Did anything like this ever occur in pre Civil War south? If so, was it very common?
Hi, hopefully someone can drop by with a comprehensive answer, but to get you started, here are a couple of related posts:
How often were freemen kidnapped in the north and sold into slavery?
Question on the historical accuracy of the treatment of free blacks in the North in "12 Years a Slave" discussing the specific case of Solomon Northup, who wrote a memoir of his experience in 1853, Twelve Years a Slave, which was recently made into a film.