From Fugitives to Sergeants

Highlighted are the names of Thomas Shields, Charles Shields, Jacob Ray, and Melchezidek Howard

On the HMS Dragon on January 23rd, 1814

Quick Facts

Thousands of enslaved people took their freedom when they joined the British during the War of 1812.
 

On the night of January 23, 1814, Thomas Shields, Charles Shields, Jacob Ray, and Melchezidek Howard, all of whom were held in chattel slavery in York County, Virginia, by Robert Shields made the choice to take their freedom. Together, the four men stole a canoe that had been secured at the landing off of the neighboring property of Elizabeth Reade to row themselves across the cold waters of the York River towards the British royal navy ships anchored within sight of their enslaver's plantation. This was a calculated effort. Several months before their escape, the four men became aware of British royal navy ships passing through the Chesapeake and had been overheard discussing plans to escape should the British come close enough. With the HMS Dragon anchored within sight of their enslaver's plantation, they were finally presented with an opportunity to self-emancipate. Together they secured their freedom on the HMS Dragon, leaving behind their wives, children, and other relatives on Robert Shields' plantation. 

The four men's experience of freedom with the British was one that was not unusual for enslaved men who self-emancipated to the British side. On May 18, 1814, Thomas and Charles Shields, Jacob Ray, and Melchezidek Howard each enlisted in the Colonial Marines. Together they trained at Tangier Island, participated in battles around Washington D.C. and Baltimore in the fall of 1814, and had spent time in Cumberland Island, Georgia, and Bermuda, travelling on the HMS Dragon, Albion, and Regulus as they did so. Each of the men were eventually promoted to sergeant rank and oversaw their respective company within the Colonial Marines regiment. In 1815 the war had come to an end and the four men were in Bermuda where they chose to resettle in the British colony of Trinidad along with nearly 200 other self-emancipators who followed the British during the war. They were each given 16 acres of land in the Company Villages in the Naparima District. Within ten years, Thomas Shields, Jacob Ray, and Melchezedek Howard had started new families. All four men likely remained in Trinidad until their deaths. 

Learn more about the Colonial Marines here.