Battle of New Orleans.

Sunday, November 22, 2020

St. Mary's College, Md., Unveils Memorial to Enslaved People

From the November 20, 2020, The Hill "See the first memorial  to the enslaved peoples of southern Maryland in St. Mary's" by Anagha Srikanth.

In 2016,  the remains of slave quarters on campus were discovered during an archaeological dig ahead of the construction of a new stadium.  This proved that St. Mary's had an association with  slavery.  Indeed, all colleges built before 1865, especially in the South, had an association with slavery.

On November 21, the college unveiled  a new memorial at a virtual commemoration to the slaves of southern Maryland.  It takes the shape of a cabin.

The site, which appears to have been abandoned sometime around the 1820s also correlates with an interesting chapter of the area's history.  During the War of 1812, British Admiral George Cockburn sailed along the eats coast of the United States near the British-held Chesapeake Bay.

He encouraged  enslaved people to defect in return for their freedom.  About 19 slaves from the St. Mary's area reportedly defected, raising the possibility that the found slave quarters might even have been theirs.

Never Enough History Markers.  --Brock-Perry

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