Return

Following a dramatic court trial, Sims was to return to a life of slavery in Georgia against the strong
protests of abolitionists. After leaving the courthouse, ​Sims was marched down to a ship to return
to Georgia under military protection. Sims exclaimed multiple times that he had rather been killed
and asked for a knife multiple times. ​Many people marched with Sims to the wharf, showing their
solidarity.​ The ​Boston Vigilance Committee​, which had helped ​Shadrach Minkins​ escape the custody
of U.S. marshals, was unable to rescue Sims. They planned to place mattresses under Sims's cell
window so he could jump out and make his getaway in a horse and chaise, but the sheriff barred the
window before they could act.​[1]​ Upon his return to Savannah, Sims was sold in a slave auction. ​He
was sold to a new owner in ​Mississippi​. Later, he escaped in 1863 and returned to Boston.

Later Years
After the Sims trial, ​Charles Devens​, a U.S. marshal, was ordered to return Sims to Georgia. Devens
had qualms about the assignment, and later tried to buy Sims's freedom, but was unsuccessful. In
1877, Devens was appointed U.S. Attorney General by President ​Rutherford B. Hayes​. While in
office, he appointed Sims to a position in the ​U.S. Department of Justice​ i​ n 1863. Following this
appointment, he served as a Union general of General Grant’s forces.

Reactions
The "Sims Tragedy" was a ​cause célèbre​ in the Massachusetts ​abolitionist​ movement (see for
instance, the references in ​Henry David Thoreau​’s ​Slavery in Massachusetts​) and drew sympathy
from many northerners. Probably the most renowned fugitive slave case of the decade also
occurred in Boston. Three years after Sims' arrest, Judge ​Edward G. Loring​ ordered the fugitive
Anthony Burns​ back into slavery in Virginia. Another attempt was made by abolitionists as
hundreds of whom poured onto the streets on various occasions in support of the fugitive. As in the
case of Sims, Burns was also taken by U.S. Marines to a ship destined for Virginia, but by the time of
Burns's deportation his cause had become so celebrated that 50,000 people watched federal
officers take him to the wharf. Within a year, Burns was back in Boston. African Americans had
raised $1,300 to pay the price being asked for him.