Jonathan Walker
Biography
Jonathan Walker was a Massachusetts sea captain and abolitionist. In 1844, while sailing seven freedom seekers from Florida toward the Bahamas, his boat was captured. Charged with slave stealing and jailed for about a year, he was, after a lengthy trial, sentenced to stand in the pillory and to be branded "SS" (for "Slave Stealer") on his right hand by order of the federal court — becoming the celebrated "Man with the Branded Hand," memorialized in Whittier's poem. He spent the rest of his life lecturing against slavery. (Recorded as Captain Jonathan Walker)
Walker’s own 1845 narrative dates his capture near the Florida coast to July 8, 1844. He was taken to Key West the following afternoon, July 9, and committed when he could not provide one thousand dollars bail. After confinement at the constable’s house and soldiers’ barracks, he was transported in irons aboard the General Taylor and committed at Pensacola on July 19. These are successive places within one continuous captivity, not separate prison terms. He records conviction on four indictments on November 14 and sentencing on November 16, 1844: one hour in the pillory, branding with “SS,” fifteen days in prison, and continued detention until the one hundred fifty dollar fine and prosecution costs were paid. A second trial on May 9, 1845 led to three additional five-dollar fines, with continued custody until payment. His letter of July 12, 1845 explicitly states that friends’ payment secured his actual release on June 16. The fifteen-day imposed term does not describe his full confinement, and the former twelve-month total is not retained as an exact amount. Walker names prosecutor Walker Anderson. His account says he was kept in chains except for two and a half months of the imprisonment.
