Freeing Charles is the story of Charles Nalle, a slave who escaped from his owner (and probable half-brother) in Culpeper County, Virginia, and ended up in Troy, New York. He did not try to continue up into Canada because his wife and children were in the Washington, D.C., area and he thought he would have a better chance seeing them if he did not go any farther north. Charles’ escape to the North is described.

In Troy, Charles was employed as coachman by a wealthy industrialist. However, when he had been living up north over a year, Charles was suddenly captured by slave hunter who had been hired by his owner; a supporter of the Fugitive Slave Law had reported his whereabouts to the owner.

Word of Charles’s capture immediately was spread throughout Troy, and a crowd which became a mob gathered. Charles’ supporters obtained a writ of habeas corpus; he had to be taken to a State Supreme Court judge. On the way to a meeting with the judge, Charles was caught up in the mob and severely injured. However, escorted by Harriet Tubman to the riverbank, Charles escaped over the Hudson River to West Troy, where he was again arrested. With the help of a number of people, Charles again escaped, this time to Amsterdam, N.Y. Citizens of Troy and West Troy bought his freedom from his owner. Charles was later reunited with his family. They lived in New York State, but soon moved back to Washington, D.C., to be closer to the rest of their families.

In telling the story of Charles, Mr. Christianson tried to determine how Charles felt about certain events, and why he never told his children about his escapes. Mr. Christianson described the trials of Charles’ life as a slave, with his wife and family on another plantation (until they were freed and moved to Washington). He showed how Charles’ escape north impacted his brothers in Virginia who were sold to a plantation owner in Alabama.

In a chapter which seemed out-of-place, Mr. Christianson described the John Brown uprising; he attempted to show how it impacted slaves including Charles Nalle.

The last chapter of the book describes the author’s research, which was particularly difficult since Charles was illiterate and left no records. Mr. Christianson also provides a historiography of the Underground Railroad, describing and evaluating the major books about it.

Freeing Charles contains detailed bibliographic endnotes, which often tell considerably more about a particular individual or situation. A separate bibliography would have been helpful. ( )