The Underground Railroad existed in northern states before the Civil War, assisting escaped slaves from the South. Sympathetic northerners secretly helped them reach places of safety — from Maryland to Canada.

Although it was neither underground nor a railroad, it was called this because its activities had to be carried out in secret — using darkness or disguise. Railway terms were used in reference to the process of the escape system. Various routes were lines, stopping places were called stations, those who aided along the way were conductors, and those fleeing were known as packages or freight. A network of safe houses began to organize in the 1780s.

Tony Cohen of Maryland has become an expert historian on the subject. Besides an early interest and then a college degree in history, it may be his experiential look at the Underground Railroad that sets him........

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