Concord and the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad ran through Concord. This network of secret routes and safe houses helped enslaved African-Americans to escape North and to Canada. The Railroad was run by abolitionists and others sympathetic to the cause against human slavery. There are not clear records, but more than 30,000 people were thought to have escaped. And some were hidden in the fine homes in and around Concord.
In fact, the escape to Canada became all more urgent in 1850, thanks to the Fugitive Slave Law - that passed with the support of NH’s own Daniel Webster. In an hours-long speech to the U.S. Senate, Webster said that slavery could never be eradicated in the South, so he argued that Northerners abide by the Fugitive Slave Act and return escaped slaves to their Southern “owners.” In 1854, an escaped slave named Anthony Burns was captured in Boston. Massachusetts residents turned out in support of Burns, but President Franklin Pierce, determined to keep the South appeased, sent federal troops to enforce Burns's return to his Virginia owner to the horror of angry crowds.
Now, escape to Canada seemed the only option. Thanks to Pierce, New Hampshire was shifting to a bastion of abolitionists. Leader such as William Lloyd Garrison, Nathaniel Peabody Rogers and Stephen Symonds Foster helped build a statewide antislavery movement. Along with freed slaves, they took risks to aid escapees.
The New Hampshire Historical Society has in its collection Dollhouse based a slave cabin. It was made in 1857 for Anna Frances White of Concord by an escaped slave. Two African-American figures are shown sitting on chairs in a room with a fireplace behind a glass panel. Pencil notations about provenance by members of the White family on inside of the removable panel; also a typescript paper label taped to panel: "This cabin was made by an escaped slave, who went to my grandmother's house on Capitol St. in Concord. She sent him to the White Farm on Clinton St. and he waited there with other escapees until the next guide came through to conduct them toward Canada. Thus was the time whiled away. Rose W. Winship".
John Greenleaf Whittier a poem "New Hampshire" to honor the Granite State's growing stand against slavery in 1846:
Courage, then, Northern hearts! Be firm, be true;
What one brave State hath done, can ye not also do?
From Concord, escaped slaves could catch real trains north that would take them to Canada. Those assisting them believed boarding at smaller cities was safer for the runaways.
And, if you visit the Old North Cemetery look for the grave of Nathaniel Peabody Rogers, editor of the Herald of Freedom, an abolitionist newspaper. His tomb reads:
NATHANIEL PEABODY ROGERS
PATRIOT LAWYER JOURNALIST
FRIEND OF THE SLAVE
And he is buried next to none other than Franklin Pierce. And not far way is the grave of a freed slave, Nancy.
Want to know more?
Author Michelle Arnosky Sherburne looks at the truth about slavery, the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement in New Hampshire in her book .
The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire promotes awareness and appreciation of African American history and life in order to build more inclusive communities today.
This 45-minute video presents sites and notable African Americans from Concord’s founding until today. It tells the story of the first meeting of the Legislature in the new capital in 1782, at the Rev. Timothy Walker’s house and warehouse, where Governor, Governor’s Council, and legislature, were served by Prince, Violet, and Luce, enslaved in his household. It includes stories of enslavement, emancipation, the underground railroad, abolitionism, and the visits of Frederick Douglass. In more recent times, the tour tells the story of renowned African American illustrator, Mel Bolden, and concludes with an interview with Sen. Melanie Levesque.
The Underground Railroad ran through Concord. This network of secret routes and safe houses helped enslaved African-Americans to escape North and to Canada. The Railroad was run by abolitionists and others sympathetic to the cause against human slavery. There are not clear records, but more than 30,000 people were thought to have escaped. And some were hidden in the fine homes in and around Concord.
