In 1854, Henry, age 25, fled from John Stump at Perryville. John Stump owned the land at Perry Point and the railroad had purchased the right of way through Stump’s property. Henry escaped by boarding the train at Perryville and riding it to the next town, Charlestown, Maryland, about four miles east of Perryville, where he disappeared and was presumed to be in Pennsylvania, the border approximately 10 miles from Charlestown. Stump sued the railroad for allowing his slave to ride on the train, a violation of a state law enacted in 1838. The trial venue was moved from Cecil County to Harford County, where the first jury could not reach a verdict, but the jury in the second trial awarded Stump $1081 for his loss.[1]
[1] Cecil Whig, October 7, 1854; Cecil Democrat, October 7, 1854, reprinted from the Harford Republican; “Affairs in Harford County,” Baltimore Sun, February 10, 1855, reprinted from the Harford Republican; Cecil County, Slave Register, 1853-1864.