This is an image of the American abolitionist William Lawrence Chaplin from a publication titled "The case of William L. Chaplin : being an appeal to all respecters of law and justice, against the cruel and oppressive treatment to which, under color of legal proceedings, he has been subjected, in the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland", published by the "Chaplin Committee" in Boston in 1851. The Library of Congress "American Memory" entry reads, "Chaplin was arrested in Aug. 1850 for having "abducted, stolen, taken, and carried out from the city of Washington" two fugitive slaves. Additional charges were brought against him for assaulting his arrestors. The Chaplin Fund Committee was organized to raise money for his bail and defense."