Slaves on Horseback in Texas’s Planter-Herder Economy, 1835–65

The written record for slaves working with and/or riding horses and mules in the American South is limited. Many of the contemporary colonial and antebellum sources are instruction focused; self-help journals, and other publications giving Southerner’s advice for effectively mobilizing slaves, horses, and mules for agricultural production. There is also some excellent statistical modeling on the interaction of slaves and livestock, but these methods lack the narrative power that many historians seek. Contemporary historians like Wilma Dunaway (slaves in the Mountain South), Sylviane Diouf (maroons) and Deborah Liles (slave and livestock) have exposed a rich new canvas of stories about mounted bondsmen and women. New research from the Texas Runaway Slave Project builds on these antecedents, identifying 428 runaway slaves in Texas who stole or attempted to take a horse or a mule to aid their escape, 1835-1865. This presentation profiles these mounted runaway slaves and looks at the economic and social reasons that enabled them to acquire the special knowledge, skills and abilities to ride. There were many roles in Texas’ slave society that caused bondsmen to be intimately familiar with horses and mules; as cowboys, farm hands, teamsters, coachmen, livery attendants, jockeys, or simply to run errands out of convenience to their owners. Masters actively encouraged their bondsmen to learn these skills because it increased their wealth. Antebellum and Civil War newspapers, WPA Slave Narratives, county records, manuscript collections, and other historical accounts from Texas show a slave society that was uncomfortable with mounted slaves but tacitly permissive because of the economic benefits rendered. Bondsmen and women took advantage of these opportunities to give themselves every advantage possible. This was especially the case at the Mexican border, where their purpose was absolutely clear—permanent freedom.