Brown, Henry “Box” (1815?-1879?), was an African American who escaped slavery in 1849 by being mailed to freedom in a wooden box. Brown hid quietly in the box as it moved from Virginia, a slave state, to the free state of Pennsylvania. Brown’s bold and unusual escape made him famous. He used his fame to help educate others about the injustice of slavery.
Brown was born a slave on a plantation in Louisa County, Virginia, in 1815 or 1816. His parents and siblings lived with him there until about 1830, when the family was divided among several slaveowners. Brown married a woman who was also a slave around 1836, and the couple had at least three children. In 1848, Brown’s children and wife, who was pregnant, were sold to a slaveowner in North Carolina. Brown soon made plans to escape from slavery.
On March 23, 1849, Brown climbed into a wooden box that had been built for him by a local black carpenter. The box was about 3 feet (91 centimeters) long, 2 1/2 feet (76 centimeters) deep, and 2 feet (61 centimeters) wide. Another of Brown’s friends and a storekeeper sealed him in the box. They shipped it from Richmond, Virginia, to an abolitionist in Philadelphia. For part of his 27-hour journey, Brown was upside down. However, he remained quiet so that he would not be discovered. He arrived safely the next day.
Once free, Brown began speaking at abolitionist meetings, where he often reenacted his “boxing.” Under the guidance of Charles Stearns, an antislavery activist and author, Brown wrote a book about the escape, Narrative of Henry Box Brown Who Escaped from Slavery Enclosed in a Box 3 Feet Long and 2 Wide (1849). In 1851, Brown completed a revised version as Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself (1851).
A year after Brown’s escape, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it a crime for people to help runaway slaves, even in free states. To avoid slave catchers, Brown moved to England, where he continued to work for antislavery causes. In the 1870’s, Brown returned to the United States. He toured Massachusetts as a magician. Historians do not know when or where Brown died. A replica of Brown’s box stands in downtown Richmond.
