Various [Collection related to U.S. Marshal Watson Freeman] [Decimalized .01-.36]
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09028 Author/Creator: Various Place Written: various Type: Header Record Date: 1803-1857 Pagination: 7 letters, 29 receipts Order a Copy
Freeman was responsible for the arrest of fugitive slave Anthony Burns in Boston 1854. With 29 receipts and related documents.
Freeman was the U.S. Marshal of Massachusetts charged with enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act. Anthony Burns was the property of Charles Suttle of Alexandria, Virginia. Burns escaped slavery and fled to Boston. Suttle tried to reclaim Burns and Freeman, as U.S. Marshal, arrested Burns, enraging abolitionists. A mob descended on the courthouse where Burns was being held and attempted to free him. In the melee, a deputy was killed. Burns was convicted on 2 June 1854 and sent back into slavery. A few months later, a black Boston church raised the money to purchase his freedom.
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