I’m amazed at how long the Maroon community of the Great Dismal Swamp lasted. This huge wetland was more than just a stop on the Underground Railroad to the free northern states and Canada. Indeed, this watery colony within North Carolina & Virginia existed well before the antebellum abolitionist. It can be said the Maroons had an “official” beginning in the fall of 1730 as a result of the Chesapeake Uprising. However, displaced Native people, European indentured servants, and enslaved Africans found refuge there as early as the mid to late 1600’s. We may have commemorated our nation’s 250th anniversary. Yet, a free society was already established a half a century before an enslaver wrote a Declaration of Indepenence.
I am amazed that neither the colonial or state govenments overcame and captured the world of the Maroons. It was no secret that they existed. Enslaving societies on both ends of the Swamp reported on bandits raiding nearby plantations and storehouses. There was a fear these “lurkers” could, one day, organize into a mass violent rebellion. A Maroon would be captured or killed once in a while. But slave patrolers would risk the terrain and wildlife to hunt them. On top of this was the possibility of being killed by a Maroon. North Carolina and Virginia militias weren’t prepared to invade such a land nor face the humiliation of losing to a people who supposedly weren’t able to take care of themselves.
Oddly enough, enslavers who operated canal shipping and lumber industries in the Swamp tolerated the existence of the Maroons. Lack of a massive conflict meant that trade routes between Elizabeth City and Norfolk were uninterrupted. Some self absconded men worked cut lumber with their enslaved brethren who were hired for their labor. Both received payment and supplies from the overseers who turned a blind eye for the sake of profits. Maroons of the deep interior had nothing to do with the world outside of the Swamp. Occasional sabotage of a local enslaver’s farm may have been considered part of the cost of business for the colonies and states. Would it really be worth it to go into such a place to root them out?
In a sense, I believe God’s hand was on the Maroons. As well as traditional African and Native American beliefs, they were Christians. Many of them who came into the Swamp as of 1730 were Congolese Catholics. Because of it’s anti-slavery message and emphasis on spiritual watchfulness, Methodism was accepted in the early 1770’s. Eventually, Baptist and Quakers made inroads as well. In Luke’s story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) the rich man had the audacity and pride to ask Father Abraham to send Lazarus out of the comort and safety of heaven to come to hades and quench his thirst. Even in eternal punishment, the rich man had arrogance and ill intentions. The enslavers did as well and were not permitted to touch these anointed ones and do these prophets no harm (1 Chronicles 16:22). The hedge of protection remained around the Great Dismal Swamp until the slave holding society was defeated in 1865 with some Maroons serving in the Union army.
May we cling to the safety of God and His kingdom. Be ever watchful against the things that threaten to enslave our souls. Repent of pride and evil schemes in our hearts and minds which build a gulf between ourselves and holiness. May we find rest in the bosom of Abraham.
