351to Philadelphia, by train to New York City, and by boat to New
Bedford, Massachusetts.
Josiah Henson, at a young age, was made superinten-
dent of a plantation in Maryland. When his master went
bankrupt, he was sent to a plantation in Davies County,
Kentucky. Fearing he would be sold to the Deep South, in
1830 he escaped on foot with his wife and children. They
crossed the Ohio River, headed into southern Indiana, and
walked northeast to Cincinnati and then to Sandusky, Ohio.
From there they sailed to Buffalo. Before the year was out,
they passed over to Canada.
James W. C. Pennington escaped from a farm near
Hagerstown, Maryland in 1827. He walked toward Baltimore
but was captured near Reisterstown. Then he escaped again,
heading northwest into Pennsylvania, where he hid for sev-
eral months. Then he journeyed northeast through Lancaster
County to East Nautmeal in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He
settled in New York.
CANADALOUISIANAARKANSASMISSOURIIOWAWISCONSIN
MICHIGANINDIANA OHIO
ILLINOISMISSISSIPPI
ALABAMAFLORIDAGEORGIASOUTH
CAROLINANORTH
CAROLINAVIRGINIA
KENTUCKYTENNESSEENEW
YORKPENNSYLVANIAN.J.CONN.MASS.VERMONT
N.H.MAINER.I.M.D.
DEL.Gulf of
MexicoATLANTIC
OCEANFrederick Douglass
Henry Highland Garnet
Harriet Tubman
James W. C. Pennington
William and Ellen Craft
Anthony Burns
Josiah Henson
Slaves over 70 percent of
total population, 1860BostonNew BedfordNew York
City
Philadelphia
Wilmington
Baltimore
Fredericksburg
RichmondWilmingtonCharlestonSavannahMaconSanduskyCincinnatiDavies CountyBuffaloNorfolkEscape Itineraries of Some Prominent Fugitive SlavesFew slaves escaped to the North
from the Deep South, where the greatest concentrations of slaves were located.Anthony Burns, who taught himself to read and write,
became invaluable as a hired hand who worked at various
crafts. While working as a stevedore on the docks in
Richmond, he befriended a sailor who helped him stow away
on a ship to Boston. There he was apprehended. Under the
terms of the Fugitive Slave Law, he was returned to Richmond.
The residents of Boston purchased his freedom in 1855.
Underground Railroadat
http://www.myhistorylab.comWatchtheVideoQuestions for Discussion
■Did escaped slaves usually travel through regions with
large slave populations? Why or why not?
■Based on the map presented, what experiences do you
think these escaped slaves likely shared?