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Corps of Colonial Marines
ActiveFirst Corps:
  • 1808–1815

Second Corps:

  • 18 May 1814 – 20 August 1816
CountryUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
BranchUnited Kingdom Royal Navy
TypeMarine Infantry
SizeFirst Corps:

Second Corps:

Garrison/HQFirst Corps:

Second Corps:

PatronSir Alexander Cochrane
EngagementsSecond Corps:

The Corps of Colonial Marines were Marine units raised from former slaves for service in the Americas by the British, at the behest of Alexander Cochrane. These two units were created at two different points in time, both of which were later disbanded once the military threat has disappeared.

The first Corps was a small unit that served in the Caribbean from 1808 to 12 October 1810. The British recruited former slaves to address the shortage of military manpower in the Caribbean. The locally-recruited men were less prone to succumb to tropical illnesses than were troops sent out from Britain. The Corps followed the practice of the British Army's West India Regiments in recruiting slaves as soldiers.[1]

The second, more substantial, Corps served from 18 May 1814 until 20 August 1816.[2] The greater part of the Corps was stationed on the Atlantic Coast, with a smaller body occupying a fort on the Gulf coast in Florida.[3] Recruits were escaped slaves, who gained their freedom by joining the British, but unlike the men of the West India Regiments, the Corps' recruits were loath to view themselves labelled as "slave soldiers".[4] Previously disenfranchised, the offer of freedom appealed to them; however, the establishment of the force caused some controversy at the time, as the arming of former slaves represented a psychological threat to the very existence of the slave-owning society of the Americas.[5] As a consequence, the two most senior officers of the Corps in Florida, George Woodbine and Edward Nicolls were demonised in Niles' Register, for their association with the Corps and the inducement of slave revolt.[6][7][8][9]

At the end of the War of 1812, as the British post in Florida was evacuated, the Corps' Florida detachment was paid off and disbanded.[10] Although several men accompanied the British to Bermuda, the majority continued to live in settlements sited around the wooden stockade that the Corps had garrisoned, and which had become a symbol of slave insurrection.[11] This legacy of a community of armed fugitive slaves, with a substantial arsenal, would lead to tensions with the United States of America.[12] Those remaining later took part in the Battle of Negro Fort in July 1816, after which they joined the southward migration of Seminoles and Blacks escaping the American advance. Those members of the Colonial Marine battalion deployed on the Atlantic coast withdrew from American territory.[13] They were to continue in British service as the garrison-in-residence at Bermuda until 1816, when the unit was disbanded, and the ex-Marines were resettled on Trinidad.[14]

The First Corps

Rear Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane raised the first Corps of Colonial Marines in 1808 while he was commander-in-chief of British naval forces on the Leeward Islands station during the Napoleonic Wars. The British had captured the island of Marie Galante earlier that year but the French Governor of Guadeloupe attacked the island on hearing that illness had weakened its British garrison. Marie Galante slaves assisted the British on being promised that they would not be returned to their proprietors,[15] and by this means the island was preserved under British control until the arrival of three companies of the 1st West India Regiment.[16]

A portrait of Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane, responsible for raising the Corps of Colonial Marines.

Cochrane embodied the ex-slaves as a Corps of Colonial Marines, which was subsequently enlarged with fugitive slaves who came over from Guadeloupe. The Corps was paid from Marie Galante revenues, clothed from Royal Navy stores, and commanded by Royal Marine officers.[17] Following the re-possession of Guadeloupe, Cochrane kept up the Corps, and on 12 October 1810 redistributed the men: 70 among the ships of the squadron, 20 to 30 to the battery at the Saintes (a group of small islands to the south of Guadeloupe), and 50 remaining in the Marie Galante garrison. They saw no further action as a distinct body but were subsequently listed in ships' musters among the supernumeraries for wages and victuals under the description of "Colonial Marine" until mid-1815.[18][19]

The Second Corps

Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, on taking up his command as Commander-in-Chief of British forces on the North Atlantic Station, ordered the recruitment of a body of Colonial Marines, following the pattern he had set six years earlier on Marie Galante.[20] Rear Admiral George Cockburn, Cochrane's second in command on the Atlantic coast, implemented Cochrane's order, recruiting the second Corps of Colonial Marines.[21][22][23] They served as part of the British forces on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States during the War of 1812.[24]

On 2 April 1814, Cochrane issued a proclamation to all persons wishing to emigrate. Any persons would be received by the British, either at a military outpost or aboard British ships and those seeking sanctuary could either enter His Majesty's Forces, or go "as free settlers to the British possessions in North America or the West Indies".[25][26] (There was a historical precedent with Dunmore's Proclamation of 7 November 1775, though this offered freedom only to those who undertook to bear arms with the British forces.)[27]

Recruitment and service on the Atlantic Coast

By 10 May, Tangier Island, off the coast of Virginia, had been occupied by the British and offered an accessible location for those seeking refuge. Males among the refugees were given the option "to become blue Jackets, take up arms or [to] join the working party" that was constructing Fort Albion, and its associated infrastructure.[28] The Corps was subsequently embodied on 18 May 1814 and made its combat debut in the raid on Pungoteague Creek on 30 May 1814 where, in a skirmish alternatively known as the Battle of Rumley's Gut, they helped capture an American artillery battery.[29] James Ross, the captain of HMS Albion, later described their involvement as "a most excellent specimen of what they are likely to be. Their conduct was marked by great spirit and vivacity, and perfect obedience".[30] One of their number, a soldier named Michael Harding,[31][32] was killed in the initial stages of the battle, but "it did not daunt or check the others, but on the contrary animated them to seek revenge." As a result, Cockburn's initial impressions were positive, stating that the new recruits were "getting on astonishingly" and that they were "really fine fellows".[26] After this, the Corps then participated in the Chesapeake campaign and in subsequent correspondence Cockburn wrote that the recruits had behaved "unexpectedly well" in several engagements, and had not committed any "improper outrages."[33]

A drawing of a soldier with a musket, wearing a light coloured uniform with dark facings, a white crossbelts, a hat and a pack
A depiction of a Colonial Marine in fatigue uniform, worn whilst performing ordinary duties. This would have been a common sight at Tangier Island. On the battlefield, the red coat of the service uniform would have been worn.

The three companies of the Corps served alongside their ship-borne Royal Marine counterparts from the Cockburn's Chesapeake squadron, consisting of HM Ships Albion, Dragon, Loire, Jasseur, and the schooner HMS St Lawrence), taking part in a series of raids. After the British failed to destroy the American Chesapeake Bay Flotilla at the Battle of St. Jerome Creek, they conducted a number of coastal raids on the towns of Calverton, Huntingtown, Prince Frederick, Benedict and Lower Marlborough.[34] On 15 June 1814, a force of 30 Colonial Marines accompanied 180 Royal Marines, in 12 boats, in a raid on Benedict.[35][36] Nine days later, on 24 June, a force of 50 Colonial and 180 Royal Marines attacked an artillery battery at Chesconessex Creek, although this proved unsuccessful in preventing the escape of the Chesapeake Bay Flotilla, which departed from St. Leonard's Creek two days later.[34]

The arrival on 19 July of a battalion of Royal Marines, which had left Bermuda on 30 June, enabled the squadron to mount further expeditions ashore. After a series of diversionary raids, the Marines were landed once more at Benedict on 19 August, this time accompanied by recently arrived Peninsular War army veterans. The battalion was to accompany the Colonial Marines in the attacks on Bladensburg and Washington in August 1814. A company fought at the Battle of Bladensburg,[37][38] and the other two companies took part in the burning of Washington. One of the firing parties was led by Second Lieutenant Lewis Agassiz (1793–1866) and, for his part in the ensuing action, his family was later granted a coat of arms depicting a torch.[39] Casualties suffered by the Colonial Marines during this action amounted to one man killed and three wounded.[40]

On 3 September 1814 three companies of the Colonial Marines joined with the three remaining companies of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Marines, to form the 3rd Battalion, Royal and Colonial Marines.[41][42] Later that month all three companies fought at the Battle of North Point in Maryland.[38] A fourth company was created in December 1814,[43] and further recruitment was undertaken along the Georgia coast in the first quarter of 1815. The number of enlistments allowed two more companies to be raised, with sergeants being taken from those companies recruited in the Chesapeake.[44]

Although the Corps had suffered several losses from combat during its actions in the Chesapeake campaign during 1814, its greatest losses came from disease due to poor conditions on Tangier Island. An outbreak of dysentery in the winter of 1814, killed the surgeon and 69 men of the battalion.[45][46] The Corps' last combat during the War of 1812 took place in January 1815 in Georgia, when they joined the attack on Point Peter,[47] while others took part in the occupation of Cumberland Island, where they assisted the emigration of several hundred slaves until the promulgation of the Peace Treaty.[48]

Recruitment and service on the Gulf Coast

In addition to the British outposts on the Atlantic coast at Tangier and Cumberland Islands, there was a similar outpost on the Gulf Coast at Prospect Bluff on the Apalachicola River in Spanish East Florida, which attracted both Redstick Creek Indians and Black Seminoles. George Woodbine and a detachment of Royal Marines were landed from HMS Orpheus in May 1814,[49] with presents and 2,000 cavalry carbines and accoutrements for the Indians.[50][51] A fort was constructed, and Cochrane sent Edward Nicolls to oversee the operations at Prospect Bluff.[52]

Nicolls departed Bermuda, accompanied by 112 Royal Marines and three field pieces, with 300 uniforms and 1,000 muskets for recruits to his corps.[53] Enlistments proved steady and on 26 August 1814, Nicolls issued his first "order of the day" for his "battalion",[54] although it remains uncertain exactly how many men Nicolls had under his command at that time, as formal muster and pay records have not come to light. More escaped slaves were then recruited in Pensacola, much to the chagrin of the Spanish,[55][56] but the they were forced to return to Prospect Bluff in November after Pensacola was captured by the Americans.[57][58]

Post-war developments

The war came to an end in February 1815, and the three European companies of the 3rd Battalion, Royal and Colonial Marines, were sent back to Britain. With their departure, the battalion was reformed as the 3rd Battalion, Colonial Marines,[59] consisting of six infantry companies of Colonial Marines and a staff company of Royal Marines that had been brought from Canada.[2] After this they undertook garrison duties at the Royal Naval Dockyard at Ireland Island, Bermuda. The battalion was finally disbanded in Trinidad on 20 August 1816. Near what is now known as Princes Town, the former Colonial Marines formed a free farming community, and under the supervision of their former non-commissioned officers, the men established themselves into 16-acre (6.5 ha) households. These settlers proved quite successful and in 1847 their ownership of the land was formally recognised. Known as "The Merikens", the community still retains its identity and they acknowledge their roots with an annual celebration.[14]

The detachment in Florida, which had eventually grown to a strength of about 400 men,[60][61][62] was paid off and disbanded when the British post was evacuated at the end of the war. A small number of the men went to Bermuda with the British as part of a group of refugees, rejoining the main body of Colonial Marines.[63] Others remained and lived in settlements sited around the wooden stockade, which had become a symbol of slave insurrection. Andrew Jackson came to oppose the presence of this group of armed fugitive slaves, even though they were in a sparsely populated area of Spanish Florida,[64] and this eventually led to the Battle of Negro Fort in July 1816, which signalled the start of the First Seminole War. For their involvement in the conflict, two former auxiliary officers of the corps were executed in 1818 in what became known as the Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident. It is believed that those former Colonial Marine refugees were among the group that escaped to the Bahamas in 1822 and founded, on the west coast of the island of Andros, a community that retains its identity to the present.[65]

Notes

  1. ^ In the previous year, the Mutiny Act of 1807 emancipated all slaves in the British Army and, as a result, subsequently enlisted slaves were considered free on enlistment.
  2. ^ a b Mills, T.F. "Corps of Colonial Marines, Royal Marines, 1814–1816". Land Forces of Britain, The Empire and Commonwealth. Regiments.org (archived version). Archived from the original on 20 September 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  3. ^ Heidler, p434
  4. ^ McNish Weiss, John (June 2012). "'Averse to any kind of controul': American refugees from slavery building the new Royal Naval Dockyard at Bermuda". Retrieved 20 February 2013. Letter from Sir James Cockburn on the subject of the Colonial Marines mentions the "strong & determined prejudices of these men against the West Indian corps, & the high ideas of superiority which they attach to themselves over the African negroes who chiefly compose those regiments; with whom, I am assured, no inducement could probably tempt them to indiscriminately mix & enlist themselves in the same corps
  5. ^ Owsley & Smith, p105
  6. ^ "Niles' National Register, volume 7". 23 June 1814. p. 348. [Woodbine] was actually raising a military force enlisting all red, black and white persons that chose to come forward to the red cross of British humanity
  7. ^ "Niles' National Register, volume 7". 5 February 1815. p. 364. Woodbine was coming on in the rear, at the head of 600 Indians, and that the settlements on the St Mary's and Satilla rivers were breaking up in consequence. On the 21st it appeared ascertained that the enemy's force was about 2,000 men, part blacks
  8. ^ "Niles' National Register, volume 8". 15 July 1815. p. 285. [Colonel] Nicolls continues at the British Post...with the Indians heretofore in hostility against the United States, exercising over them an assumed superintendancy, and directing their conduct in relation to our people.. we can never rest contented and see a British officer (especially of Col. Nicolls' stamp) acting as their superintendant, civil and military
  9. ^ "Niles' National Register, volume 8". 15 July 1815. p. 284. Major Nicholls [sic] was tried in May 1812, on thirteen charges - the first of which was cruelty to a private...by beating...For all of these charges, he was only reprimanded..though the court [disapproved] .. in severe terms on the violence he had evinced on those several occasions.
  10. ^ Landers, p125
  11. ^ Owsley & Smith, p107
  12. ^ Rodriguez (Ed), p346
  13. ^ Nicolas, p288
  14. ^ a b Rodriguez (Ed), p66
  15. ^ Buckley, p284
  16. ^ Ellis, p125
  17. ^ Letters from Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands (ADM 1/329) Cochrane to Admiralty, 18 October 1808, reporting the formation of the Corps from slaves of masters on Marie Galante helping the French and from slaves from Guadeloupe; Cochrane to Poole, 2 Nov 1808, describing the Colonial Corps as "nearly complete, having upwards of two hundred volunteer Blacks, ... principally deserters and others captured from the enemy".
  18. ^ Marie Galante garrison muster, ADM 37/8610. Members of the Corps listed in various Royal Navy ships' musters in the ADM 37 series.
  19. ^ McNish Weiss, John. (2007). "Sir Alexander Cochrane's first Corps of Colonial Marines: Marie Galante 1808". Paper for 2007 Naval History Symposium, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, USA
  20. ^ Letter from Cochrane to Lord Melville, 23 December 1813, National Library of Scotland, MS 2576, 122V–119
  21. ^ Letter from Cochrane to William Matthews dated 9 May 1814 "to endeavor to raise a Corps of Colonial Marines, from the People of Color who escaped to us from the Enemy's shore in this neighbourhood and to cause such as ... may enlist for the purpose to be immediately formed, drilled and brought forward for service." Letters from Commander-in-Chief, North America: 1814, nos. 269–348 (ADM 1/507)
  22. ^ Grant, John N. (1973). "Black Immigrants Into Nova Scotia, 1776–1815" (PDF). The Journal of Negro History. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  23. ^ Lambert, p309
  24. ^ Rodriguez (Ed), p63
  25. ^ The text of the proclamation has been widely published, and copies of the printed original are in UK National Archives WO 1/143 f31 and ADM 1/508 f579
  26. ^ a b Morriss, p98
  27. ^ Whitfield, p30
  28. ^ Heidler, p538
  29. ^ Sutherland, p152
  30. ^ Latimer, p249
  31. ^ HMS Albion Ship Muster 1814 Jan – Aug ADM 37/5005, which has listings for the Corps, and for fugitive slaves
  32. ^ Rodriguez (Ed), pp 62–66, contains John McNish Weiss's essay 'Black Freedom Fighters (War of 1812)'
  33. ^ Morriss, p99
  34. ^ a b Heidler, p95
  35. ^ Marshall, p729: "Captain Barrie commends, in high terms, the conduct of all the officers, seamen, and marines, under his orders, as well as that of the colonial corps, composed of armed blacks."
  36. ^ "No. 16941". The London Gazette. 1 October 1814.
  37. ^ Gleig, pg 92 refers to a small party of Marines in the 1st Brigade, with the majority forming the 3rd Brigade
  38. ^ a b "The Battle of North Point A Little-Known Battle from a Scarcely Remembered War, by Ross M. Kimmel" (PDF). Dnr.state.md.us. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  39. ^ Agassiz (1907) p6: "The crest represents a man's forearm, bared, holding in the hand a torch made of rope. in recognition of the services of Captain J. J. C. Agassiz RN on the 21st August 1801 ... and also in recognition of the services of Mr Lewis Agassiz at the capture of the city of Washington .. where the public buildings were destroyed by fire; in which act of devastation he assisted, having been in charge of one of the firing parties."
  40. ^ "No. 16939". The London Gazette. 27 September 1814.
  41. ^ Nicolas, p265
  42. ^ Gleig, George (1840). "Recollections of the Expedition to the Chesapeake, and against New Orleans, by an Old Sub". United Service Journal (2). many of these poor fellows, after voluntarily serving for a few months in a sort of provisional battalion, called the "Colonial Marines," obtained grants of land
  43. ^ ADM 96/341 Marine subsistence and pay sheets 1814
  44. ^ ADM 96/471 Marine subsistence and pay sheets 1815
  45. ^ Nicolas, p287
  46. ^ When a dozen British sailors were captured near the island on 20 June 1814, their account of hardships encountered with food and water on the island, and the building of Fort Albion, had reported in a local newspaper. "Farmer's Repository" (PDF). 28 July 1814. at Tangier Island ... the crews there are very sickly with the flux, the water being brackish and bad ... they had been for 2 months on short allowance of food, but had lately obtained a supply from Bermuda
  47. ^ Nicolas, pp 267–8
  48. ^ Rodriguez (Ed), p64
  49. ^ Tucker, p535
  50. ^ Linzy, T. J. (28 August 2009). Did Military Honour Hinder the Royal Navy's Effective Use of North American Indians in the Gulf of Mexico Campaign in the War of 1812 (M.A. dissertation thesis). London: Department of War Studies, King's College. Archived from the original on 12 March 2011.
  51. ^ Letter from Pigot to Cochrane dated 8 June 1814, within Letters from Commander-in-Chief, North America: 1814, nos. 141–268 (ADM 1/506)
  52. ^ British and Foreign State Papers 1818–1819. London: James Ridgway. 1835. p. 434. Ambrister's Commission from Cochrane "Whereas, I have thought fit to send a Detachment of the Royal Marine Corps to the Creek Nations, for the purpose of training to arms, such Indians and others as may be friendly to, and willing to fight under, the Standard of His Majesty: I ..appoint you as an Auxiliary Second Lieutenant, of such Corps of Colonial Marines ... Given under my hand and seal, at Bermuda, this 25th day of July, 1814 {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |Volume= ignored (|volume= suggested) (help)
  53. ^ Mahon, p347 quoting a letter from Cochrane to the Admiralty dated 25 August 1814, Letters from Commander-in-Chief, North America: 1814, nos.141–268 (ADM 1/506)
  54. ^ "Niles' National Register volume 7". 5 November 1814. p. 133.
  55. ^ Boyd, Mark F. (1937). "Events at Prospect Bluff on the Apalachicola River, 1808–18". Florida Historical Quarterly. [St. Augustine]: Florida Historical Society. {{cite journal}}: External link in |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  56. ^ Latour, pg 11 asserts that Nicolls "enlisted and publically drilled Indians, who wore the British uniform in the streets [of Pensacola]."
  57. ^ Heidler, p188
  58. ^ Heidler, p388
  59. ^ Nicolas, p268
  60. ^ American State Papers: Foreign Relations 1815–1822. Washington: Gales & Seaton. 1834. p. 551. pg. 551 has the testimony of a Royal Marine deserter from the Fort, sworn at Mobile on 9 May 1815, advising "the British left, with the Indians, between them three and four hundred negroes, taken from the United States, principally Louisiana {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |Volume= ignored (|volume= suggested) (help)
  61. ^ American State Papers: Foreign Relations 1815–1822. Washington: Gales & Seaton. 1834. p. 552. Letter from General Gaines dated 22 May 1815 "P.S. I learn that Nicholls[sic] ..is still at Appalachicola, and that he has 900 Indians and 450 negroes under arms {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |Volume= ignored (|volume= suggested) (help)
  62. ^ Letter from Admiral Cochrane to General Lambert dated 3 February 1815 refers to "a coloured corps has been organised of from 300–400 men" which is commanded by Nicolls. This is within WO 1/143 folio 55, which can be downloaded for a fee from the UK National Archives website. A copy is also contained within: Letters from Commander-in-Chief, North America: 1815, nos. 1–126 (ADM 1/508)
  63. ^ British and Foreign State Papers 1818–1819. London: James Ridgway. 1835. p. 364. memorandum dated 21 May 1815 "a few that were shipped to the island of Trinidad, in His Majesty's Ship, The Levant; and such as have enlisted in the Colonial Marines {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |Volume= ignored (|volume= suggested) (help)
  64. ^ Landers, p123
  65. ^ Rodriguez (Ed), p65

References

  • Agassiz, Arthur Rodolph Nunn (1907). A Short History of the Agassiz Family. Shanghai: Oriental Press. OCLC 222962662
  • Buckley, Roger Norman (1998). The British Army in the West Indies: Society and the Military in the Revolutionary Age. Gainesville, Florida, University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1604-5, ISBN 978-0-8130-1604-7.
  • Congress of the USA (1834). American State Papers: Foreign Relations: Volume 4, Commencing March 5, 1815 and Ending May 8 1822. Washington: Gales & Seaton. OCLC 70183718
  • Ellis, A. B. (1885). The History of the First West India Regiment. London: Chapman & Hall. ISBN 1-153-82315-2
  • Foreign Office (1835). British and Foreign State Papers Volume 6, 1818–1819. Piccadilly, London: James Ridgway. OCLC 434287559
  • Gleig, George Robert (1827). The Campaigns of the British Army at Washington and New Orleans, 1814–1815. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-665-45385-X
  • Heidler, David Stephen & Jeanne T. (2004). Encyclopedia of the War Of 1812. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-362-4
  • Lambert, Andrew (2012). The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-27319-X
  • Landers, Jane G. (2010). Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolutions. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-05416-4
  • Latimer, Jon (2007). 1812: War With America. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-02584-9
  • Latour, Arsène Lacarrière (1816). Historical Memoir of the War in West Florida and Louisiana in 1814–15. Philadelphia: John Conrad & Co. OCLC 1413399
  • Mahon, John K. (ed). (1991). The War Of 1812. Cambridge, Massachusetts: De Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80429-8.
  • Marshall, John (1825). Royal Naval Biography. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. OCLC 8717325
  • Morriss, Roger (1997). Cockburn and the British Navy in Transition: Admiral Sir George Cockburn, 1772–1853. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 1-57003-253-X
  • Nicolas, Paul Harris (1845). Historical Record of the Royal Marine Forces, Volume 2 [1805–1842]. London: Thomas & William Boone. OCLC 758539027
  • Owsley, Frank L. & Smith, Gene A. (1997). Filibusters and Expansionists: Jeffersonian Manifest Destiny, 1800–1821. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-8173-0880-6
  • Rodriguez, Junius P. (ed). (2007). Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion, Volume 1. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-33272-X
  • Sutherland, Jonathan. (2004). African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-746-7
  • Tucker, Spencer (ed). (2012). The Encyclopedia of the War of 1812: A Political, Social, and Military History. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-85109-956-5
  • Weiss, John McNish (2002). The Merikens: Free Black American Settlers in Trinidad 1815–16. London: McNish & Weiss. ISBN 978-0-9526460-5-1
  • Weiss, John McNish. (1996). "The Corps of Colonial Marines 1814–16: A Summary". Immigrants and Minorities, 15/1, April 1996. ISSN 0261-9288
  • Whitfield, Harvey Amani (2006). Blacks on the Border: The Black Refugees in British North America, 1815–1860. Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New Hampshire. ISBN 1-58465-606-9

External links

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