[applause] to i would say half of the rating and a big chunk of the research i did while i had a fellowship for jefferson studies. I want to think andrew for that and my good friend for many acts of friendship does the Thomas JeffersonMemorial Foundation chair at the university of virginia. I want to think mary Scott Fleming for keeping the trains running on time for this presentation and to Christopher Oliver assistance to a range of this. And managing the fellowship that i so have profitably and so spent here. Also might sister and her brother traveling here for connecticut also alan taylor one of the leaders of the of escape from the virginia plantation during the war of 1812. Since it is monticello lets begin with Thomas Jefferson and this is a that comes from a letter that he wrote in response to his former secretary. He wrote this letter August August 251814 which is a low point in the United States will recall the war of 1,812th. If you know, of the occupation and the partial burning of washington recognized august 25 what is right after the british occupied washington while they you were building one dash burning buildings. Jefferson did not know yet but he knew it was going badly for the United States. To take a more public role jeffersons reply was discouraging because he decided that his day had passed and that it had not yet arrived in virginia for a serious effort. But then a very interesting passage. That emancipation is inevitable. And it lays out to possibilities of how it could be achieved. One is that virginians would have the Generous Energy of our own mind to set aside selfinterest in order to emancipate the slaves. But then he considers a more imminent possibility. While jefferson said the moment had not arrived for virginians to exercise this Generous Energy that the british came into Chesapeake Bay the rating the shores of chesapeake and mounting increasingly aggressive invasions into the interior that culminated in the capture of washington d. C. And in the process of doing that the revolt began enslaved people to liberate themselves to. So jefferson is suggesting to establish a presence permanently to enslave thousands of africanamericans because Thomas Jefferson was never known to say anything good about the british. But in this passage that they were offering arms to the oppressed. There is no notion that slavery was a just system in the suggestion is that the british would force emancipation upon them with the assistance of the oppressed. Let me just go back the one phrase the of bloody process , the freeze in french that was a french colony in the west colonies that has since become the republic of haiti in the 17 nineties there was a very bloody revolution that enslaved people establish their freedom and would eventually in the next decade establish their own republic. This is something that deeply troubled virginians because they feared their own slaves would engage in revolution and in their nightmare fantasy killed men and women and children in their beds. And here is an image which expresses that they live on top of a powder keg and in age from 1832 that of the straits turners rebellion. Which does fulfill the fantasy but that is a one off. But last this nightmare scenario, this is a longstanding nightmare. For virginians. That enslaved people would rise up in rebellion the actual avens is while and was not applauding mass murder. Something that is resinated out the rhetoric. With all the generations. Why are the british in Chesapeake Bay . They dont normally liberate the slaves. With the expedition begins not deliberate more than a handful of men that could be useful as guide and by this. With the british dont want to do is repeat what they have done to help to liberate thousands of enslaved people men women and children. Been saddled with the expenses for the war of 1812 the british wanted to be of forth as quickly as possible and to be left with as few responsibilities as possible. Only free a few men who could be helpful. But hundreds of blacks about 600 during the year 1813, and then women and children distilled canoes to go to the british. Cannot deliberate slaves but to reflect as much damage of the American Economy as possible to punish virginia which was perceived quite correctly the home of president madison secretary of state monroe theyre perfectly willing to include their land as collateral damage. The 600 enslaved people go to the warships that they need the help of the escaped slaves. They cannot achieve their purpose without them. They do not know the lay of the land. Theyre very nervous about going on shore for fear of the ambush. It is only once they get experts on the landscape they become aggressive about going deep into the interior is and they have to go deep once they are receiving hundreds of refugees because they, along with the sailors and marines have to be fed. Much of it comes from rating farms and plantations in the people who know where the cattle can be found worth the barnes containing provisions can be found with runaway slaves. Just like infantrymen, colonial marines, guides, nurses, by the second year there absolutely is essential essential to the success of a more ambitious operation which is rating farther inland than ever before. This is a byproduct of the liberation what will become at least 3,000 people from virginia and maryland. Much more threatening to the United States in 1814 the second year of the operation what i want to do now is one particular escape especially revealing occurred in 1814 on the virginia shore of the atomic to paddle across the sure to lay those very what theyre after is the very go. Doing this in the middle of the night they had stolen a canoe without waking anybody yet been managed to steal the ferryboat been taken back to the virginia shore to load of 17 people. To their portal to freedom. In the morning the masters discovered the slaves were gone and in the words of one master in the course of the night and all their own articles of their own houses. Armed white men had a swift boat in pursuit down the river but they were too late because the 17 escaped slaves had become free by reaching a british warship. The one to spend some time on this particular escape because it is very revealing of the overall pattern that i find as many escapes. First, it is not a spur of the moment emotional decision. They accomplished all this in the dark of night without waking up their masters. Means me into possessions with them. Second. The first stage of the first initial young men venture out to obtain the means to return of their farms and plantations in order to retrieve many more people. To get women and children out. So those men that initially steel the canoe they come back and look up 40 more. The most common pattern is for the initial leaders, the pioneers, to steal a canoe, a getaway to a british warship persuade the british to make a raid on their neighborhood in order to get out family and friends. This was the pattern in which zeke was one of the early pioneers who escaped to the british on april 18 with the british Raiding Party guided them on april 21st through 22nd to get out 26 people to freedom. It is 69 then becomes 70 because one of the women was so pregnant she gave birth that night on a british warship. She was that determined that her child would be born free. Another pattern we find with this very bow to escape is the runaway slaves dont come from one property. The way the document survive with the wealthiest people already the Largest Properties with the large plantations. In the chesapeake said great majority of enslaved people of 1812 live on farms rather than plantations. That is much for common to find Slave Holdings of three or four or fibers six slaves a and 70 on a plantation. There were a large numbers occasionally but the most common pattern is many farm slavery is among many masters. But theyre not all coming so extends beyond the boundaries of a particular property. But then those types of neighborhoods and then forms the neighborhoods largely at night or partially liberated and can travel to the neighborhood. Learning the byways to avoid the slave patrol to be with a husband or wife or friends , cousins, local, and comic it is uncommon for a husband a and wife who live on the save the farm. They have always lived on different farmers. Ended a more intimate waited in their best masters had to. And it will serve the british so well with the raid that almost always begins at night. Another feature of this escape is the especially valuable slaves in the eyes of the masters. They are assessed in nearly 8,000 because they have to blacksmith, a carpenters, a weaver and two clerks. We often think it is field hands it is true over half for field hands they had the artisan lowskilled or served as house servants and people who were house slaves were artisans had a much higher value than field hands in virginia. So it shocked the masters the most high value that they could trust for the most and they retreated a little better but it is such people that tend to repel when they have seen a little bit of opportunity to realize how much more opportunity has been denied to them. And finally the age patters cues to younger people. It is arduous work. It is dangerous. It tends to be yelling then and women in their 20s and 30s skewed a little bit toward midday and female but this particular group to include two young women and three children one of the features of the war is because the british warships are there in Chesapeake Bay the ability to get to them with the entire family groups is higher than peacetime escapes so we find it is overwhelmingly on 85 for 90 young men who go. In these wartime escapes it is twothirds men and onethird female because there are more family groups i want to turn to this letter which is written five and a half years after the escape by the apparent leader. 1814 you can see his signature at the bottom committee was as proud of his signature as john hancock ever was. Five 1 2 years before he wrote this letter back in 84 team he was considered the highest value slave to escape from abraham appraised at 800 because he was a blacksmith. That is hard physical labor but also requires a great deal of intelligence and ability to keep accounts. He is also the oldest member of the escape group at 35 so a natural person to be leader to and from the tone of this leader it is clear he was may 1820 he is thriving from the top because letters very conveniently put the place and the date. Preston nova scotia. Where is nova scotia . Wears preston . A black township was formerly enslaved people that settled there after the war between 12 to comprise a majority. Near halifax. Now thriving as a free man he wanted his former owner to know it. So he wrote this letter now i realize this is a struggle in the back row. Probably a struggle in the front row so i will read it. This is why reid class wear glasses are read letters for a living. Sir, i take this opportunity to write these lines to inform you how you situated here. I have a shop and a set of tools of my own income doing very well. When i was with you, you treated me very ill. For that reason i take the liberty of informing you that i am doing as well as you if not better. [laughter] when i was with you, i worked very hard and do neither gave meet monday nor any satisfaction. But since i have been here, have been able to make gold and silver as well as you. The night that copley stopped me he was very strong but i showed him that subtlety was far preferable to strength and broadway others with me who thank daughter all doing well. So i remain. Ps. My love to all my friends i hope theyre doing well. [laughter] so this is an extraordinary letter. I have read thousands as a historian and this is the most important letter that i have found. What do i make of it . I would welcome your thoughts with this is what i make. As a free man he was especially proud he could make his own money. The enslaved people of virginia overwhelmingly were 304 fifth generation not fresh from africa they understood very well these society there around them and a valued people in terms of the money they could make and the possessions they could display in they felt deeply frustrated that other people to make money in display possessions of their labor and what he wants to tell abraham now he is a free man he makes his own money he is as good a man or a better man. What do i think is implicit implicit . Suggesting he made his money more honestly at of his own labor that of other people. Whose copley . I do not know. I cannot find him in the historical record but my guess is he was the overseer the only thing we can tell is he was a strong powerful man in he did something to obstruct this escapes then the most wonderful phrase in this letter that shinkin says subtlety is superior to strength this is a theme with the resistance to slavery have the size the way in which enslaved people had to hide their resistance to make it more effective than we have a former slave to put it up there explicitly that is exactly what happened somehow shane klan had fooled copley to pull off the escape to achieve freedom for 17 people and how is it that this letter survives . Firstcome i am not surprised to find a letter written by a former slave. This is a period before the 1832 law outlawing the teaching of literacy to enslave people with the previous generation literacy among slaves is more common than i think we have recognized. I am not saying most remitter it but it is most common to find literacy in that period or subsequently after 1832. Almost all enslaved people have become christians and many want to read the bible. In the preachers want them to the and for those her partisans the masters want them to keep accounts. So shankland as a skilled blacksmith is one of the most likely to be literate for i cannot tell you when he learned before and after he was free but his aides is pretty good it compares to people in virginia white and black from this period of time and the signature is very practiced. How does a letter survive . His master saved it is submitted it to the federal government to be compensated for the 11 runaway slaves that he had known to the federal government sent of claims commission to compensate masters that could prove their slaves had escaped to go to the british this letter is worth 280 times 11 because he will get 280 for every former slave he can document went to the british and it is the best piece of evidence so i found this in the National Archives in the record of the claims commission phenomenal set of records. So is his choice to seek money for those words to read today. Just a couple of concluding images to wrap up this extraordinary story. Here is a map that has British Military operations you concede this symbol of a Burning House that represents a sure way to and there in Southern Maryland and the Northern Neck of virginia that the british targeted. Why . First, there was a black majority in those counties than they could get the assistance of a lot of people running away. Is very difficult for the militia to muster or resist these attacks also the gate way to washington d. C. The british are preparing to strike at washington the first half to neutralize militia resistance when they want to keep americans guessing if the attack on washington to go up the Potomac River ultimately they will choose the toxin there was no resistance until they got up and indeed not until the outskirts of washington d. C. I argue in the book this ability to neutralize resistance depended on the assistance they were receiving from the former slaves several hundred who had enlisted to become colonial marines that are the best troops the british have. Why . Theyre the most highly motivated and the least likely to desert with their british had a problem with them running to the americans to make more money as american civilians former slaves to not desert to go to the United States. But the details of this convey the message. The u. S. Capitol building shows the fire damage from the colonial marines but what is especially interesting in the upper righthand corner in representation of lady liberty. And just below the lower right hand corner use the enslaved people. Of so what is suggested in this image is slavery brought this on a guilty nation to mend its ways to restore divine favor to the United States. The final image the only known photograph to survive of one of the escaped slaves from the United States from the war of 1812 a much later photograph when he was 92 years old. He was 15 when he escaped in very early 1850s his name is gabriel he would go to nova scotia and prosper as a former this reveals that some people prospered from their escape but ask to be said most of those who went to nova scotia in george poverty. And the government of nova scotia was not enthusiastic about taking in refugees provided to them by the royal navy, encourage them to go back to slavery in the United States suggesting they would be warmer and happier as slaves than for people in nova scotia. How many do suppose accepted this invitation . [laughter] zero. They had decided they were free, maybe pour but three to make their own money and keep it. The most important thing is they could live together as families the worst thing about slavery and their experience is each individual was treated or they could rupture or divided by inheritance at the death of the master as happened with monticello after jeffersons death. Said the most important benefit is they could live together with greater security than they ever could when they were slaves in the chesapeake. Thank you. [applause] i told you he has a lot of unique material especially that better is a real gem. There are a lot of parallels with the American Revolution. With the networks that they can travel hundreds of miles through different networks. The the assistance given by slaves to the british that they took in during the American Revolution is georgia in led by a slave in and going to nova scotia but interesting