Henry “Box” Brown
Henry “Box” Brown was born into slavery around 1815, and by the late 1840s was working, as a slave, in a tobacco factory. His wife, then pregnant with their fourth child, was sold away from him in 1848. He was helpless to save his family, and resolved, after some months of grief, to escape.
Brown had more freedom than many slaves, and was a member of the First African Baptist Church, bringing him into contact with a number of free blacks. With help from friends in his church, white sympathizers and abolitionists, Brown crafted a plan—he would ship himself to freedom in a box sent from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A white sympathizer, Samuel Allen Smith, helped to pack Henry Brown into his box, labeled “dry goods” for shipping. The box measured only three feet long by two feet wide, and two feet, 8 inches deep. The box was lined with coarse wool cloth. Brown carried only a small bladder of water and a few biscuits for his journey. The box was nailed shut and secured with strapping, then marked with “This Side Up”.
After 27 hours, including several spent miserably upside-down, Brown reached Philadelphia and the box was delivered to the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society. Upon being freed, Brown greeted the men, and recited a Psalm. They dubbed him Henry “Box” Brown for his successful journey to freedom.
Samuel Allen Smith attempted to ship other slaves to freedom; however, these attempts failed and Smith was jailed. After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, Brown sailed to England, and worked as a magician, employing his box in his act.