Finding refuge across the river

Just south of Fort Smith hundreds of slaves escaped by crossing the frozen Missouri River during the winter of 1862-1863. Once in eastern Kansas, the slaves would move on to Iowa, Chicago, and other points north.
Slavery in Missouri generally followed along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. In 1860, only 9.7% of the state's population, or 114,931 individuals were slaves. In contrast to Southern states, the number of slaves working a Missouri farm was very small. The average Missouri slave owner had less than five slaves. Of the slave states, only Delaware had a smaller slave population.
Fort Smith overlooked the Missouri River and the path to freedom for the enslaved population of Missouri to the neighboring states of Kansas and Iowa. There is no evidence that St. Joseph had stations on the Underground Railroad, although local legends abound. Evidence does exist of runaway slaves in St. Joseph. Newspapers ran many advertisements seeking their whereabouts and return.
[Inset illustration captions read]
An actual runaway slave handbill.
According to the 1860 Federal Census, there were 2,011 slaves in Buchanan County.

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Show me all markers in:  St. Joseph, MO  |  Buchanan County  |  64501  |  Missouri  |  United States of America

St. Joseph
Fort Smith
The Men of the Corps of Discovery / The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Pony Express
Joseph Robidoux
The California - Oregon Trail
St. Michael's Prairie / The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Buchanan County Courthouse
"Saddle and Mochila"
Missouri Valley Trust Company

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