Benjamin Morgan sues Francis Bourgeois for the loss of a runaway slave and injuries to another slave. Morgan writes that he assigned his "confidential" slave, Walker, to go in search of a runaway slave named Isham. Supplied with the appropriate passports, Walker arrived at a plantation where he encountered Bourgeois, the overseer. Believing that Isham was in the slave quarters, Walker began to inquire among the slaves. When Bourgeois approached him, Walker showed him his passport and explained the situation, asking to take Isham back to the petitioner's plantation. Instead, Bourgeois ordered Walker "seized, stripped and flogged" and, after examination of his back, ordered additional lashes. Walker returned to his master in this condition and now "continues under the hands of the physician." Meanwhile, Isham escaped from the plantation where he was harbored and remains a fugitive. Morgan holds Bourgeois liable for Isham’s escape, as well as for the detrimental effect the whipping has had on the entire slave community. According to Morgan, such action demoralizes the slaves by “destroying the distinction between good and bad slaves." Morgan prays for $1,000 in damages.
Result: Discontinued.
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Repository: New Orleans Public Library, New Orleans, Louisiana
