1857 Washington County MD Stampede

On Saturday, May 30, 1857, five enslaved people escaped from Hagerstown, Maryland via horse, carriage, and buggy. They traveled to Chambersburg, where they apparently boarded the trains of the Cumberland Valley Railroad for Harrisburg. Although an initial report suggested the freedom seekers had been captured at Chambersburg, subsequent news items clarified that only the horses and carriages had been found.