The fugitive slave case of Daniel Dangerfield from Harrisburg causes popular excitement in Philadelphia

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, an armed U.S. Marshal had arrested Daniel Dangerfield claiming that he was a fugitive from the slave ownership of Elizabeth Simpson of Athensville, Virginia. Marshals sent him immediately by train to Philadelphia so as to avoid demonstrations or attempts to free him in the town. Dangerfield appeared that same day in the court of Philadelphia Fugitive Slave Commissioner Longstreth who held the case over until the following Monday. With crowds numbering in the thousands outside the court and spectators like Lucretia Mott and Passmore Williamson inside, George Earle, J. Miller McKim, and others defended the prisoner over the next two days, citing mistaken identity. The Commissioner agreed and on April 6, 1859, Dangerfield was released to return to Harrisburg but not before the crowds had paraded him around the city in triumph. (By John Osborne)