The Slave War of 1812 (2012–13 Ritchie Distinguished Fellow Lecture)
Alan Taylor, author of “The Civil War of 1812,” discusses the escape of more than 3,000 slaves from Virginia and Maryland during the War of 1812. They stole boats to reach British warships in Chesapeake Bay, where they were taken on board and employed. Their help proved essential to the British coastal raids, particularly the capture of Washington, D.C. Taylor is professor of history at the University of California, Davis, and the inaugural Robert C. Ritchie Distinguished Fellow at The Huntington.
