James E. Hall, describing the defeat of slave catchers in a pitched battle with ten fugitive slaves, Pennsylvania. This eight-page correspondence, written in black ink across two sheets of paper, details the successful mass escape of fugitive slaves. Some of the letter reads: "I told you bout Uncle Nedy Armstrong going after his negroes that ran away. He caught up with them and caught them. When they caught them, he had to shoot them to save his life. He shot three times. The first ball cut the skin of one of the negroes' forhead. The second ball went through his ear. The third ball missed and the negro stabed him. I am not certain whether he has got them all or not. Whether the stab that Mr.

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