John Doy and Rescuers, c. 1859

Photograph showing the controversial abolitionist John Doy (seated) and the group of Kansas abolitionists who rescued him from a Missouri jail in July 1859. An associate of John Brown, Doy had attempted to escort a group of Missouri fugitive slaves northward through Kansas in January 1859. But slave catchers overtook the group, reenslaved the fugitives, and hauled Doy back to Missouri, where authorities convicted him under the state's slave stealing statutes. Lawrence, Kansas abolitionists forcefully rescued Doy from prison in July. Doy later published a Narrative (1860) detailing his capture and rescue, and eventually Missouri governor Thomas Fletcher pardoned the fugitive abolitionist in 1865.