People, Locations, Episodes

Pilaklikaha Florida Is Founded

*The Black Seminole town of Pilaklikaha, Florida, is celebrated on this date in 1813.  Established about one mile east of Bushnell and two miles north of Tarrytown, Florida, it was a needed refuge from white-American oppression against Africans and indigenous Native people.    Pilaklikaha means “many ponds” in the Mikasuki language, and Pilaklikaha was the largest and […]

The Merikins Community is Established

*The origin of the Merikins is celebrated on this date in 1814. They were African expatriates of the War of 1812, freed black slaves who fought for the British against the American colonies.

The Alexander Cochrane Proclamation is issued

*The Alexander F. Cochrane Proclamation was issued on this date in 1814. The British decree invited Americans who wished to emigrate to join the British during the war of 1812.  Although it did not explicitly mention enslaved Africans, it was taken by all as addressed to them. The Cochrane Proclamation stated:  Whereas it has been […]

The Star-Spangled Banner is Written

*On this date in 1814, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was composed.  This is the national anthem of the United States.   Originally a poem, it was written by a 35-year-old white-American slave owner and lawyer Francis Scott Key.  He wrote it after witnessing the defense of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.  This occured against British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore. Key […]

The Negro Fort (Florida), a story

*The Negro Fort is celebrated on November 13, 1814.  Also known as Fort Gadsden and the Prospect Bluff Historic Site, it is located in Franklin County, Florida.  It was constructed on the Apalachicola River, 6 miles SW of Sumatra, Florida. The British built the site during the War of 1812.   After the British evacuated Florida […]

The White House of the Confederacy is Built

*On this date in 1815, The White House of the Confederacy was built.  This is a historic house in the Court End neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. Built as the main executive residence of the sole President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, from August 1861 until April 1865. It was viewed as the Confederate States’ counterpart to the White House in Washington, D.C. The First […]

Emilie D. West, Texas Legend born

*The birth of Emily D. West is celebrated on this date, c.1815. She was a Black indentured servant and a folk heroine whose presence during the Texas Revolution is identified with the song “The Yellow Rose of Texas.” West was a free Mulatto woman from New Haven, Connecticut. In 1835 she was contracted to James Morgan to […]

The Seminole Wars Begin

On this date in 1815, the Seminole Wars began when a U.S. government, under pressure from Georgia slaveholders, ordered Colonel Edmund Gaines to attack and destroy a Negro Fort on the banks of the Apalachicola River in Florida.

Argentina Gains Independence From Spain

*On this date in 1816, Argentina gained independence from Spain. This resulted from the Argentine War of Independence, fought from 1810 to 1818. The population of Buenos Aires was highly militarized during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata, part of the Anglo-Spanish War. Buenos Aires was captured in 1806 and then liberated […]

The American Colonization Society is Founded

*The American Colonization Society (ACS) was founded on this date in 1816. Formally called the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, Robert Finley established it.  ACS was officially established at the Davis Hotel in Washington, D.C.  The ACS supported the migration of free American Blacks back to Africa. From 1821 to 1822, the society helped to find a colony on the Pepper Coast of West Africa […]

LongTown, Ohio is Founded

*On this date in 1818, we celebrate the founding of Longtown (Greenville settlement), Ohio. The James and Sophia Clemens Farmstead is one of the oldest and last remaining agricultural resources in one of Ohio’s earliest Black settlements, Longtown (Greenville settlement). This farmstead was the home of James and Sophia Clemens, the settlement’s founders. Not only […]

The Battle of Grahamstown Occurs

*The Battle of Grahamstown took place on this date in 1819. This was part of the Fifth Xhosa War at the frontier settlement of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The battle defended the town by the British garrison, aided by a group of Khoekhoe marksmen, attacking Xhosa warriors. When a British-led force seized […]

Miguel de Castro v. Ninety-five enslaved Africans is Decided

On this date in 1819, Miguel de Castro v. Ninety-five enslaved Africans was decided. This was a Libel case for restitution case against American chattel slavery. In October 1817, ninety-five enslaved Africans were taken by pirates from the Portuguese ship “Jesu Nasareno,” owned by Miguel de Castro. Originally bound for Havana, Cuba, the Africans were […]

The Mayflower of Liberia Leaves New York For Africa

*On this date in 1820 the Mayflower of Liberia set sail. This was the first organized Black emigration back to Africa.

It began when 86 free Blacks left New York Harbor aboard the ship the Elizabeth, which was called the Mayflower of Liberia. They were bound for the British colony of Sierra Leone, a country that welcomed free Blacks from America as well as fugitive slaves. It arrived on March 9th of that year.

The Missouri Compromise Is Ratified

*The Missouri Compromise with legislative measures was enacted on this date in 1820. This measure allowed The United States Congress to thus regulate the extension of slavery in the United States for the next three decades.