Prologue Struggle for Freedom

The Underground Railroad was the pathway to freedom for countless slaves escaping the South in Antebellum America. Successful stations along the route often went undocumented. One St. Louis station, known today as the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing, appears in detail in local law enforcement and legal records. Each May, reenactors interpret the scene of one attempted escape.

© Grant Hindsley, Sarah Hoffman, Rita Reed, Tim Rice, Clay Stalter, 2011. Published by Missouri's Civil War by the consent of the creators.