William Williams (soldier)

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]

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.
DiedSeptember 13, 1814 (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

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

In September 1814, during the British artillery bombardment on Fort McHenry, Private William Williams was mortally wounded when a cannonball blew off his leg. He died two months later in a Baltimore hospital.

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


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