William Kilgour (b. circa ? - d. 1838)
MSA SC 5496-050753
War of 1812 Claimant, St. Mary's County, Maryland, 1828
Biography:
William Kilgour was a property owner who lived in St. Mary's County, Maryland. He lived on a plantation that was situated on the Patuxent River, and adjoined the plantation of James F. Sothoron. Kilgour held at least eleven enslaved people at his property who worked in various capacitites.
The British military placed a blockade on Maryland waterways during the War of 1812. William Kilgour served as captain of the State militia of Maryland. During the war Kilgours property served as barracks to the American forces. In 1814 the enemy landed at Kilgours property and destroyed it. They burned two barns which held 35 hogsheads of tobacco and plundered other valuable property, including 400 lbs. of bacon, 30 heads of sheep, and a single wheel carriage. Four of Kilgour’s enslaved men, Dick, Jacob, Richard, and John, were carried off by the British. The first two men Dick Wiley and Jacob were carried away on July 15, 1814. Five days later the British carried off the other men Richard Wood and John Spalding. They all enlisted in the Colonial Marines, receiving military uniforms and arms. They were then taken on board Admiral Cockburn’s ship Regulus in the Patuxent River
In 1857, Kilgour's son James acting as executor of his fathers estate made a report to the Committee of Claims for the compensation for buildings and moveable property that was destroyed by the British during the War of 1812.|
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