The Confluence
Confluence-2009MeachumReenactment-19
Americorps trail rangers told the story of slaves during the seventh annual celebration of the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Saturday May 23, 2009 along the Riverfront Trail in north St. Louis. A group of actors dramatized the events leading up to Meachum's effort to escape from slavery in St. Louis by fleeing across the Mississippi River into Illinois. The annual celebration was held near the spot where nine slaves launched a skiff into the river May 21, 1855 in an effort to reach freedom in Illinois. Five members of the party were captured on the Illinois shore, and Meachum, a free woman of color who organized the escape effort, was charged with a stop on the underground railroad from her St. Louis home.
Confluence-2009MeachumReenactment-19
Americorps trail rangers told the story of slaves during the seventh annual celebration of the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Saturday May 23, 2009 along the Riverfront Trail in north St. Louis. A group of actors dramatized the events leading up to Meachum's effort to escape from slavery in St. Louis by fleeing across the Mississippi River into Illinois. The annual celebration was held near the spot where nine slaves launched a skiff into the river May 21, 1855 in an effort to reach freedom in Illinois. Five members of the party were captured on the Illinois shore, and Meachum, a free woman of color who organized the escape effort, was charged with a stop on the underground railroad from her St. Louis home.