Escaping Slaves

Thomas Nast Slavery Pictures

Thomas Nast was a staunch Abraham Lincoln supporter, defender of the Union Cause in the Civil War, and strong opponent to Slavery.  Nast used his art to show the Nation a picture of how things could be.  He created the artwork below on the topic of Slavery, in the days that Slavery was still a thriving institution in our land.  Thomas Nast's dramatic illustrations helped our Nation understand the moral outrage of slavery. The images capture the important events related to Slavery in the 1860's. The collection below contains all Slavery Artwork created by Thomas Nast during the Civil War years. Each leaf is original, and over 135 years old. This artwork was critical in helping to lead our Nation out of the Corrupt and Bankrupt Institution of Slavery, and onto a path of freedom and equality for all men.

Escaping Slaves

This is a Thomas Nast drawing of Escaping Slaves in the Civil War.  The image is an original leaf from an 1863 edition of Harper's Weekly.  The illustration shows a group of escaping slaves coming into the Union lines.  The image is captioned, "Contrabands coming into our Lines under the Proclamation". Of course, the proclamation being referenced is the Emancipation Proclamation.  The illustration is a dramatic image of former slaves getting their first taste of freedom.

Thomas Nast's Escaping Slaves Picture (Click on Image for Enlarged View)

The image shows throngs of blacks approaching the Union lines.  One young and strong black man can be seen carrying a much older frail black man, likely his father or other close relative.  The old man being carried has the look of joy on his face, and he is waving his hat in celebration. The freed slaves are carrying their processions in little bundles on the end of sticks slung over their shoulders. In the background, more black people can be seen coming.  The union soldier is holding out his hand in friendship to the approaching emancipated slaves. The image has Thomas Nast's distinctive signature in the lower right of the leaf.

We created this Thomas Nast Gallery to digitally preserve Nast's Slavery work for posterity.  We are now making the original, 140 year old leafs available for a  $250 contribution to this site.  The proceeds from the sale of the material will enable us to continue to expand the free educational material featured on our site.  Please contact paul@sonofthesouth.net if you are interested in acquiring one of these original leafs.