Biography:
In 1814 in Frederick County, Maryland, Jacob Green, a free black,
was one of
nine men, all slaves or free blacks, held in the Frederick County jail
charged
with consulting and conspiring to raise an insurrection. The
others
charged were Parman,
a slave of Charles Shell, Hez,
a slave of Francis Mantz, Harry,
a slave of Jacob Bentz, Osswell,
a slave of Henry Koontz, Daniel,
a slave of Roger Nelson, Simon,
a slave of John Mantz, Bill,
a free indentured servant of Tobias Haller, and Elias
Jones, a free Frederick County resident. The men were said to
be
conspiring on August 1, 1814. As Green
apparently informed the authorities of the plot and plead guilty to the
allegations, Maryland Governor Levin Winder granted him a nolle
prosequi on
August 22, 1814, which kept the charges against him from being
pursued.
Thus, Green was able to walk free.
The trial for the remaining eight men began on September 13, 1814,
in a
special court session commissioned by Governor Winder.
Without the special session, the men would
have had to wait until February of the next year to be tried, and
officials did
not want them taking up space in the jail for that long.
With Judge Abraham Shriver, John Buchannan,
and Roger Nelson leading the proceedings, the eight men were convicted
on
September 16, 1814, of conspiracy to raise an insurrection. Most likely to protect their owners from
losing money, five of the other slaves were given no jail time; they
were
simply whipped and sent home. One slave,
Simon, and the two free men, Elias and Bill, were each sentenced to six
years
in the penitentiary. While Elias,
supported by a number of respectable citizens, secured a pardon a few
months
later and was released on December 23, 1814, Simon and Bill remained in
prison,
and both died there before their terms were up.
_____________________________
1 GOVERNOR
AND COUNCIL (Pardon Record) MSA S1107, Nolle Prosequi for Jacob Green,
August 22, 1814, MdHR 1932, MSA S 1107-3, Location: 2/26/5/26
2 GOVERNOR
AND COUNCIL (Pardon Papers) MSA S1061, Jacob Green, 1814, Box 16,
Folder
35, 1814, MdHR 5401-16, MSA S 1061-16, Location: 2/46/1/16
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