A lot is known about the life and ordeal of Solomon Northup. For example, it is known that he was taken by the prominent slave trader James Burch, a pillar of commerce in Alexandria, VA, from Washington to Aquia Landing, and taken from there by stagecoach to Richmond to be sold in one of the slave markets of the city's Shockoe Bottom district. See this detailed and wonderfully illustrated article from the local Fredericksburg newspaper.
Activists and historians are now struggling to preserve the heritage of Shockoe Bottom against the threat of a giant baseball stadium that the city wants to build there -- a heritage that is toxic but must be remembered and studied rather than buried. They argue, and I agree, that the history of the area must be brought forth by historical sites, markers, a museum, something to remind us of the great wrongs that were done there for generations, upon which the economy and social structure of the city were built.
Please consider signing the petition to stop this baseball stadium: