Rebecca Stewart
MSA SC 5496-50850
War of 1812 Refugee, Calvert County, Maryland
Biography:
Rebecca Stewart was an enslaved girl who was owned by Elizabeth Ballard of Calvert County, Maryland. Rebecca was the daughter of Charles and Sarah Stewart. Rebecca’s father was owned by Levin Ballard, who was the son of her mistress Elizabeth Ballard. Rebecca’s mother and siblings were all owned by Elizabeth Ballard.
America went to war with Britain in 1812. British ships came to America and placed a blockade on American waterways. By 1813, the ships were blocking Maryland waterways and British soldiers were plundering the homes of residents. Maryland slaves took this opportunity to escape to British Vessels. In April of 1814, British Admiral Alexander Cochrane issued a proclamation offering immediate emancipation to any person wishing to take up arms with the British military or wanting to relocate to a British territory. In 1814, when Rebecca was a young girl, she escaped with her family to British vessels lying in the Patuxent River at Lower Marlboro. The group of thirteen slaves were lead to the British ships by Rebecca's father Charles Stewart and her uncle Adam Green, who was the brother of her mother Sarah. The war ended when the Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24, 1814.
After
the war, Maryland slaveholders filed claims seeking compensation for
the loss of their property, including slaves, tobacco, livestock, and
household items. A commission was formed through the Department of
State to handle the
claims. It was decided by the commission that property owners in
Maryland and Virginia would receive $280 for each slave that was lost
to the British. Levin W. Ballard filed a claim with the Department of
State as acting executor of his mother Elizabeth Ballard. The
commission awarded Elizabeth Ballard $3,640 for the loss of thirteen
slaves.
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