February 26, 2010
When Special Delivery Meant Deliverance for a Fugitive Slave
By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
Litho of Henry Box BrownVirginia Historial Society, Richmond, Va. Samuel W. Rowse commemorated Henry Brown’s escape with this lithograph in January 1850. Its complete title is, “The Resurrection of Henry Box Brown at Philadelphia. Who escaped from Richmond Va. in a Box 3 feet long 2 1/2 ft deep and 2 ft wide.”
On the Records
The box that arrived in Philadelphia that day was the plain-looking sort typically used to transport dry goods. Just over 3 feet long, it was 2 feet 8 inches deep and not quite 2 feet wide. Written on the side were the words “this side up with care.’’
Safe to say, the recipient of the box was not fully prepared for what was inside: a 200-pound man named Henry Brown.
As an African-American living in the South, Mr. Brown was a slave when he left Virginia on March 23, 1849, concealed in the box he had designed for this purpose.
When he arrived in Pennsylvania a day later, by express mail, he was a free man.
When Special Delivery Meant Deliverance for a Fugitive Slave - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com.
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