What caused the Civil War? The true cause will forever be debated, but ultimately the Civil War surrounded the legality of slavery in America. Everyone knows that Abraham Lincoln ended the ability to legally own slaves, thus freeing them. Before Abraham Lincoln ended slavery, many slaves found freedom by fleeing to northern states where slavery was illegal. Eastman Johnson, a 19th-century American painter, depicts an African-American family fleeing slavery during the Civil War in his oil painting titled A Ride to Liberty – The Fugitive Slaves. A Ride to Liberty – The Fugitive Slaves was painted by Eastman Johnson in 1862. Johnson was accompanying Union General George McClellan to Manassas, Virginia from Washington DC. This painting is a depiction of a true event that Johnson witnessed near the battlefield of Manassas, Virginia, on March 2, 1862. It is known that the account was seen by Eastman Johnson because he engraved the back of one of three paintings by this event. The painting with the inscription is currently in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The inscription reads "An actual Civil War incident seen by me at Centerville this morning of McClellan's advance towards Manassas March 2, 1862 Eastman Johnson." The Brooklyn Museum has another of these paintings that only has Eastman Johnson's initials on the back. The location of the third painting is unknown. The African American family in this painting is seen escaping slavery on horseback. The father is centered between the child and the mother. The boy sits in front of his father holding onto the horse's mane. The mother sits behind her husband, holding him close with one arm and... in the center of the paper... is one of the many African American families who have chosen to seek freedom for themselves rather than wait around. to save. Works Cited Harvey, Eleanor. The Civil War and American Art: A Race for Freedom?. Eye level: Smithsonian American Art Museum, February 21, 2013. Web. October 30, 2013. Colline, Patricia. Johnson, Eastmann. American National Biography Online. February 2000. Web. October 30, 2013. Johnson, Eastman. A Ride to Freedom – Runaway Slaves. 1862. Oil on panel. Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn. Network. October 30, 2013. Mestan, Scott and Dr. Bryan Zygmont. Eastman Johnson, Freedom Ride: Fugitive Slaves. Intelligent story. Khan Academy. nd Web. October 30, 2013.Ray, Donna Thompson. Eastman Johnson, Freedom Ride: Fugitive Slaves, ca. 1862. Imagining the History of the United States. The Graduate Center, City University of New York. nd Web. 30 October 2013.