# Lawn Jockey: Tacky ornament, or proud symbol of emancipation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawn-jockey-tacky-ornament-or-proud-symbol-of-emancipation/309220 "2005-06-21T16:43:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawn-jockey-tacky-ornament-or-proud-symbol-of-emancipation/309220/1 "2005-06-21T16:43:40Z")
No, this isn’t for **Great Debates** , this is a question as to the veracity of the following stories: > [@](#): > > The origin of the lawn jockey has been traced back to George Washington and the famous midnight crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas night. According to the story, among those with Washington was a twelve year old African-American named Jocko Graves. Graves wished to accompany Washington and the troops on the crossing but Washington felt it was too dangerous and charged Graves with staying behind with the horses. He ordered Graves to keep a lantern lit so that the troops upon their return could find their horses. After the raid against the Hessians, Washington and the troops returned to find Graves dead from exposure, his light still lit and in his hand. Washington was so moved that he commissioned a statue “Faithful Groomsman” to be made and placed by the young man’s grave at his home Mount Vernon. > > The Underground Railroad, the effort to smuggle former slaves north to freedom during the American Civil War, used the prevalence of lawn jockeys to aid their cause. A system was established by which they were able to signal escaping slaves as to danger by use of both the lantern or ribbons tied to the arm of statue. If the statue held the lantern in its outstretched arm or if a green ribbon was tied to the statue’s arm, then the house was safe to enter. If the lantern was held in the hand close to the body or a red ribbon was tied to its arm, then the escaping slaves knew that the house was not safe for them. My Bovine Scatology Detector went off pretty loud when I read the second part. Unfortunately, all I have are suspicions: 1. The name “Jocko” seems backronymmed (or “retconned” if you’re into that). 2. The signals for the Underground Railroad are a tempting target for other [urban legends](http://www.hartcottagequilts.com/railroad.htm). 3. The purported signals don’t make practical sense – at night, how will someone escaping tell a green ribbon from a red one, or a lantern over the statue’s arm from a lantern in its hand? 4. The passive voice and lack of sources bothers me. I understand that it might be an “oral tradition”. I just wish there were _some_ source where somebody had decided to write down the story – either in the 1780s because of Jocko’s contribution, or in the 1880s because of his use in freeing slaves. 5. Why didn’t Washington bring someone along for the specific purpose of tending to the horses? And why didn’t that person set a camp fire, or take the horses back to the nearest house? …anyway, you can see where I’m going with this. My suspicions are high on a number of points. I’d like to see a more authoritative source. And, for the record, I think lawn jockeys are tacky whether or not they represent a hero of emancipation. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawn-jockey-tacky-ornament-or-proud-symbol-of-emancipation/309220/2 "2005-06-21T17:34:38Z")
Well, this [article](http://www.citypaper.com/arts/printready.asp?id=5006) claims that there’s no mention of Jocko Graves in any primary source (written documents) of the day. And there are some inconsistencies – if the kid died in Trenton, NJ, how likely is it that they would have taken the trouble to bury him at Mt. Vernon? At Valley Forge, hundreds of people probably froze to death. Would one more have been notable? As for the green or red ribbons – that also sounds like BS, but I have nothing concrete to prove it. However, we [do know](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_152.html) that the classic “green for go, red for stop” signals did not become prevalent until the first World War. So the fact that it’s a green ribbon as opposed to, say, a white one or a yellow one, makes me suspicious. I’m guessing this one was also made up. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawn-jockey-tacky-ornament-or-proud-symbol-of-emancipation/309220/3 "2005-06-21T17:39:48Z")
Well, no such statue is at Mount Vernon. Also one source that repeats the GW story indicates the statue first came into use (as a groomsman, not a jockey) in the mid 1800s, long after George. The [Battle of Trenton](http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-trenton.htm) history makes no mention of the incident. Only two soldiers died, both by exposure, but there’s no mention that they were at the crossing. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lawn-jockey-tacky-ornament-or-proud-symbol-of-emancipation/309220/4 "2005-06-21T22:16:13Z")
There is another story around that says the jockey lawn ornament originally _honored_ black jockeys. According to that story, black men were among the top jockeys in the US until racism drove them out of the profession. Frankly, I don’t know if it’s any truer than the Jocko fantasy.