Sarah Bradford · 1869 · overland

Sarah Bradford's 1869 biography records the escape of Harriet Tubman from slavery in Maryland and her many returns as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. This route follows the road to freedom north from the Eastern Shore through Wilmington and Philadelphia, on past New York and Rochester, and across the Niagara into Canada.

1. 1
   Dorchester County

   Born into slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Harriet Tubman fled north in 1849, following the rivers and the North Star toward free soil.

2. 2
   Wilmington

   In Wilmington the Quaker stationmaster Thomas Garrett sheltered fugitives and sped them on; Tubman would pass this way again and again, leading others out.

3. 3
   Philadelphia

   Crossing into Pennsylvania she was for the first time free, and found in Philadelphia the abolitionists and the vigilance committee of William Still.

4. 4
   New York

   After the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 no Northern city was truly safe, and the road to freedom lengthened north through New York.

5. 5
   Rochester

   In Rochester the station of Frederick Douglass passed travellers on toward the last river and the border beyond.

6. 6
   St. Catharines

   Across the Niagara at last, in St. Catharines in Canada, the fugitives stood on truly free ground; here Tubman made her base and returned time and again to bring others out.