In the afternoon of February 15, 1851, inside a federal courthouse, an enslaved African man named Shadrach Minkins, who had escaped slavery in Virginia less than a year earlier, was being held under the infamous Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Outside, a crowd of free Black men, abolitionists, and sympathizers gathered, their hearts pounding with determination. By the day’s end, they would do the unthinkable: storm a courtroom and carry Minkins to freedom, right under the noses of U.S. marshals.
Shadrach Minkins was born around 1814 in Norfolk, Virginia, into the brutal institution of slavery. For more than three decades, his life was defined by forced labor and subjugation. But like countless, others, Minkins longed for something greater freedom. In May 1850, at the age of 33, he made a daring escape northward to Boston, a city that, while technically free, was still divided between the ideals of liberty and the demands of slaveholding states.
In Boston, Minkins found work as a waiter at a coffeehouse and lived quietly, blending into the city’s bustling Black community. For a moment, he tasted the freedom he had risked everything to gain.
But Minkins’ fragile peace was shattered later that same year. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 had just been passed, forcing every state, free or not, to assist in the capture and return of escaped slaves. The law empowered federal marshals to seize fugitives anywhere in the United States and punished anyone who dared to help them.
Boston, known for its outspoken abolitionists, quickly became a battleground.
On February 15, 1851, the nightmare arrived. U.S. marshals, pretending to be customers, entered the coffee house where Minkins worked. As he served them, they suddenly seized him, shackled his wrists, and dragged him to the Boston federal courthouse.
Word of the arrest spread like wildfire through the city’s Black neighborhoods and abolitionist circles. Members of the Boston Vigilance Committee, an interracial group dedicated to protecting escaped slaves from recapture, immediately sprang into action.
They knew that every minute counted. Inside the courthouse, lawyers filed desperate motions to free Minkins, but the Chief Justice rejected their petition.
Then came the moment that would forever etch Shadrach Minkins’ name in history.
As the hearing continued inside, a crowd of determined men, mostly Black Bostonians, some with their faces half-covered by coats and hats, stormed into the courtroom. In a burst of chaos and courage, they overpowered the marshals, wrestled Minkins from their grip, and carried him out into the streets.
Witnesses later said the men moved like a single force, silent, focused, unstoppable. Within minutes, they vanished into the narrow alleys of Beacon Hill, the heart of Boston’s Black community. Minkins was hidden in an attic, and later, carted away along the Underground Railroad, the secret network of safe houses that led escaped slaves to freedom.
The rescue of Shadrach Minkins shook the country. President Millard Fillmore insisted the law must be enforced and called for the prosecution of everyone involved. Many in power demanded harsh punishment to calm Southern fears and prove that the government would uphold the law.
Nine men were later indicted for aiding Minkins’ escape, but the trials turned into a public embarrassment for federal authorities. Boston juries refused to convict, and they all walked free.
With the help of his rescuers, Minkins followed the Underground Railroad north to Canada, beyond the reach of American slave catchers. He eventually settled in Montreal, where he began life afresh. There, he worked as a waiter, later ran his own restaurants, and finally became a barber.
In 1853 or 1854, he married and raised a family in Montreal’s Old Town. Though he lived quietly, his story continued to inspire those who had fought against slavery on both sides of the border.
Shadrach Minkins died in December 1875 and was buried in an unmarked grave at Mount Royal Cemetery, near two of his children.
In 2023, a commemorative plaque was placed at Mount Royal Cemetery, ensuring that future generations will know the man whose freedom was won through courage and determination.
Sources:
https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/minkins-shadrach-d-1875/
https://www.nps.gov/articles/-rescued-from-the-fangs-of-the-slave-hunter-the-case-of-shadrach-minkins.htm
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/shadrach-minkins-plaque-cemetery-montreal-1.7011679
