George W. Price

{{short description|American politician}}

{{About|the North Carolinian politician||George Price (disambiguation)}}

{{one source|date=November 2020}}

George W. Price, Jr. (c. 1843 – October 22, 1901){{Cite web|title=Price Family (fl. 1830s-1890s)|url=https://ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu/people/P000475.html|access-date=2021-10-19|website=ncarchitects.lib.ncsu.edu}} was a laborer, sailor, and politician in North Carolina. An African American, he served in the North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate during the Reconstruction era.

Enslaved from birth in North Carolina, he worked as a plasterer to build a number of Wilmington landmarks, including the Bellamy Mansion and Thalian Hall. In 1862, along with William B. Gould and others, Price ran from slavery and joined the U. S Navy. After Emancipation, Price was elected state representative and senator from New Hanover County, North Carolina.

Prior to the Civil War, Price was enslaved{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p=29}} by George Benticott.{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p=350}} During a rainy night on September 21, 1862, Price escaped with seven other enslaved men{{efn|They included William B. Gould, Joseph Hall, Andrew Hall, John Mackey, Charles Gile, John Mitchell, and William Chance.{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p=xix}}}} by rowing a small boat {{convert|28|nmi|km|0}} down the Cape Fear River.{{sfn| Gould IV | 2002 | p= xi}} Just as the dawn was breaking, they rushed out into the Atlantic Ocean near Fort Caswell.{{sfn| Gould IV | 2002 | p= xi}} There, the USS Cambridge of the Union blockade picked them up as contraband.{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p=29}} Though they had no way of knowing it, within an hour and a half of their rescue President Abraham Lincoln convened a meeting of his cabinet to finalize plans to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p= xi}}

Price enlisted into the United States Navy on board the Cambridge, but may have later deserted.{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p=113}}{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p=29}}{{efn|Gould records in his diary that "George P---e" was one of three men who deserted.{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p=350}}{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p=113}}}} He corresponded with William B. Gould throughout the war.{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p= xi}} After the war, Price grew to have considerable influence within the Black and Republican communities and was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1869-1870 and the North Carolina Senate from 1870 to 1872.{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p=29}}

Price was known as an orator, and frequently spoke at ceremonies around North Carolina.{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p=29}} In 1881, he led a Black delegation to Washington D.C. where they protested the unfair distribution of federal jobs to President James A. Garfield.{{sfn|Gould IV|2002|p=29}}