Skip Navigation

Peter, a man who escaped from slavery, shows his scourging scars, US 1863

Peter (fl. 1863) (also known as Gordon, or "Whipped Peter", or "Poor Peter") was an escaped American slave who was the subject of photographs documenting the extensive keloid scarring of his back from whippings received in slavery. The "scourged back" photo became one of the most widely circulated photos of the abolitionist movement during the American Civil War and remains one of the most notable photos of the 19th-century United States.

53 comments
53 comments