March Haynes (March 4, 1825 Pocotaligo, Jasper, South Carolina - July 16, 1899 Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia)[1] was an African American abolitionist. He freed over three hundred enslaved people using his knowledge of the waterways of Savannah, Georgia, after his enslaver, John C. Rowland became a prisoner during the American Civil War.
Though little is known of Haynes early life, he became a member of of Wilmington Baptist Church in 1838.[2] After moving to Savannah in 1858,
Fall of Fort Pulaski
editIn April 1863, Haynes was reported to have been jailed for ""harboring and running off to the Yankees several Negroes from this city." Rowland enlisted in the Confederate Army
After a 30-hour bombardment by the Union Army, Fort Pulaski
Haynes joined the United States Colored Troops on August 20, 1864.
After the fall of Fort Pulaski, he made the acquaintance of Union Chaplain Frederic Denison. "Denison described Haynes as being one of "two remarkable negroes of large native ability" along with Robert Smalls. Denison makes note of Haynes' "character and worth" noting he had been severely wounded, learned to read as a slave, and acted as a stevedore in Savannah.[3]
Underground Railroad Conductor
editHaynes was accomplished in assisting people to reach freedom from Savannah to Fort Pulaski by boat. Making reconnaissances at night, he would secretly enter the city to gather information and bring away enslaved people by the boatload. He spent days gathering information on rebel forts, batteries, and camps. One of his expeditions had been delayed until after dawn resulting in an encounter with a group of six Confederate soldiers. During an exchange of fire three of the opposing men were felled by March. He himself escaped capture though wounded in the thigh.[4]
Later Life
editIn 1877 he became a deacon of First African Baptist Church.
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ March Haynes at Find a Grave
- ^ March Haynes - Fort Pulaski National Monument
- ^ https://archive.org/details/05590038.3497.emory.edu/page/n35/mode/1up?q=haynes A Chaplain's Experience in the Union Army by Frederic Denison
- ^ Shot and shell: the Third Rhode Island heavy artillery regiment in the rebellion, 1861-1865. Camps, forts, batteries, garrisons, marches, shirmished, sieges, battles, and victories; also, the roll of honor and roll of the regiment.