Emilie Amt

Historian

For Many Escaping Slavery, Hagerstown Was a Connection Point

African-American History, Press / by / Leave a Comment

by Tamela Baker, Herald Mail Media / The path to freedom for enslaved people before — and during — the Civil War was an arduous one. The goal for many was to reach the organized Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. While the journey could remain treacherous even there, at least they would have some help.

That organized effort itself didn’t necessarily include Hagerstown, but situated just below the Pennsylvania border, the city was a place of connection for some who sought to escape.

Historian Emilie Amt has been researching Black history in Hagerstown and Washington County, and has collaborated with Visit Hagerstown to create a brochure detailing the sites in the city where those connections were made.

Read the rest of the story here.

Download the Hagerstown Underground Railroad walking tour brochure.

About Emilie Amt

Emilie Amt is a retired professor of history. From 1998 to 2021 she held the Hildegarde Pilgram Chair of History at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. She earned a B.A. in medieval studies from Swarthmore College and a D.Phil. in modern history from Oxford University. Her current research focuses on nineteenth-century African American history in western Maryland.

Her forthcoming book about African American experiences of the Battle of Antietam will be published in summer 2022 by The History Press. She is also working on a history of slavery in Washington County, Maryland. A medieval historian by training, she has published books and articles on medieval religious women and English government, war, and finance. Her books include college textbooks and scholarly editions of Latin texts.

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