As early as 1821, enslaved blacks seeking freedom crossed the Ohio River from Louisville to New Albany. During the antebellum and Civil War periods, more fugitives came through, aided by other slaves, free blacks, and anti-slavery whites who risked violence and arrest. Not everyone who tried to escape succeeded, but many freedom-seekers passing through New Albany achieved their goal and traveled as far north as Canada. The Underground Railroad was a widespread network of diverse people in the nineteenth century who aided slaves escaping to freedom from the southern U.S.