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Drums
Drum patterns could be used to send certain codes. Masters didn't want to risk this, so they didn't allow slaves to have drums. They also didn't let them have drum because it had to do with their African culture. Some codes were also sent by tapping stones together, by signaling with lights, or by imitating certain owl calls.

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Indiana was a border state, a free state upon entry into the Union in 1816. But sentiments were always anti-abolitionist. Many of those who had moved to Indiana were from the South. Even William Henry Harrison, territorial governor of the state in 1813, was said to harbor pro-slavery opinions.

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Songs
Slaves would sing codes to each other while working in the field. They did this so that the master or overseer didn't know what they were saying and planning.

"Steal Away to Jesus" - double meaning; sung as an invitation to slaves to run away.
“Wade in the Water" - to warn an escaped slave that his master and his bloodhounds were on the trail. The only way to throw a bloodhound off a human scent was to get into the water.
"Get on Board Little Children" - referred directly to the Underground Railroad.
"Follow the Drinking Gourd” - taught to slaves in the South by a "conductor" named Peg Leg Joe, a free black and a former sailor who worked for hire at plantations as a handyman. The lyrics served as directions to Canada:

http://www.harriet-tubman.org/underground-railroad-secret-codes/
http://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2405&context=ethj

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Indiana was a border state, a free state upon entry into the Union in 1816. But sentiments were always anti-abolitionist. Many of those who had moved to Indiana were from the South. Even William Henry Harrison, territorial governor of the state in 1813, was said to harbor pro-slavery opinions.

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Code Words and Phrases
People would use certain words and phrases as codes. A lot of the phrases had to do with railroad type things. They did this because many people didn't know the meaning to a lot of the words and phrases.

Load of potatoes | Escaping slaves hidden under farm produce in a wagon

Moses | Harriet Tubman

The Underground Railroad was called the Gospel Train or the Freedom Train
Heaven was code for Canada or Freedom

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Underground Railroad Secret Codes : Harriet Tubman

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Supporters of the Underground Railroad used words railroad conductors employed everyday to create their own code as secret language in order to help slaves escape. Railroad language was chosen because the railroad was an emerging form of transportation and its communication language was not widespread. Code words would be used in letters to “agents” so that if they were intercepted they could not be caught. Underground Railroad code was also used in songs sung by slaves to communicate among each other without their masters being aware.

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Quilts

Some quilt patterns were wagon wheels, tumbling blocks, and bear's paw.
These codes were used as a way of sharing directions or information.
Slaves would memorize what different quilt patterns meant. They would use these quilt patterns as mnemonic devices.
The wrench pattern would tell slaves to gather their tools and get themselves prepared for the journey.
The wagon wheel told slaves they are going on a long journey and should pack their belongings.
People think that the bear's paw meant to head north over the Appalachian Mountains. The bear paw also told people to follow a bear's actual footprints. This would lead them to water and food sources.

The last quilt had a tumbling blocks pattern, which Dobard described as looking like a collection of boxes. "This quilt was only displayed when certain conditions were right. If, for example, there was an Underground Railroad agent in the area," Dobard said. "It was an indication to pack up and go."

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Two historians say African American slaves may have used a quilt code to navigate the Underground Railroad. Quilts with patterns named "wagon wheel," "tumbling blocks," and "bear's paw" appear to have contained secret messages that helped direct slaves to freedom, the pair claim.

Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard first posited the quilt code theory six years ago in their book Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, published in 1998. In the book, the authors chronicled the oral testimony of Ozella McDaniel, a descendant of slaves. McDaniel claims that her ancestors passed down the secret of the quilt code from one generation to the next.

The code "was a way to say something to a person in the presence of many others without the others knowing," said Dobard, a history professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C. "It was a way of giving direction without saying, 'Go northwest.'"

The Code

In a series of discussions with Tobin and Dobard, McDaniel described the code: A plantation seamstress would sew a sampler quilt containing different quilt patterns. Slaves would use the sampler to memorize the code. The seamstress then sewed ten quilts, each composed of one of the code's patterns.

The seamstress would hang the quilts in full view one at a time, allowing the slaves to reinforce their memory of the pattern and its associated meaning. When slaves made their escape, they used their memory of the quilts as a mnemonic device to guide them safely along their journey, according to McDaniel.

The historians believe the first quilt the seamstress would display had a wrench pattern. "It meant gather your tools and get physically and mentally prepared to escape the plantation," Dobard said. The seamstress would then hang a quilt with a wagon wheel pattern. This pattern told slaves to pack their belongings because they were about to go on a long journey.

Dobard said his favorite pattern was the bear's paw, a quilt he believes directed slaves to head north over the Appalachian Mountains. "You were supposed to follow the literal footprints of the bear," Dobard said. "Bears always go to water and berries and other natural food sources."

The last quilt had a tumbling blocks pattern, which Dobard described as looking like a collection of boxes. "This quilt was only displayed when certain conditions were right. If, for example, there was an Underground Railroad agent in the area," Dobard said. "It was an indication to pack up and go."

Fact or Myth?

The quilt-code theory has met with controversy since its publication. Quilt historians and Underground Railroad experts have questioned the study's methodology and the accuracy of its findings.

Giles R. Wright, a New Jersey-based historian, points to a lack of corroborating evidence. Quilt codes are not mentioned in the 19th century slave narratives or 1930s oral testimonies of former slaves. Additionally, no original quilts remain.

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did quilts hold codes to the underground railroad?

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Did Quilts Hold Codes to the Underground Railroad?

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Two historians believe African American slaves may have used a quilt code to navigate the Underground Railroad to freedom. Quilts with patterns named "wagon wheel," "tumbling blocks," and "bear's paw" appear to have contained secret messages that helped direct slaves to freedom, the pair claim. But other experts are not convinced.

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Work Hours

Slaves were generally allowed a day off on Sunday, and on infrequent holidays such as Christmas or the Fourth of July.

Slaves had to work from sunrise to sunset. Even elderly people or young children had to work those hours.

Food
The food given by the master wasn't enough, so slaves grew extra food or fished.

Clothing
Most masters didn't provide very good clothing, so some mothers worked on make more clothes for their family.

Slave Quarters
-Dirt floors
-Cracks in walls
-Thing coverings over windows

Slave Families
If a child's mother was a slave, they would be born into slavery. This would be true even if their father was free.

If slaves had their master's permission, they would be allowed to marry. They weren't legally married, though.

Religion
Before the 1800's, few slaves had converted to Christianity, but by the early nineteenth century, a larger amount of slaves were being converted.

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Most of the LEARN NC Content has been archived using the Wayback Machine. Instructions for how to access that content is below, including links to frequently requested materials.

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Hierarchy between slaves. House servants were first class, and the field hands were the lowest class.
Being a house servant was rare. There were a lot of field hands.
Slaves would sing as they worked.
Some picked 300 to 800 pounds of cotton.
They would be punished if they didn't pick enough cotton.
The bag would be weighed.
Sometimes they would have to walk a mile with the bag.
Some slaves who picked over their quota would give cotton to those who needed it.
Whippings were public. They would use it to punish the slaves and terrorize them.
They would take salt and red pepper and put it in the wound.

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Rams horn and bells to signal slaves to get to work
Some people started work in the masters house and sometimes they started as playmates for white children
Chandeliers, candle sticks, china
Hunger, beat people with a broom and cat o' nine tails then rubbed salt in the cuts for more punishment (sometimes cyan pepper)
Most children started working in the field by the age of 12, and very few became house servants
People stole blue book spellers to learn how to read and write
Tools were kept in a shed