Beginning Date
Monday, December 20, 1858
Starting Point
Freedom Seekers Mentioned By Name
Jim Daniels
Slaveholders Mentioned By Name
James Lawrence
UGRR Operatives Mentioned By Name
John Brown
Mid Points
End Point
On December 20, 1858, abolitionist John Brown and a group of armed activists led a raid into Vernon county, Missouri, at the behest of enslaved Missourian Jim Daniels who was owned by James Lawrence. The raid freed Daniels, his family and several other enslaved people, 11 in total (12 following the birth of John Brown Daniels), escaping westward through Kansas. The group eventually reached Canada in March 1859 via Detroit. Later, during testimony about the Harpers Ferry raid, witnesses described the Vernon County episode as a stampede.
Escape Attributes
Multiple Slaveholders
Single Group Escape
Women and/or children runaways
Armed Escape
Railroad Escape
Wagon / Horseback Escape
Runaway Arrest Ad
UGRR Involvement
Violence
Escape Numbers
11
Escape Numbers Comment
12 after birth of John Brown Daniels en route from Missouri
Outcome
Freedom
Notes on Sources
Epps, Slavery on the Periphery, 129-132