Shadrach Howard, February 1, 1842

On February 1, 1842, Shadrach Howard, a sailmaker from New Bedford, Massachusetts, left a meeting of the Bristol County Anti-Slavery Society in Taunton and boarded the evening train home. The rear of the train’s two cars was full of abolitionists, both Black and white, so Howard and a friend entered the forward car, which had empty seats. After an unidentified passenger commented that there were “two persons in the car who had no business there,” the conductor, George W. Bird, told Howard and his friend to move to the rear car. Howard objected but acquiesced when Bird said, “Get out, I’ll find you a seat.”. Nevertheless, as they made their way down the aisle, Bird shoved Howard, and when they got to the steps between the cars, he grabbed Howard by the collar and threw him off the train. There Howard was set upon and beaten by railway employees.

Another car was added to the train, which Howard and four other Blask passengers entered. The train started off and after about six miles the conductor came to collect their tickets. Howard didn’t have a ticket, but asked how much it was. The conductor insisted on a ticket and at the next stop ordered Howard out of the car as “four or five bullying fellows” forced their way into the car. Howard ran to the front end of the car ahead, and many of the passengers blocked the way to protect him.

The conductor then had the train reverse all the way back to Taunton. Howard hoped to find a magistrate to get a warrant to arrest Bird, but a hostile crowd had gathered and he was forced to flee. Howard did not enter a complaint, but Bird filed a complaint of assault and battery against Howard. On March 30 Howard was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of either ten dollars or twenty (local newspapers disagreed on the amount) plus court fees, which would be “not less than two hundred and fifty dollars!” A contributor to an article in the Liberator on April 22 commented that “in view of the testimony that was given…a more unjust or unexpected verdict was never rendered in a court of justice in the Commonwealth: there was not a particle of evidence to warrant it.” The article concludes with a plea for people to send financial aid to Howard.