Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

William, who had been purchased by the Flints, grew to detest the family that owned him. During childhood, he struggled with understanding whom to view as the greater authority—the Flints or his father. Harriet’s and William’s father died a year after they had been bought.

In Dr. Flint’s household, slaves were barely fed. Harriet’s grandmother fed her, but when her owners found out, they threatened her with punishment for going to her grandmother’s house, so Martha would stand at her gate to hand off Harriet’s breakfast and dinner with haste. Meanwhile, the $300 that Martha had lent her mistress to purchase a silver candelabra was never repaid. The mistress died, and Dr. Flint, her son-in-law and executor, refused to acknowledge the debt. Additionally, Dr. Flint told Martha that, despite her mistress’s promise to free her upon her death, she would, in fact, be sold during a private sale. He chose this method to spare her the indignity of being put on an auction block. Martha refused this offer, insisting that the public, which respected her, should see that Dr. Flint was putting her up for auction.

As she had predicted, as soon as she stood on the auction block, prospective buyers screamed words of condemnation at the sight of her being sold. No one placed on a bid on her except the elderly sister of Martha’s late mistress, who had resolved to protect Martha from slavery. No one else bid on Martha, allowing her former mistress’s sister to buy her for $50. Shortly thereafter, she gave the 50-year-old Martha her freedom.

A few weeks after Harriet had been brought to live with the Flints, Dr. Flint ordered one of the field slaves to be taken to the work house and whipped. Rumors floated around among the slaves: The punished field slave may have stolen corn or he may have accused Flint of being the father of his wife’s very fair child. Several months later, Dr. Flint arranged for the couple to be sold. The enslaved woman confronted Flint, who had promised to “treat [her] well” (29). Flint chastised her for letting it out that he had fathered her child, a crime for a slave.

Dr. Flint owned “a fine residence in town, several farms, and about fifty slaves, besides hiring a number by the year” (31). Hiring day in the antebellum South was traditionally on New Year’s Day. The following day, slaves went to live with their new masters. On one New Year’s Day, Harriet saw a mother go to the auction block with her seven children—all of whom were sold. By nightfall, all of the children had been traded far away, and the trader refused to tell their mother their whereabouts.

Two years after Harriet entered Dr. Flint’s family, her uncle Benjamin had grown into “a tall, handsome lad, strongly and gracefully made, and with a spirit too bold and daring for a slave” (34). William, her brother, was now 12. Like his uncle, he detested having a master. Flint’s son, Master Nicholas, relished the opportunity to flog William; he also sent William to buy fruit from an old man with pennies that he rubbed with quicksilver to pass them off as quarters.

Dr. Flint told Harriet that she “was made for his use” (34). Occasionally, Dr. Flint received offers to buy Harriet but refused them, claiming that Harriet did not belong to him but to his daughter.

One day, Benjamin got into a fight with his master—one of the wealthiest men in the town—and threw him to the ground. He decided to run away to the North. Harriet knew that he was right to leave, but also knew that the decision would break her grandmother’s heart. Though she knew the details, Harriet did not describe how Benjamin did it: “[i]t is not necessary to state how he made his escape” (40). Benjamin attempted to go to New York, but his boat got caught in a storm and had to dock in the nearest port. Benjamin was alarmed that the captain of the vessel would see a notice about his escape—and he was right. The captain seized the fugitive slave and placed him in chains. As the boat continued on to New York, Benjamin managed to get out of his chains. He escaped from the boat, but was later found and returned to his master.

Harriet and her grandmother knew the jailer and, therefore, were allowed to visit Benjamin. He confessed that, when he was captured, he thought about jumping in the river, but thoughts of his mother prevented him from committing suicide. When Martha asked if he had also thought of God, Benjamin fiercely declared that, having been relegating to the status of a beast, he had long forgotten about God and heaven. Martha encouraged him to humble himself before his master, but Benjamin balked at asking forgiveness. He declared that he’d stay in prison until either he died or his master sold him.

After three weeks, Martha asked Benjamin’s master, but the slave owner decided that Benjamin would stay in jail, where he would serve as an example while the master tried to sell him. For three months, no one offered to purchase Benjamin. When someone heard Benjamin singing and laughing, his master ordered the overseer to place Benjamin in a vermin-infested cell with other prisoners. Benjamin, once again, worked himself out of his chains and passed them through the bars, with the instruction that they should be delivered to his master. The audacious act was met by placing Benjamin in heavier chains. Harriet and her grandmother were also forbidden opportunities to visit. Still, Martha sent Benjamin fresh clothes.

After another three months, a slave trader purchased Benjamin for $300. Martha contacted a man she knew in New Orleans, asking him to purchase Benjamin. Meanwhile, Benjamin escaped again from slavery, this time sailing toward Baltimore, where his pale skin allowed him to pass for White. Benjamin continued on to New York where he met his brother Phillip, who had gone there “on business for his mistress” (46). He tried to convince Phillip to stay and work so that they could buy their enslaved relatives, but Phillip refused, saying that he couldn’t desert their mother. Moreover, Martha had offered her house as collateral to buy Benjamin. This news made Benjamin indignant. He refused to allow his mother to give up his house to purchase him. He suggested that she buy Phillip instead.

When Phillip returned home, he delivered the news that Benjamin was living free in New York. Eventually, Martha bought Phillip for $800 and brought home his bill of sale.

Harriet turned 15 years old—”a sad epoch in the life of a slave girl” (48). Dr. Flint became sexually aggressive toward her and she grew heavy with worry. Other slaves pitied her, but they were forbidden to speak.

Still, Harriet had the protection of her grandmother, who had once chased a White man away “with a loaded pistol” because he had spoken inappropriately to one of her daughters (50). Also, Dr. Flint was afraid of Martha. Her elevated status in the community meant that his depravity could become public.