Scourge
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A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type, used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification. It is usually made of leather.
Medical examination photo of Gordon showing his scourged back, widely distributed by Abolitionists to expose the brutality of slavery.
Reproduction of a medieval scourge
Roman Flagrum
Peter (enslaved man)
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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. Although keloid scarring was not a usua
Scourge
…Medical examination photo of Gordon showing his scourged back, widely distributed by Abolitionists to expose the brutality of slavery. A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong…
Scourged back by Mc Pherson & Oliver, 1863, retouched
Historian David Silkenat argues that this image is the earliest photo of a series of three of Peter made by McPherson & Oliver.
Third and final photo of Peter, taken sometime later; note growth of facial and head hair and somewhat more confrontational pose; this was the version shared with Harper's Weekly.
Caption attached to back of copy held at U.S. National Archives