Has it ever been determined what happened to George Washington's slave Hercules?

Answer 1

In his will, George Washington left his slaves and estate to his wife Martha, and he asked that Martha free the slaves upon her death which she did. So if Hercules survived Martha Washington, then he would have been freed.

Answer 2

Not that I know of. It is written that Hercules escaped to freedom in March 1797, at the end of Washington's presidency, either on the morning the Washing tons were to return to Mount Vernon, or the night before. The exact circumstances of the disappearance of Hercules are not known.

Some say he went first to Mt. Vernon and then ran away. Hercules had been married to a dower slave named Lame Alice, a seamstress at Mount Vernon, and they had three children, Richmond (born 1777), Evey (born 1782), and Delia (born 1785). Alice died in 1787, leaving Hercules to raise the children. Several years after his wife's death, Hercules seems to have had a child by another woman, but her identity and if they married is unrecorded.

Others say on the last day of Washington's Presidency in Philadelphia, Hercules may have found a safe place to hide within the large free African population of the city. The Free African Society was located there in Philadelphia and was founded in 1787 in Philadelphia as a mutual aid society for Free Africans and also had a mission of helping fugitive slaves escape to freedom and establish new lives. Philadelphia had the largest population of Free Africans in the country, and many anti-slavery activists (known as abolitionists) began their protests in this city and were aided by the city's large Quaker population. Hercules would have been very much aware of these forces of change in the capital city. More than likely he escaped to Philadelphia with the aid of The Free African Society.

The President wanted him back and did make a concerted effort to find Hercules, but, his attempts were unsuccessful. Washington never saw Hercules again. By the provisions of Washington's will, Hercules was legally emancipated in 1801, making him no longer a fugitive but a free man. Richmond, Evey, and Delia, dower slaves through their mother, remained in bondage.