The British Corps of Colonial Marines-- Part 2

The 1814-1816 reincarnation of the Colonial Marines saw action from Canada to Georgia.  they proved of great assistance because they had extensive knowledge of the lands where they were formerly enslaved.  They helped the British capture Washington, D.C..

The Colonial Marines also assisted in the British Southern Coastal Campaign and guarded their right flank in attack on and subsequent Battle of New Orleans.

At the end of the war they were transferred to Bermuda.

In 1816, they were ordered to Prospect Bluff, Florida where they defended a Spanish fort overlooking the Apalachicola River (Fort Gadsden).  American troops were threatening the fort which had a lot of escaped slaves who had gone there for protection, so many in fact that it was referred to as Negro Fort.

Major General Andrew Jackson attempted to capture it in July 1816 when he led a flotilla of American gunboats and troops.  They overran the stockade and forced the British force to surrender.  Many of the Colonial Marines were then enslaved again.

--Brock-Perry