Patty Cannon

Serial Killer

Patty Cannon: Kidnapper, Slave Trader and Serial Murderer

Martha "Patty" Cannon was one of the most notorious criminals associated with the early nineteenth-century traffic in kidnapped free Black Americans. Operating along the Delaware-Maryland border, Cannon and the group commonly called the Cannon-Johnson Gang abducted free Black men, women and children, held them captive, and transported them south to be sold into slavery. Cannon was also accused of murdering people who threatened the operation, could not easily be sold, or possessed money the gang wanted to steal. Although later stories dramatically expanded the number of murders attributed to her, surviving historical records establish that Cannon was formally indicted for four murders in 1829 and that multiple sets of human remains were uncovered on property associated with her criminal enterprise.

Patty Cannon and the Cannon-Johnson Gang

Cannon lived in the region around what is now Reliance, near the Maryland-Delaware state line. Her home and properties connected to her family were situated in an area where the boundaries of Sussex County, Delaware, and Caroline and Dorchester counties in Maryland provided criminals with opportunities to move from one jurisdiction to another. Stories that Cannon could simply step across a state line whenever authorities approached became part of her legend, although some of the more colorful versions of those stories were written long after her death. Cannon's most important criminal associate was her son-in-law, Joseph "Joe" Johnson. Johnson operated a tavern and worked as a slave trader. His brother, Ebenezer F. Johnson, was also implicated in violent activities connected with the gang. Other individuals associated with the network at various times included Henry Carr, John Purnell and Cyrus James. The gang participated in what later became known as the "Reverse Underground Railroad." Rather than helping enslaved people escape to freedom, criminal kidnapping networks abducted free Black people from northern and border states and forced them into slavery. Victims could be seized from roads, farms, homes or cities, transported far away from their families, and sold to buyers who had little incentive to investigate whether the person being sold was legally free.

Kidnapping Free Black Americans

Cannon's organization was accused of kidnapping large numbers of free Black Americans from Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. Captives were taken to secluded properties controlled by Cannon and Johnson, where they could be concealed until arrangements were made to transport them south. Accounts given by people who survived the operation described prisoners being restrained, threatened and beaten when they protested that they were free. Some captives were moved through the Nanticoke River and Chesapeake Bay region before being transported to southern slave markets. Others were taken overland. Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia were among the destinations connected with members of the trafficking network. Once a victim had been taken hundreds of miles from home and sold, proving free status could become extraordinarily difficult. One documented kidnapping survivor was Lydia Smith, a 25-year-old free Black woman. Smith stated that she was kidnapped in 1825 and held at Cannon's house before being transferred to Johnson's tavern. She remained captive for months before being transported south with a larger group. Testimony from Smith and other recovered kidnapping victims eventually provided authorities with evidence about the gang's methods. ...

Confirmed Victims: (0)

Patty Cannon MSA SC 5496-051231 - Maryland State Archives