The National Park Service created the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom to commemorate the places and people who shaped the journey to freedom. Network to Freedom sites are documented places where the enslaved escaped from bondage, the routes they took, places where they stayed or found assistance, and sometimes places where their freedom was tried and tested. Network to Freedom programs provide authentic information about the Underground Railroad and people who escaped. Network to[...]
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Hundreds of freedom seekers risked their lives to escape from slavery in Maryland. Full of courage and inspiration, more people successfully fled from bondage in Maryland than from any other state. Their heroic stories are plentiful and riveting and are told through the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom sites and through programs and tours that share freedom seekers’ struggles and triumphs. Here you can discover the real Underground Railroad and find out why Maryland[...]
Home to a large population of free and enslaved Blacks, and sympathetic whites, Underground Railroad support grew in Maryland in the years leading to emancipation. Many of the nation’s best-known Underground Railroad leaders emerged in this environment. These agents and untold more guided Underground Railroad passengers to safety and fought for their freedom. Explore their stories at The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture and the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum and at the[...]
Hundreds of freedom seekers risked their lives to escape from slavery in Maryland. Full of courage and inspiration, more people successfully fled from bondage in Maryland than from any other state. Their heroic stories are plentiful and riveting and are told through the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom sites and through programs and tours that share freedom seekers’ struggles and triumphs. Here you can discover the real Underground Railroad and find out why Maryland[...]
A Dangerous Journey Escaping bondage and running to freedom was a dangerous and potentially life-threatening decision. Making the choice to leave loved ones, even children behind was heart-wrenching. Surviving exposure without proper clothing, finding food and shelter, and navigating into unknown territory while eluding slave catchers all made the journey perilous. At Maryland’s Network to Freedom sites and programs, you can discover personal stories about the ways enslaved people struggled for freedom and how others[...]
Maryland’s Hotbed of Underground Railroad Support Home to a large free black population, enslaved blacks and sympathetic whites, a hotbed of Underground Railroad support grew in Maryland in the years leading up to emancipation. Many of the nation’s best-known Underground Railroad leaders and abolitionists emerged. Names like Harriet Tubman, the “Moses of her People,” Frederick Douglass, accomplished orator, abolitionist and statesman, and Josiah Henson, whose slave narrative became inspiration for the character Uncle Tom in[...]