Burns Fugitive Slave Case (1854) was one of three famous fugitive slave cases arising in Boston, Massachusetts, after the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Part of the Vigilance Committee (1850-61) planned to rescue Anthony Burns, an escaped slave, from an upper room of the courthouse. They battered in a door of the building at night, May 26, entered and one of them shot and killed Marshal Batchelder. Despite the committee's efforts, United States Commissioner and Suffolk County, Massachusetts probate court judge Edward G. Loring remanded Burns to his owner, Suttle, of Alexandria, Virginia. On June 2 throngs witnessed the slave's departure. Several rich citizens paid $1,300 and got him back early in 1855.

Source

• Adams, James TruslowDictionary of American History. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940.