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On the night of November 7, 1841, Washington led 17 of his fellow slaves into rebellion. They killed one of the slave traders on board and wounded crew. Taking control of the Creole, they commanded that it be sailed to Nassau, which was under British control.
Great Britain had abolished slavery in 1839 in its nation and colonies.
Despite American protests, the British declared the slaves to be free persons under their law and refused American demands for their return. The British took Washington and his 18 conspirators into custody under charges of mutiny.
A special session of the Admiralty Court heard the case, but ruled in favor of the men and freed them in April 1842. Five had remained on the ship and chose to return to the United States and slavery.
As 128 slaves gained freedom resulting from this revolt, it is considered the most successful in United States history.
The abolitionist Henry Highland Garnet praised Madison Washington in his 1843 "Address to the Slaves of the United States," calling Madison Washington a "bright star of freedom" who "took his station in the constellation of true heroism." This call for open rebellion was considered too radical for abolitionists Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Frederick Douglass wrote a novella The Heroic Slave (1853) whose lead character was inspired by and named, Madison Washington. As Douglass wrote a fictional account, his work is now considered the first known piece of African-American fictional literature.
