Warrant for James Craik

Ann Williams, a woman enslaved by James Craik, the chief physician and surgeon of the Continental army, filed a freedom suit against her enslaver in 1797 and won. This warrant, filed by Peter Wagener, the clerk of the Court of the Hustings in Alexandria, calls for the sergeant of the Court of Hustings to make Craik appear in court on September 4, 1797. He was called to “answer Ann Williams of a plea of Trespass, Assault, Battery and false Imprisonment.”

Williams, Ann: Freedom Suit, 1797 (7339659_0001_0009). Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative Digital Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.