Solomon Northup by David Fiske

Author:David Fiske
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2013-12-01T16:00:00+00:00

IN NEW ORLEANS AND WASHINGTON

Two days later, Solomon and Henry were in New Orleans. By this time, they had probably decided to file charges against Birch, and Henry needed evidence of Birch’s role in the kidnapping. The City Recorder had the bill of sale for Ford’s purchase of Solomon from Freeman, and presumably he provided a certified copy to Henry along with a pass permitting Solomon to cross slave territory. In New Orleans, Henry and Solomon may have been able to establish that Freeman had been partners with Birch. These things accomplished, they headed north, initially by train, passing through Mobile to Charleston. There they boarded a boat to Wilmington, North Carolina, arriving on January 15, 1853, and staying in the Carolina Hotel.46 From there, they would have taken a train to Richmond, where Solomon spotted Goodwin’s slave pen near the depot, as they changed for Washington. They arrived in D.C. on January 17, where Henry, and presumably Solomon, stayed at the National Hotel (as Gadsby’s Hotel had been renamed).47 It is likely that they passed by Williams’ Slave Pen—which was right on the route from Steamboat Wharf to their hotel. By now, the slave trade was outlawed in the District of Columbia, and the slave pen was no longer in business.48 Solomon must have felt intense emotions as he retraced backward his route of sorrows from 12 years before, but he did not have a lot of time to dwell on them. He and Henry were determined to bring James H. Birch immediately to justice.

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