Contents

ONE. A Mother’s Sorrow
TWO. Escape: April 15, 1848
THREE. Against the Tide
FOUR. Chasing the Pearl
FIVE. Capture
SIX. Back to Washington
SEVEN. Sold
EIGHT. Baltimore
NINE. New Orleans
TEN. An Unexpected Reunion
ELEVEN. $2,250: The Price of Freedom
TWELVE. Ransomed
THIRTEEN. The Trial of Captain Daniel Drayton
FOURTEEN. A Radical Education
FIFTEEN. Chaplin’s Surrender
SIXTEEN. Pardoned
SEVENTEEN. “The Last Two Drops of Blood in My Heart”
EIGHTEEN. Emily, Alone
NINETEEN. Homecoming
Time Line
The Edmonsons: A Family Tree
Sources and Notes
Bibliography
For More Information
Acknowledgments
Index

In 1848, thirteen-year-old Emily Edmonson and seventy-five other enslaved people boarded the Pearl in Washington, D.C., hoping to sail north in the largest slave escape attempt in American history. Through Edmonson's journey from enslaved person to teacher at a school for African American women, Conkling illuminates the daily lives of enslaved people.

Winifred Conkling is an award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction for young readers, including Passenger on the Pearl, Radioactive!, Votes for Women!, and the middle-grade novel Sylvia & Aki. You can find her online at winifredconkling.com.