The U.S. National Park Service, National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program presented the 6th annual National Underground Railroad Conference in St. Augustine, Florida, June 20-24, 2012. This conference explored how freedom seekers seized opportunities to escape slavery into Spanish Florida, the Caribbean Islands, Indian Territory, Texas, and Mexico and how this helped to shape and transform new cultural identities in the region. Other conference topics included preservation and interpretation of stories of southern freedom seekers during the War of 1812 and the American Civil War, in commemoration of the 200th and 150th anniversaries, respectively.