Big Lizz was a large, powerful woman--bigger than most men and as strong as two mules. Folks said Big Lizz could carry two full grown hogs, one under each arm, without any strain. She was also a slave on a Maryland plantation during the American Civil War. Most versions of her lengend do not recall her master's name. One version claims his name was John Rustin, owner of a Bucktown tobacco plantation in Southern Dorchester County. I'll call him "Mr. John."
Mr. John--if that was his name--was a staunch supporter of the Confederate cause and secretly transported food and other supplies to the confederate troops. It seems that Mr. John, prior to the war, had been involved in some smuggling activities. His knowledge and connections proved quite useful to the Rebels.
The master naivly believed his slaves were happy with their lot in life. Indeed, Mr. John especially valued Big Lizz as one of his strongest, devoted, most hard working, and faithful slaves. He especially trusted Big Lizz with difficult and important work. His family had owned her for her whole life.
What Mr. John had not realized is Big Lizz may have been a strong and hard working woman, but she was not a devoted and faithful slave.
Big Lizz was passing information about the clandestine activities of the plantation owner to local union collaborators.
Maryland was what some historians call a border state. Technically, it remained part of the Union during the war. Maryland's governor, Thomas Holliday Hicks, was responsible for preventing Maryland seceeding from the Union, due to some fancy political maneuverings. President Lincoln had secured a strong grip on Maryland by having Federal troops occupy the state. Otherwise, the nation's capital, Washington, DC, would be surrounded by hostile Confederate territory, Virginia and Maryland.
Maryland citizens were divided in their sympathies and loyalties. It is not just a cliche that this war divided families and neighbors.
While it is true that no Civil War battles were fought on Maryland's Eastern Shore, the war still touched the whole region. It was a dangerous time.
When the master had some of this secret shipments to the Confederate army intercepted, he began to suspect a Union spy. In particular, Mr. John was concerned that they spy might have also leaked that he had a large stash of Confederate gold hidden in the barn.
Exactly how Mr. John discovered that Big Lizz was the one who had been helping the Yankees was not clear. However, when he did realize it, he decided he not only should quickly move the gold, he should get rid of Big Lizz. He then considered shooting her dead immediately, but he couldn't be certain which of the other slaves might also be disloyal. Who could he trust to help him move the gold?
Mr. John came up with a remarkably simple plan to solve his dilema.
Mr. John ordered one of the slaves that evening to hitch a horse to one of the wagons. Then, he privately told Big Lizz to meet him alone at the barn at moonrise.
When she arrived, Mr. John explained that he wanted to quietly transport the chest of gold out to the marsh in Greenbriar Swamp and bury it. It was critical, he continued explaining, that it not fall into Yankee hands. He added that he had heard a rumor that there would soon be "those damn Yankees" sniffing around his barn.
Big Lizz nodded dutifully, picked up the chest, and loaded it onto the wagon. Mr. John set a shovel in the wagon. Together they headed out to the swamp. The master had seen the keen interest in the young woman's eye when he had told her about hiding the gold. Indeed, the information relating to the new location of the gold would be valuable to pass along.
The risen moon was bright, so Mr. John and Big Lizz had no need for a lantern.
When they got to the marshland, they continued on foot. Big Lizz carried the chest and Mr. John carried a shovel and either a machete or a foot long tobacco knife.
Mr. John set down on a log while Big Lizz dug. It was toilsome work, as the mud oozed back into the hole. Mr. John told her to dig the hole "good and deep."
When Big Lizz had finally dug a hole so deep that when she stood up straight in it only her neck and shouldes were visible, Mr. John commented the hole was finally deep enough. He told her to hand him the shovel and to pull the heavy chest down into the hole. Wearily, Big Lizz pulled the heavy chest down. When she stood back upright, the master was ready.
He swung his blade at her neck, beheading Big Lizz in one blow. Her head tumbled over in the tall grass and her body slumped over the chest.
"That's good enough for a traitor," he muttered grimly. Then he began filling the hole back up. He paused and wondered if he should get the head and toss it into the hole too. However, he didn't see where it had landed in the dark. Besides, a fox or some scavenger would make short work of it. No one would ever find Big Lizz's head out in the middle of the swamp.
Mr. John spent a large part of the night filling in the rest of the hole. He covered the spot with leaves and vegetation. Certainly no one would ever find Big Lizz or the gold. The secret was safe. Mr. John headed back to the horse and wagon. He heard an odd sound behind him and thought he spied out of the corner of his eyes a flicker of blue light.
As a child, Mr. John had grown up with a wealth of tales about spooks and haints. He walked back rapidly to the wagon and tossed the shovel and bloody blade into the back and hurried the horse homeward. Mr. John reflected briefly on his plan to later announce Big Lizz was "gone and good riddance to damn Yankee sympathizers and ungrateful negras!" to the servants. The uncertain nature of her fate would definitely leave an impression on the other slaves.
As the clock in the plantation home hall struck 3 a.m., he was glad to be back at the house. He called one of the house slaves, Old Thomas, and told him to make sure the horse and wagon were taken care of. He added that he was tired and was not to be disturbed for any reason in the morning.
"Ya's Suhr," answered Old Thomas. It was not wise to question the master when he was in such a mood.
Mr. John tromped upstairs in muddy boots, peeled off his dirty clothes, and fell asleep alone in the bed.
Sometime after, he was awakened by an odd sound of heavy, muddy footsteps in the quiet house. A cool breeze from the open window swirled around the bedroom. It was still dark outside.
Mr. John, very angry at having his slumber disturbed, got out of bed. As he threw open his bedroom door, he smelled the strong scent of rotting leaves and wet marsh grass. It the hallways, there stood a huge, mud encrusted figure, dressed in a field slave's clothes and glowing with a pale blue flame. This phantom's left hand held a severed head with angry red eyes. It was Big Lizz.
Before he could cry for help, a powerful right hand grabbed the master's throat and squeezed tight. The ghost of Big Lizz shook and tossed the master out the open bedroom window like an old raggedy doll. The head in the figure's hand smiled grimly as it gazed down at the master's fallen form. As the daylight began to break, Big Lizz vanished.
The master's dead body was discovered outside the following morning and was buried in the family cemetery next to his first wife.
Slaves whispered to others about cleaning up two sets of muddy footprints on the stairs and in the bedroom. One quietly noticed the bruises on the dead master's neck. Old Thomas had seen the shovel and the bloody blade in the wagon.
It was clear that the master had murdered Big Lizz and her ghost returned for revenge.
No one has ever located the gold allegedly burined in Greenbriar Swamp--though treasure hunters with modern metal detectors have searched for it.
Since the Civil War, locals have said they have seen strange blue orbs in the swamp. Some folks have claimed they have seen Big Lizz herself walking through the swamp in a blue flame, holding her severed head in her left hand. If she's angry, they say the eyes glow red.
Some say that on some nights, Big Lizz beckons those who see her to follow her into the swamp. No one ever does. Or if anyone has ever followered her into the swamp at night, they have never returned to tell anyone about it.
There are lots of different stories. The ghost of Big Lizz is said to wander not only in the swamp, but around the land the old plantation sat on, near the area of Bucktown, south of Cambridge--particularly on the date of her death.
Teenagers tell tales about driving to the De Coursey Bridge over the Transquaking River near Greenbriar Swamp.
If someone drives to the bridge after moonrise and turns off the vehicle's motor, he can call "Big Lizz" three times. The vehicle will not likely restart until dawn. If she is in the mood, Big Lizz might appear, coming towards the car, carrying her head. If you make her angry, her eyes will glow red and she will follow you home.
An alternate version claims one must turn off the engine, honk the horn three times, and flash the headlights in order to see the spectre of Big Lizz drifting along the water. It is also said she is most likely to be seen between 3 a.m. and sunrise. Possibly Big Lizz still wants to make sure the confederates never get their hands on that gold. Perhaps if someone would like to give some comfort to the spirit of this brave, strong African American woman, she or he could call out on the De Coursey Bridge:
Big Lizz--Maryland has never been taken by the Confederacy!Who knows if she will come then?
Big Lizz--President Lincoln has emancipated all the slaves!
Big Lizz--The Union of the United States stands firm.
copyright May 2012 Myth Woodling
Comments
Big Lizz, according to Ed Okonowicz in the Big Book of Maryland Ghost Stories (2010), "...is an Eastern Shore icon." p. 46. The legend of Big Lizz's ghost is very popular.
The Greenbriar Swamp is more than a place with a spooky legend. It is a place of history. A sign on Greenbriar Road in Cambridge, Maryland marks the site of Harriet Tubman's home. She escaped from slavery in 1849, possibly through Greenbriar Swamp. After she achieved her freedom, she was recruited for the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman, known as Moses, was one of the most famous and successful "conductors" on the Underground Railroad. Reportedly, she made 19 trips leading more than 300 slaves to their freedom. Eventually, she went to work for the Union army, spying behind enemy lines and otherwise acting as an intermediary with African American informants.
One wonders if some of the life of Harriet Tubman inspired parts of the legend of Big Lizz.
However, it is difficult to say for certain, because other apparently faithful slaves served as Union informants.
Since "I geek folklore and folktales!" I'll add one comment about another phantom slave associated with the spook lights in folklore.
Some versions of the legend of Big Lizz associate her with "strange glowing orbs" or spook lights.
Listen to Tommy Faile singing on an old 45 RPM record on Youtube: Brown Mountain Lights. In the legend of the Brown Mountain Lights, the ghost of a faithful old slave is credited with creating the mysterious lights in North Carolina while searching for his lost master.
Big Lizz, unlike the Brown Mountain Lights, returned from her grave for revenge against a murderous and cruel master. If she continues to haunt, it is to keep the confederates from using the gold to win the war and perpetuate the social abomination of slavery. Big Lizz more fulfills the role of an avenging and protective spirit in Maryland's Eastern Shore folklore.
Here is a link to another retelling by S. E. Schlosser:
S.E. Schlosser, Big Liz A Maryland Ghost Story, August 23, 2010, accessed May 29, 2012.
I've included links to other variants of the Big Lizz legend as well:
Mindie Burgoyne, Greenbriar Swamp and the ghost of Big Lizz, Haunted Eastern Shore: Ghostly Tales, 2006 -2011, accessed May 29, 2012.
Ron Ieraci, Legend of Big Liz, May 2010, accessed May 29, 2012.
Edward H. Nabb, Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Haunted Eastern Shore, March 14, 2011, Accessed May 29, 2012.
Frederick N. Rasmussen, Bigg Lizz, Moll Dyer and other state haunts, The Baltimore Sun, October 28, 2006, Accessed May 29, 2012.
Here is some historical information about Greenbriar Swamp and Harriet Tubman:
Selected African-American Sites in Maryland: Maryland Honors Black History Month, The Maryland Office of Tourism, Accessed 6/6/2012.