Freedom is a fundamental right of every individual in the world. Irrespective of the definition of freedom, people would do anything to achieve it. For example, people use education as a tool for overcoming poverty.
However, personal freedom was hard-won and the path to the modern day was often a dark one. People in the past have been considered as possessions, and there are many instances of rebellious acts for breaking the shackles of bondage have made history.
The story of Henry “Box” Brown is definitely one of the interesting stories you would find on the pursuit of freedom. Born as a slave, Henry Brown earned the name “Box” for a weird reason, as he made his way to freedom in a box.
What is the story of Henry Brown and what is its importance? The following post sheds some light on the life of Henry ‘Box’ Brown and the answer for the distinctive addition in his name.
Who was Henry Brown?
Henry Brown was probably best remembered during his lifetime as an abolitionist lecturer in the United States and a performer in England. However, he was born as a slave somewhere around 1815 or 1816 into a plantation in Louisa County, Virginia.
Henry recounts his initial days at the Hermitage plantation with vivid memories of his parents in his autobiography. He also believed that he may have had two siblings, a sister and a brother. Some accounts suggest that he might have had three brothers and four sisters.
Henry also states in his autobiography that his master at the plantation was kind for a slave-owner, but one who enjoyed his position of authority and the gratitude the slaves on his farm showed him. At the same time, Henry stated that his mother taught him Christian values, which were an important part of his identity.
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At the age of 15, the master who owned Henry’s family died and the young Henry Brown had to move to Richmond. He started working there in a tobacco factory owned by the son of his previous master, William Barret.
At the same time, his brothers and sisters were transferred to different plantation with the exception of Martha. Brown stated that their new master, William Barret kept her as his mistress.
Henry Brown married another slave, Nancy, in 1836. Nancy worked in a nearby plantation and the couple had three children together. The couple had joined the First African Baptist Church and Henry occasionally sang in the church choir.
Henry had earned a good set of skills as a tobacco worker. However, Nancy was sold off to another slaveholder who made things worse for Henry Brown. Apparently, the new master of Nancy Brown coaxed Henry into renting a home for Nancy and her three children.
In addition, the master of Nancy also extorted money from Henry for the promise of not selling off Nancy and her three children. However, this was a lie. Nancy’s master sold her and her three children to another slaveholder in North Carolina in August 1848.
How to Escape?
Deeply wounded with the grief of losing his wife, Henry Brown decided to escape himself from the torture. Noting that abolition of slavery was a growing public discussion in 1849, Henry came up with a unique idea.
He hatched a plan for shutting himself in a box and shipping away to a free state as “dry goods”. Henry Brown hatched the plan with the help of a fellow choir member, James Caesar Anthony Smith and a white shoemaker, Samuel Alexander Smith.
The three men brainstormed different possible ideas for planning the escape of Henry only to reject them. However, Brown came up with the interesting idea of shipping himself to Philadelphia by rail in a wooden box. Samuel Smith reached out to James Miller McKim, a leader of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia with active involvement in Underground Railroad activities.
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The three men enlisted the services of a carpenter for making a wooden rectangular box, measuring around 3 feet by 2 feet (90cm by 60cm) and a height of 2.5 feet (75 cm). The inside of the box was lined with woolen cloth for ensuring his safety and small holes for air.
Brown got into the box in March 1849 on the journey to his escape from slavery. He carried a few biscuits, a small flask of water and an awl for making holes for air. The co-conspirators sealed the box with nails and marked it with the message “This Side up with Care” before transferring the box to the delivery offices of the Adams Express Company.
However, the journey of Henry Box Brown was not a comfortable one. The 27-hour journey to Philadelphia had involved Henry being transferred across multiple vehicles including wagons, trains, ferries and steamers.
At times, he had to bear injuries and was twice stowed upside-down during the journey, but he managed to remain silent. He was finally delivered to the office of an abolitionist in Philadelphia. Upon emerging from the box, Henry Brown sung the Psalm 40 loudly, expressing his joy and gratitude to the Lord for his freedom.
A Life After Emancipation
The emancipation of Henry Brown in a box earned him the middle name “Box”, a literal symbol of the confines he had crossed for reaching his freedom. Henry Brown discovered a completely new life after his emancipation as he became a popular speaker for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Towards the end of May 1849, Henry Brown attended the New England Anti-Slavery Convention in Boston, where he received much recognition.
Later, Brown formed a touring panorama about slavery with the help of a Boston artist, Josiah Wolcott in January 1850. However, the Fugitive Slave Bill came into practice in August 1850, thereby forcing Brown to hurriedly move to England two months later.
Henry Brown became a popular showman in England and remarried in 1859. He returned to the United States in 1875 and carried on with his shows until 1889. Henry Brown lived the last years of his life in Toronto before his death in June 1897.
The story of Henry Brown depicts how escaping from slavery led to a promising life, which he dedicated to fighting off the injustices inflicted on him.
Top Image: The Resurrection of Henry “Box” Brown. Source: Samuel W. Rowse / Public Domain.
By Bipin Dimri
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