Emilie Amt

Historian

Slave Resistance at Antietam Iron Works

African-American History, Blog / by / 2 Comments

Slave resistance has a long and honored history in our nation. Leaders like Nat Turner and Denmark Vesey, who planned armed uprisings, are famous figures in black history. Resistance took other forms, too, from verbal confrontation to work slowdowns to sabotage. The historical record shows that all these forms of resistance happened in Washington County, Maryland. The most dramatic example was a slave uprising—or something like an uprising—at the Antietam Iron Works near Sharpsburg, in about 1836.

Head on over to the Tolson’s Chapel website to read my guest blog post there about this little-known episode of Washington County history.

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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