Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

William (b. circa 1789 - d. ?)
MSA SC 5496-51628
 War of 1812 Escaped Slave, Kent County, Maryland, 1814

Biography:

William, along with Solomon, Peregrine and Ephraim, were stolen from their owner, Richard Frisby, and taken aboard to the HMS Menelaus as it was anchored in the Upper Chesapeake Bay at Poole's Island off Kent County on August 30, 1814.  Under the command of Captain Sir Peter Parker, the Menelaus (38 guns) was cruising the Bay to prevent local militia units from Maryland's Eastern Shore in assisting with the preparations of the defense of Baltimore.  Captain Parker was ordered to capture, when possible, the small units of American soldiers, to burn the farm houses along the Bay shore, and to harass the people in every way possible.[1] Stealing slaves and laborers was an effective way to disrupt the economy and threaten the lifestyle of Chesapeake planters.

On the night of August 30, the slaves were all taken "with force" from Richard Frisby's farm and put aboard the frigate by the Royal Navy.[2]  This was confirmed by Joseph T. Mitchell who was a prisoner on the Menelaus at the same time.[3]  Richard Frisby was in Baltimore at the time of the raid, working for the Committee of Vigilance and Safety preparing Baltimore for the British arrival and was appointed to secretary of the Eastern Precincts of the city.[4] 

The Royal Navy received information from the Frisby slaves about the location of the local militia unit.  The British were told the American camp was just one-half mile inland and a force of about 200 soldiers.[5]  In actuality, the 21st Maryland Militia Regiment, moved inland and were organized on a tree line about five miles away in the town of "Belleair" (modern day Fairlee).[6]  Some scholars, in respect to explaining the miscalculation of the militia's location, believe that the Frisby slaves intentionally lied to the British.[7] 

The following day, under a flag of truce, Lieutenant Colonel Philip Reed negotiated the exchange of prisoners, which apparently was not a "peaceful task."[8] The deposition of James A. Buchanan on behalf of Richard Frisby's claim notes that Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane accommodated the American in an effort to recover the four slaves that were taken away.  Admiral Cochrane gave a deponent and ordered to receive the slaves if possible, but later learned that they had already been sent down the Chesapeake Bay.[9] What happened to the slaves after this event is unknown.

In the claim to the Federal Government, Richard Frisby provided the names, ages, and approximate value for each of the four slaves that were stolen.  William was 25-years-old and worth $440.[10] John Quincy Adams was the United State's Secretary of State at the time the claim was heard in 1828, and ruled that Richard Frisby's slaves were in fact stolen by the Royal Navy, and rewarded $1,120 total to Richard Frisby for the slaves lost (assigning a set value of $280 per slave).[11]

Little is known of what happened to the slaves after they were taken by the Royal Navy.  They may have been taken to British colonies in either Nova Scotia or the Caribbean, but further research would be needed to confirm this claim.



[1] Percy Granger Skirven, Kent's Part in the War of 1812: "The Battle of Caulk's Field" August 31, 1814, (Baltimore, MD: Meeting of the Kent County section of the Eastern Shore Society, 1914), 3.

[2] Claim of Richard Frisby, Kent County, Case No. 862, Case Files, CA 1814-1828, entry 190, 1828, Record Group 76, National Archives, College Park, MD, page 5.

[3] Ibid.

[4] William M. Marine, The British Invasion of Maryland, 1812-1815 (Baltimore, MD: Society of the War of 1812 in Maryland, 1913), 134-6.

[5] Marine, The British Invasion of Maryland, 117; Skirven, Kent's Part in the War of 1812, 4.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.; Usilton, History of Kent County, 45.

[8] Claim of Richard Frisby, Kent County, Case No. 862, entry 190, page 8.

[9] Ibid, page 1, 7 & 13.

[10] Ibid, page 11.

[11] Ibid, page 16.

Researched and written by Ryan Cox, 2013.
 

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