The Underground Railroad Sheet of 20

The U.S. Postal Service will release a pane of 20 stamps honoring 10 individuals who escaped slavery or helped others to escape via the Underground Railroad, a clandestine organization of former slaves, free men, and abolitionists dedicated to helping slaves escape to free states and Canada during the pre Civil War years and while the war was going on. Some of those honored in the stamps are famous, while others remain less known.

The two most famous individuals are Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) and Harriet Tubman (ca 1822-1913). Both were born into slavery and escaped. Tubman returned to slave states and helped lead others to freedom, and during the Civil War, acted as a spy and nurse for the Union Army. She was recently honored by commemorative coins issued by the U.S. Mint. Douglass became a noted orator and abolitionist, probably the most famous African American of his time. He fought tirelessly for emancipation, for the U.S. Army to enlist Black Soldiers in the Civil War, and for civil rights.