George Quintal Jr. is a Battle Road guide and the author of two books, Patriots of Color at Battle Road and Patriots of Color
at Bunker Hill. To order, please contact
the author.
How could an enslaved man or woman ever find a path out of bondage? The Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln and formally signed and put into effect on January 1, 1863, is well-known throughout the country. Much less well-known are the thousands of emancipations that occurred in New England long prior to 1862, many happening one at a time.
