Narrative of Henry Box Brown

Henry Box Brown (b. 1816) was born in Louisa County, Virginia, and was a slave for thirty-three years before escaping to Philadelphia in a three-by-two-foot box. His life as a slave was relatively free from physical abuse by his slaveholders. His first owner was John Barret, a former Richmond mayor. Upon Barret's death, Brown was enslaved by William Barret, John's son. Brown was fed, clothed, and given spending money, much to the amazement of slaves on neighboring plantations. However, despite this relatively liberal treatment, he suffered many trials and much heartache as a slave. In his narrative, Brown explains that the horrors of slavery were not limited to physical abuse alone. The pains he suffered were tortures of the heart and soul, as illustrated by the sale of his wife and children. This act of cruelty drove Brown to escape. Assisted by friends, and trusting in divine providence to deliver him safely, Brown arrived in Philadelphia jarred, but in one piece. After his escape, he traveled across New England delivering antislavery lectures, and he also showcased a moving panorama called 'Henry Box Brown's Mirror of Slavery' in 1850. He moved to England later that year in fear of the Fugitive Slave Act, which was passed soon after. He exhibited the panorama in Liverpool, Manchester, Lancashire, and Yorkshire through the spring of 1851 and continued to lecture. Brown returned to the United States from England in 1875 with his new wife and daughter Annie, and he performed as a magician. The date and location of his death are unknown.