Janesville residents refuse to turn over a fugitive slave in 1861.

He Came for the Slave. Janesville's War-Time History Recalled by the Death of William A. Eager.


An unidentified Janesville resident here recalls the attempt of a Kentucky slave owner to force an escaped slave named Sam back into submission, just before the outbreak of the Civil War. Sam had found work in the Janesville blacksmith shop of William Eager, who helped rally a crowd that drove the slave owner and his informant out of town.


Related Topics: Wisconsin in the Civil War Era
Abolition and Other Reforms
Creator: anonymous
Pub Data: Undated newspaper article (ca. 1901) in the Wisconsin History Society Library.
Citation: "He Came for the Slave. Janesville's War-Time History Recalled by the Death of William A. Eager." Undated newspaper article (ca. 1901?) in the Wisconsin History Society Library. Online facsimile at:  http://wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=945; Visited on: 4/25/2024