Henry’s Freedom Box

A True Story from the Underground Railroad

Author Ellen Levine and illustrator Kadir Nelson bring Henry “Box” Brown’s amazing story to life in Henry’s Freedom Box.

One of the most famous slaves on the Underground Railroad didn’t travel by foot. Henry Brown, with the help of two friends, mailed himself from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia. The wooden box he traveled in measured only 3 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet, 8 inches deep.

Henry Brown began his life as a slave in Louisa Country, Virginia in about 1815.  In Henry’s Freedom Box,  the author  writes: “Henry and his brothers and sisters worked in the big house where the master lived. Henry’s master had been good to Henry and his family. But Henry’s mother knew things could change. ‘Do you see those leaves blowing in the wind? They are torn from the trees like slave children are torn from their families.'”

At age 15, his master gave Henry to his son. From then on, Henry worked in a tobacco factory away from his family.

Henry married Nancy, a slave owned by a different master. One day, he watched as pregnant Nancy and their three children were led away, sold to a North Carolina plantation. Henry knew he would never see them again.

With the loss of Nancy and their children, Henry decided to escape slavery and make his way to a free state. He devised a dangerous plan. He would travel by steamboat, train, and wagon in a wooden box. Henry asked his friend, a free black, James Smith, and Dr. Samuel Smith, a white man who opposed slavery, to help him.

On March 23, 1849, Henry was nailed shut in the box with only biscuits, some water, and a tool, called a gimlet, to make air holes. Dr. Smith shipped Henry to The Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society. He wrote on the box: “This Side Up With Care” hoping to keep Henry right side up during the trip. But Henry spent part of the trip upside down with blood rushing to his head. Once, Henry thought he would die that way, until two men on the steamboat moved Henry’s box and sat on top. Lucky for Henry the move put him right side up again. 

Henry was delivered to the Anti-Slavery Society safely after spending 27 hours inside the box. Four men opened the wooden box and welcomed Henry to freedom. Newspapers reported Henry’s story and he became known around the world as Henry “Box” Brown, a free man. 

To Learn More: https://www.pbs.org/black-culture/shows/list/underground-railroad/stories-freedom/henry-box-brown/

If you like this post, then please consider sharing it and leaving a comment below. Thank you! Barbara Lowell, Children’s Author

Books For Kids About the Underground Railroad: https://barbaralowell.com/books-kids-underground-railroad