William Williams
William Williams wearing a U.S. Army uniform during the War of 1812
Born
Frederick Hall

c. 1793
Croom, Prince George's County, Maryland, U.S.
DiedMarch 19, 1815 (aged 21)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation(s)slave, soldier
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service/branch U.S. Army 38th U.S. Infantry Regiment
Years of service1814
Rankprivate
Battles/warsWar of 1812

Frederick Hall, who used the alias William Williams was a runaway African American slave who enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812 and died from a mortal wound while defending Fort McHenry from the British naval bombardment in 1814.[1]

Early life

Bellefields Plantation in Croom, Prince George's County, Maryland where Frederick Hall aka William Williams spent most his life a slave, photograph from 1936
William Williams was the alias used by Frederick Hall, a slave who ran away from his master during the War of 1812 to join the U.S. Army, from a runaway slave notice on May 16, 1814, in the Baltimore, Maryland newspaper, American Commercial and Daily Advertiser
The British bombardment of Fort McHenry where U.S Army Private William Williams received a mortal wound from having his leg blown off by a cannonball

U.S. Army service in War of 1812

He escaped his master from Bellefields Plantation (Sim's Delight), Croom, Prince George's County, Maryland in early 1814; despite the standing British offer of freedom and land to any escaped slave who joined the British army or navy, Williams enlisted in the United States Army in mid 1814. He was assigned to the 38th U.S. Infantry in Baltimore and received an enlistment bonus of $50, and wages of $8 per month.


Death

Williams traveled with his unit to Fort McHenry on September 10, 1814, two days before the British landed near Baltimore. During the bombardment on September 13th and 14th, Williams was posted with an infantry detachment of 600 men in the dry ditch surrounding the fort to repulse any British land assault. He and his fellow soldiers endured a 25-hour bombardment wherein over 1,500 explosive shells were fired at the fort and its gun crews.[2] Williams was severely wounded, having his “leg blown off by a cannon ball”[3]

Williams survived the bombardment and continued to muster with the 38th U.S. Infantry until October 25, 1814 when he reported to the 10th District General Military Hospital in Baltimore. He was admitted and treated for tuberculosis under the care of Dr. Tobias Watkins, Regimental Surgeon of the 38th U.S. Infantry. Williams died at the hospital while in service to the United States on March 19, 1815.. While many freedom seekers fought for the British in the Colonial Marines during the War of 1812, some, like Williams, defended a home that they would never be a full citizen of. In the case of Private William Williams, his former enslaver Benjamin Oden sought to claim the benefits of Williams' service. In 1832, Oden petitioned Congress for the right to be issued the land bounty Williams would have earned had he survived. The issue was taken up by the House Committee on Private Land Claims and was rejected in March 1836.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ A Black Soldier Defends Fort McHenry, Library Field Guide No. 1, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Maryland, National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior
  2. ↑ NPS Biography of William Williams
  3. ↑ NPS A black soldier defends Fort McHenry
  4. ↑ NPS Biography of William Williams


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