This Week in History: St. Leonard’s Creek and a Call for Freedom

At the beginning of the first Star Wars film words crawl across the screen in slow motion that refer to a series of events that happened:  “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….”.  And in a way that mindset is true for how we study real historical events.  We often fail to realize just how much history has taken place right within our own backyards.  This week is a great example of a major historical event that had a lasting impact on our region.

Imagine standing on the banks of the Patuxent River during the summer of 1814. The air is thick, the war with Britain is raging a little too close to home, and the world as you know it is about to fracture.  At Sotterley, the British ships and the Chesapeake Flotilla were engaged in a battle for control over the Chesapeake, and it was all happening in plain view.

For the enslaved men, women, and children at Sotterley Plantation in Maryland, this wasn’t just a geopolitical war—it was the ultimate window of opportunity.

It began with a whisper of a British proclamation: “That all those who may be disposed to emigrate from the UNITED STATES will, with their Families, be received on board His Majesty’s Ships or Vessels of War, or at the Military Posts that may be established, upon or near the Coast of the UNITED STATES, when they will have their choice of either entering into His Majesty’s Sea or Land Forces, or of being sent as FREE settlers to the British Possessions in North America or the West Indies, where they will meet with due encouragement.” Four enslaved men from Sotterley—James Bowie, Peregrine Young, Joseph Wood, and Ignatius Seale risked everything to accept this offer. They slipped into the night, rowing a canoe from Sotterley Creek through the waters of the Patuxent, and made it to the British fleet.

But their story didn’t end with their own safety. In an incredible act of bravery, these men returned to Sotterley weeks later. This time, they weren’t wearing the clothes of laborers. They were armed, wearing British military uniforms, and standing tall.

Under the protection of these uniform-clad men, a massive, emotional exodus began. Parents, children, entire family units, young and old—49 in total had chosen to take their freedom by going with the British. This wasn’t just a flight; it was a fight. Many of the young men who self-emancipated enlisted in the Colonial Marines, a British unit composed of formerly enslaved men. 

And the British kept their word. When the war ended, they refused American demands to return those who had self-emancipated. Instead, these families were resettled as free landowners, building entirely new lives and communities in Nova Scotia and Trinidad.

History often focuses on the generals and the politicians, but the real heroes of June 1814 were the extraordinary people who took an extraordinary risk for a chance at freedom.

Historic Sotterley will be offering a brand new exhibit on the Colonial Marines in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for special announcements so you can visit and learn more about these soldiers that took freedom into their own hands.