African Americans in the War of 1812

Jordan B. Noble began his life in slavery, but he died as a revered war hero. This drummer boy of the Battle of New Orleans was a mainstay of War of 1812 commemorations until his death in 1890.

Charles Ball escaped slavery to join the US Navy flotilla & served with distinction during the War of 1812, participating in Battles of St. Leonard Creek and Bladensburg in 1814.

Serving at sea was an easy way for men of color – free or especially enslaved – to escape bondage and the prejudices of land. At sea, men came from all over the world, practicing many religions, representing many ethnicities and many backgrounds. George Roberts found freedoms as a simple sailor that did not exist on land.

Born enslaved on Benjamin Oden’s plantation in Prince George County, Maryland, around 1793, Frederick Hall is better known as William Williams – a man of color who fought and died defending Fort McHenry during the 1814 Battle of Baltimore.

Once they gain a foothold in our collective national memory, the persistence of national myths becomes part of our history.

In June 1807, the United States and Great Britain appeared on the verge of conflict: after the frigate Leopard fired on the US warship Chesapeake, British sailors boarded the American vessel, mustered the crew, and impressed four seamen -- Jenkins Ratford, William Ware, Daniel Martin, and John Strachan -- whom they claimed were deserters. The damaged Chesapeake limped back to Norfolk with three dead and 18 wounded. Historian Gene Allen Smith examines the inauspicious beginnings to the war.

The British established Fort Albion on Tangier Island off the coast of Virginia in the Chesapeake Bay in April 1814, and nearly 1,000 slaves found refuge at the site. With the help of this lesson, students will be able to unpack a complicated maritime history of agency, race, and war. Use this lesson plan to learn more about the island.

The War of 1812, which pitted the United States, Great Britain and their allies against each over the course of three years, turned into an opportunity for enslaved African Americans to advocate for their freedom. Between the summers of 1813 and 1814, 4,000-5,000 fled to the side of the British, in the hopes of securing freedom and safe passage for themselves and their families.