Fugitive slave, born in Stafford Co, Virginia, USA. He converted to the Baptist faith and became a slave preacher. He escaped from Richmond on a ship and reached Boston (1854), but was soon arrested and identified under the provisions of the Fugitive Slave Law (1850). Bostonians fought to keep him free, and it cost $100 000 and hundreds of soldiers to put down the demonstrations before he was returned to his master in Virginia. Northerners raised $1200 to purchase his freedom, and he went on to study at Oberlin College (185762) and became a Baptist preacher.
Anthony Burns (31 May 1834 to 17 July 1862) was an African American who escaped from slavery in Virginia and was captured by slave-hunters in Boston in 1854. Abolitionist plans to free Burns from prison and spirit him to safety were frustrated when President Franklin Pierce deployed federal artillery and United States Marines to take Burns to the ship back to Virginia. Abolitionist Thomas Wentworth Higginson was injured in the struggle at the court house and later indicted for his role in the attempted rescue of Burns. It has been estimated that the cost of capturing Burns was upwards of $40,000. Suttle, but Suttle refused to deal with anyone seeking Burns's emancipation. After Burns was forced back to Virginia, Suttle sold him for $905 to David McDaniel, a slaver, cotton planter, and horse-dealer from Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Grimes eventually managed to ransom Burns's freedom from McDaniel, with financial aid from Boston, for $1,300. Burns, once freed, returned to live in Boston.
Anthony Burns died in St. Catherines on July 17, 1862. 34-36 Charles Emery Stevens (1855), Anthony Burns: A History.
User Comments Add a comment…