1847

The Great Dismal Swamp was more than just a geographical feature on the North Carolina and Virginia landscape; it was a symbol of resistance and a haven for maroons – self-liberated enslaved people who had carved out lives of freedom within its dense confines. 

Recognizing this persistent challenge to the institution of slavery, North Carolina enacted targeted legislation aimed at dismantling these communities. In 1847, the state passed "A Bill to Provide for the Apprehension of Runaway Slaves, in the Great Dismal Swamp Bill, and for Other Purposes." 

This law wasn't a general decree about enslaved people; it specifically focused on those who sought refuge and labored within the swamp's seemingly impenetrable boundaries – many of whom had come from Orange County and its surrounding areas. 

“People are responding to the fact that slaves are running away into the Great Dismal Swamp,” said Dr. Arwin Smallwood, Professor Emeritus at North Carolina Central University. “If they want to come out of the swamp and attack a plantation or seize some goods, they take them and then go back into the swamp. It's very difficult to track them in the swamp because they can't use dogs."

This fear of disruption and the challenge to the established social order likely prompted North Carolina to take direct legislative action against the swamp communities. The bill aimed to penetrate the natural defenses of the Dismal Swamp and reassert control over those who had escaped bondage.

This targeted law likely intensified the dangers faced by the maroon communities. While the swamp offered natural protection, specific legislation authorizing and incentivizing the capture of individuals within its borders increased the presence of slave catchers and patrols in and around the swamp.

"Certainly, it will lead to the destruction of some large maroon communities in the swamp and the capture and enslavement of what were former slaves – in some instances, who had run away and, in some cases, generationally have been living in the swamps," Smallwood said.

While Orange County was further inland, the legislation of 1847 reflects the pervasive anxieties about enslaved people seeking freedom that permeated the entire state. The very need for such a specific law targeting a distant swamp underscores the determination of enslaved people to resist the brutal system and the lengths to which the state would go to maintain control.