In memory of Frank Padget, a coloured slave who during a freshet in James River in January 1854, ventured and lost his life by drowning in the noble effort to save some of his fellow creatures, who were in the midst of the flood, from death.
Heavy rains in late Jan. 1854 left the JamesRiver and the treacherous Balcony Falls infull flood. On 21 Jan., the canal boat Clintonand its passengers became stranded in theraging waters. Frank Padget, a skilledboatman and slave, led four other me…