Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Benjamin Seale
MSA SC 5496-50984
War of 1812 Refugee, St. Mary's County, Maryland, 1814

Biography:

Benjamin Seale lived on Sotterley Plantation in St. Mary's County, Maryland, as a slave of John R. Plater. At age 5, Benjamin escaped from Sotterley in July of 1814 by boarding the British frigate Severn, captained by Joseph Nourse, in the Patuxent River. Bemjamin was one of 49 slaves to escape from Sotterley during the War of 1812, and one of 44 slaves to escape via the frigate Severn. Among the slaves who escaped from Sotterley, 10 slaves share Benjamin's surname including: John Seale Sr., Maria Seale (44 years old), John Seale Jr., Maria Seale (17 years old), Patty Seale, Peggy Seale, Sophia Seale, Ignatius Seale, Franky Seale, and Ester Seale.1

After the war, Benjamin likely retained his freedom in Halifax, Nova Scotia. John Seale Sr. appears in the Halifax List and is recorded as having a wife and one child.2 John Seale Sr. also settled on land in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbor conveyed to him by Henry H. Cogswell. In the census taken of the refugees who received land from Cogswell, John is listed as having one wife and five children.4 In his reparations claim, John R. Plater claimed that John Seale had a wife and two children at the time of his escape, but Plater did not name the wife or children.5 Plater did not specify the exact relations of the Seales, but they seem to have been a family unit. In that case, Benjamin Seale may have been one of John Seale Sr.'s children or nephews, and may have taken refuge in John Seale Sr.'s home in Halifax.

The Seale family was joined in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbor by the Coursey and Munroe families which had also escaped from Sotterley. The refugee families likely encountered tremendous setbacks during their first year of freedom, such as spending their first Canadian Winter without any spare clothing. A letter from Cogswell to Governor John Sherbrooke indicates that as late as December 24, 1815, the families had not yet received any munitions clothing.6
 
 
 

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