Isaac Brown was a fugitive slave. He was accused of the attempted murder of a prominent plantation owner and suffered the fate of a guilty man. He was brutally flogged and then shipped like cattle from Maryland to a New Orleans slave enclosure. He made a daring escape and fled to the free state of Pennsylvania. But his wife and 11 children still resided in Maryland. Brown sent a heart-wrenching letter to his family across the country, telling them where he was.  His slave master intercepted the letter and Brown was extradited back to…