Deerfield, Massachusetts

The First
Rhyme of Freedom

Before the Declaration of Independence was signed, an enslaved woman named Lucy Terry used the power of verse to document history and the power of speech to fight for her family's rights.

Biographical Record

From Africa to New England

Stolen from Africa as an infant, Lucy Terry was brought to Rhode Island and eventually sold to Ebenezer Wells of Deerfield, Massachusetts, in the 1730s.

In a time when literacy was often denied to enslaved people, Lucy became a master of language. She was a storyteller and a chronicler of her community's most dramatic events.

She would later be remembered as a "woman of great energy" with a "command of language" that surpassed many of her contemporaries.

"Bars Fight" (1746)

In 1746, a conflict occurred in a meadow known as "The Bars." Lucy Terry wrote a poem about it, which became the first poem known to be written by an African American.

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"August 'twas the twenty-fifth,
seventeen hundred forty-six;
The Indians did in ambush lay,
some very valiant men to slay..."

The poem was preserved orally for 100 years before being published.

Becoming Lucy Prince

In 1756, Lucy married Abijah Prince, a free Black man. Wells eventually emancipated Lucy, and the couple moved to Vermont to build a life as free landowners.

Homesteading

They were among the first settlers of Guilford, Vermont, owning over 100 acres of land.

Education

Despite the odds, they fought to ensure their children were educated and respected in their community.

Decoding the Verse

Click the line that emphasizes the DATE of the event:

August 'twas the twenty-fifth,

The Indians did in ambush lay,

Some very valiant men to slay;

The names of whom I'll not omit.

The Orator in Court

Lucy wasn't just a poet; she was a legal powerhouse. When a neighbor tried to steal their land in Vermont, Lucy took the case to the Supreme Court.

"She argued her own case before the Supreme Court of the United States. It is said she spoke so eloquently that the Justice remarked he had never heard a better argument from a Vermont lawyer."

A Legacy of Speech

Lucy Terry Prince passed away at the age of 97. She lived to see the birth of a new nation and ensured that the Black experience in early America was recorded in rhyme, in law, and in the land itself.