Aquia Landing

The fifth stop on Henry Brown's journey took him to the water and the Fredericksburg Steamship Company whose port was located at Aquia Landing on the Potomac River. Aquia Landing has an extensive history being an important site to the Patawomeck Tribe who had greeted Captain John Smith in 1608 as he sailed up the Potomac River. A historic marker recognizing this village is located not far from the landing site. Their village stood on the site of Aquia Landing. Aquia in Algonquin means gull or eagle. The landing later became an integral part of the Underground Railroad, which is where Henry Box Brown took this route up the Potomac River to The City of Washington in his journey to freedom.

The lands where Aquia Landing stands had originally been the lands of the Potawomeck Tribe that assisted the Jamestown settlement with food their first winter. The Potawomeck name was mispronounced by the English settlers to be "Potomac". This became the name of the river upon which this tribe called home. After the massacre of 1666 by English Settlers, the tribe lost the land, and the area was taken over by colonists. Descendants of the Potawomeck did eventually regroup in the 1700's and settled in the White Oak area of Stafford and many still live there today.

According to the Stafford County website, Aquia Landing was a very important part of the African American Underground Railroad where many enslaved people sought escape to get across the Mason Dixion Line to the north.  The Potomac River was crucial to the trip.  The boats would go between Washington City and Aquia Landing along the Potomac River. It was during the Civil War that 10,000 enslaved people escaped across the river to shelter behind Union Army lines. 

The Fredericksburg Steamboat Company was founded in 1842 built to connect the Richmond, Fredericksburg, Potomac Railroad to the City of Washington via boat. In 1861 the United States government seized all the boats, and they were out of commission until the company reformed in 1869. However, by that time they decided to change locations from Aquia Landing to Quantico Creek. The company went out of business in 1891.

The train from Richmond to the Potomac River was a trip of twenty-eight miles and normally took about 4 hours to reach the location of the Fredericksburg Steamboat Company in Stafford, VA. According to Henry Brown’s own story, had several stops along the route and twice the box was shifted so that Brown was ‘set down with his neck, shoulders, & head downwards. He reported that he had been able to turn himself upwards but ‘a very considerable struggle.’ The train arrived at Aquia Creek Landing at noon on Friday March 23, 1849. This location on the river became a gateway for enslaved people to escape. It is noted that an estimated 10,000 enslaved people took refuge in Stafford, VA behind Union lines and many of them used this route to travel to freedom. Henry Box Brown took this route in his journey to freedom. Once he arrived at the steamboat, his box was loaded once again upside down. Henry’s own accounts were that while on the boat many passengers stood near the box and even sat on the box, so it was very difficult to try to turn around without being heard.

In addition to Henry’s story of taking the steamship up the Potomac, there is another story in 1848 of William and Ellen Craft who escaped from Georgia.  Since Ellen was of mixed descent (her mother was biracial, and father was white) she posed as an elderly white plantation owner and her husband posed as her slave.  They too used the same route from Aquia Landing to Philadelphia.  Just like Henry Brown, they too met with William Still in Philadelphia and relayed the tale of their journey.  

The Journey of Henry “Box” Brown Teachers Guide https://housedivided.dickinson.edu

https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/k-12-standards-instruction/history-and-social-science/virginia-s-first-people-past-and-present/today/patawomeck#:~:text=The%20Patawomeck%20supplied%20the%20Jamestown,Potomac%20River%20derived%20its%20name. Accessed 3/30/2024.

https://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=fcpl/vif00085.xml. Accessed 4/6/2024.

Brown, Henry. Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown. Manchester, England. Lee and Glynn, 1851.

Ruggles, Jeffrey. The Unboxing of Henry Brown.

Richmond, Virginia. Library of Virgnia, 2003.

The Journey of Henry “Box” Brown TEACHER’S GUIDE, Dickinson.edu

Still, William. The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts. Garden City, New York. Dover Publications, 2007.