Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp

For generations, self-emancipated people build hidden communities deep in the Great Dismal Swamp, living beyond the reach of slaveholders.

Historians debate aspects of this entry. See the methodology for how contested history is handled.

Resources

Self-sufficient maroon communities hid in the Great Dismal Swamp for ten generations.

Dismal Freedom — Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp

Virginia Museum of History & Culture

Communities of self-emancipated people in the swamp.

Connections to other moments, systems, and investigations — the links rarely drawn together.

led to·Thread
The Underground Railroad
Maroon networks of escape and concealment foreshadowed the routes and tactics of the Underground Railroad.

Maroon networks of escape and concealment foreshadowed the routes and tactics of the Underground Railroad.