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Today in Underground Railroad History…On this day in 1669, the Virginia General Assembly passes the Casual Killing Act, ...
10/20/2026

Today in Underground Railroad History…
On this day in 1669, the Virginia General Assembly passes the Casual Killing Act, removing criminal penalties for killing slaves who resist their enslavers’ authority, noting that the “premeditated malice” element of murder could not be formed against one’s own property. The law is enacted to protect white women who often killed the mixed-race children fathered by their husbands.
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Today in Underground Railroad History…On this day in 1852, seven freedom seekers are caught on a dock in Sandusky, Ohio,...
10/20/2026

Today in Underground Railroad History…
On this day in 1852, seven freedom seekers are caught on a dock in Sandusky, Ohio, before they can board a steamer that would take them across Lake Erie to Canada. They are defended by prominent lawyer Rush Sloane, who argues successfully to the mayor of Sandusky that their arrest violates Ohio law, and they are released. Sloane is sued by the owner of three of the individuals for $1,000 each. Two years later a federal court finds Sloane liable for $3,000, as he ignored the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
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Today in Underground Railroad History…On this day in 1824, Joseph Watson wins election as Philadelphia’s 57th mayor. Dur...
10/19/2026

Today in Underground Railroad History…
On this day in 1824, Joseph Watson wins election as Philadelphia’s 57th mayor. During his four years in office, Watson, a Quaker, will lead efforts to recover free blacks kidnapped in the city and sold into slavery in Southern plantations—posting a $500 reward for the apprehension of anyone engaged in this activity. Watson later built the city’s police force.
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Today in Underground Railroad History…On this day in 1817, Samuel Ringgold Ward is born into slavery in Maryland. After ...
10/17/2026

Today in Underground Railroad History…
On this day in 1817, Samuel Ringgold Ward is born into slavery in Maryland. After escaping to freedom with his family at the age of three, Ward attends the African Free School in New York and goes on to become a leading abolitionist orator. Following a tour of England in his 30s, he authors Autobiography of a Fugitive Negro—which becomes a powerful fundraising tool for the Antislavery Society if Canada. Frederick Douglass claimed Ward was peerless as an orator and that “the splendors of his intellect went directly to the glory of race.”
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Today in Underground Railroad History…On this day in 1798, Warner Mifflin, an early and ardent Quaker abolitionist, dies...
10/16/2026

Today in Underground Railroad History…
On this day in 1798, Warner Mifflin, an early and ardent Quaker abolitionist, dies in Delaware at age 53 from yellow fever after ministering to patients of the disease. Mifflin traveled extensively through the upper South in the years after the American Revolution, working to halt the Atlantic slave trade and expose the kidnapping of free blacks (aka the “Reverse Underground Railroad)”). He incurred the wrath of Congress by publicly challenging the morality of its slave-holding members and was a hero to European radicals in the days prior to the French Revolution. Mifflin’s farm in Chestnut Grove was an important stop for freedom seekers in the late-1700s—so much so that he was sued by nearby plantation owners.
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Today in Underground Railroad History…On this day in 1859, abolitionist John Brown leads an ill-fated Sunday night raid ...
10/16/2026

Today in Underground Railroad History…
On this day in 1859, abolitionist John Brown leads an ill-fated Sunday night raid on the US arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Brown invited Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass to join him. Douglass declined and Tubman was too ill to travel at the time.
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Today in Underground Railroad History…On this day in 1858, the seventh and final debate between US Senate candidates Abr...
10/15/2026

Today in Underground Railroad History…
On this day in 1858, the seventh and final debate between US Senate candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas is held in Alton, Illinois. Douglas believes that individual states should decide the issue of slavery as the country expanded westward, while Lincoln considers slavery a “monstrous institution” that invites other nations to taunt Americans as hypocrites. Each believes the founding fathers support his argument. Douglas will win election to the Senate, but national press coverage rockets Lincoln to national prominence.
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Today in Underground Railroad History…On this day in 1817, Andrjez (Andrew) Kosciuszko, a hero of the American Revolutio...
10/15/2026

Today in Underground Railroad History…
On this day in 1817, Andrjez (Andrew) Kosciuszko, a hero of the American Revolution, passes away in Switzerland. While serving in the South, Kosciuszko was so appalled by the institution of slavery that he left his US estate to Thomas Jefferson with instruction to sell it and use the money to buy the freedom of Jefferson’s slaves and to educate them so that they can lead independent lives. Jefferson, in his 70s, fails to follow his old friend’s wishes, claiming he is too old to be an effective executor.
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Today in Underground Railroad History…On this day in 1849, California’s first constitution is ratified at the Constituti...
10/13/2026

Today in Underground Railroad History…
On this day in 1849, California’s first constitution is ratified at the Constitutional Convention of Monterey months before the state is officially admitted to the Union. On the topic of human bo***ge it is crystal clear: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this state.”
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Today in Underground Railroad History…On this day in 1812, American forces invade British Canada and are defeated at the...
10/13/2026

Today in Underground Railroad History…
On this day in 1812, American forces invade British Canada and are defeated at the Battle of Queenston Heights by a force comprised of redcoats, Canadian militia, Mohawk warriors and a segregated unit under the command of Isaac Brock known as Raunchey’s Company of Coloured Men. Many of Brock’s soldiers had served on the British side as young men during the Revolution. In 1813, they would fight to repel an amphibious landing at the Battle of Fort George—in both cases risking their freedom, as they feared enslavement in the US if captured.

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