by steamboat. Sultana was one of such ships and made "frequent round trips" between Great Lakes ports. Its captain, C.W. Appleby, a celebrated mariner, facilitated the conveyance of several fugitive slaves from various Lake Erie ports to Fort Malden. Though many fugitive slaves did not remain in the Amherstburg region, seeking to move far from the border and its threat of recapture, the influx of people made a dramatic and lasting impact upon the character and size of the settlement's population. At the start of the American Civil War, "800 blacks called Fort Malden home" and these refugees constituted forty percent of the area's population. A previous assessment in 1855 estimated the African-Canadian population to be somewhere between 400 and 500 persons, demonstrating that a rapid doubling of the populace occurred within a relatively short period of time due to the massive immigration occurring by way of the fort. The motivation behind such accelerated migration, beyond the obvious horrors of slavery, was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which rendered even those slaves who had escaped to the northern states vulnerable to capture and punishment, as well as those who assisted them. There exists unique terminology that developed in association with the Underground Railroad that contributed towards its secretive and covert nature. Detroit, the location from which most runaway slaves funneled into Canada, was known by the codename "Midnight". The Detroit River was colloquially referred to as "Jordan", a biblical allusion to the river of the same name across which the Israelites traveled to reach the Promised Land. Canada, as a terminus along the Railroad's metaphorical tracks, was often referred to as "Dawn", symbolizing the hope and possibility that it represented for so many African-American emigrants. Those who succeeded in reaching Canada were understandably eager to remain within the country's protective borders. Ergo, many of the Railroad's refugees became enthusiastic volunteers for local militias during periods of conflict. During both the War of 1812 and the 1837 Rebellions, Black Canadians served with distinction at Fort Malden. In 1807, deserters from the black militia of Detroit came to work at Fort Malden and were neither segregated nor denied promotions. Furthermore, the Second Essex Company of Coloured Volunteers "manned Fort Malden from Christmas Day, 1837, until May" and were participants in the capturing of the schooner Anne in 1838. Fort Malden was thus an embodiment of freedom for those travelling along the