Ona Judge Escaped From Slavery While George Washington Was Busy Eating Dinner Inside. Now, a New Mural Honors Her Legacy
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A new mural in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, honors Ona Judge, who escaped from slavery while George Washington dined in 1796. The artwork, created by Manuel Ramirez, depicts Judge arriving in the city after her daring escape. This mural serves to commemorate her legacy and the challenges faced by fugitives from slavery in early America.
- ▪Ona Judge escaped from slavery on May 21, 1796, while George Washington was having dinner.
- ▪She successfully evaded capture and lived as a free woman until her death in 1848.
- ▪The mural unveiled on May 23, 2026, was created using artificial intelligence to generate a likeness of Judge based on historical descriptions.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Ona Judge Escaped From Slavery While George Washington Was Busy Eating Dinner Inside. Now, a New Mural Honors Her Legacy The artwork in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, shows Judge arriving in the city after her journey from Philadelphia in May 1796. She remained a free woman until her death in 1848 Meilan Solly | Senior Associate Digital Editor, History May 28, 2026 4:07 p.m. ShareCopy linkEmailSMSFacebookXRedditLinkedInBlueskyPrintAdd as preferred source No likenesses of Ona Judge survive, so the team used artificial intelligence to generate a likeness informed by a description of her in a runaway ad. Artist Manuel Ramirez then refined the depiction.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Smithsonian Magazine.
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