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Tangier Island, 12 miles off
the coast of Virginia,

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is sinking.

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What if someone said to you

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that where you've lived
for 200 years,

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your family,
it's no longer going to exist?

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That's 4 feet of land loss
right there in this last storm.

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Rising sea levels
are swallowing the island

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and threatening to erase
a centuries-old way of life.

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It's already concerning.

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I mean, we've lost five or six
other communities north of here.

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I doubt they could imagine
that, one day,

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their community
would be underwater.

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This very well could be,
you know, a human bone.

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Along with
the island's unique culture,

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an untold chapter of history
is slipping away.

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A lot of the slaves
were granted their freedom

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on Tangier Island
long before the Civil War.

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I'm very proud of that part
of our history.

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In 1812,

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the United States declared war
on the British Empire.

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African-Americans escaped
from American slavery

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and joined the British forces.

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Freedom would be available
to any black people

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who fought for the cause.

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The strange thing
about it is that

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not that many people
know about it.

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That's what is so sad.

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So everything is underwater.

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As Tangier washes away,

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so does a little-known
moment in black history.

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It is like a metaphor for what
has happened to the black story.

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The island itself, so much of it
has disappeared into the ocean.

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So has the story
just disappeared into the ether.

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You'll see there are
10 enslaved people living...

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- Here.
- ...here.

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Now descendants of
Tangier's black soldiers

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are stepping forward
to reclaim their past.

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That's very significant
to me to know this.

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My heart is full of joy.

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We're related to a legend,
and that's incredible.

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- Whoa-ho!
- Wow!

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A race is under way
to save the island

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and its disappearing history.

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You could do extensive
reef restoration.

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We could simultaneously
protect the past

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and the present so that
the people here have a future.

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Our black brothers and sisters
are buried there.

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To lose Tangier Island
would be a final erasure.

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Tangier is sacred ground
because of the individuals

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who sacrificed
so that they could be free.

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{\an8}Lying in the middle
of Chesapeake Bay,

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{\an8}Tangier Island is small--

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{\an8}less than
1 1/2 square miles.

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And it's isolated,
accessible only by boat.

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The majority of the island's
300 inhabitants

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can trace their roots
back for generations.

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My name is
James Wyatt Eskridge,

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but I go by the nickname
"Ooker."

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I used to have a pet rooster
when I was 3 or 4 years old,

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and I tried
to crow like the rooster,

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and that's sort of
how it came out.

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Come on, Bella.
Come on!

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Born and raised here.

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Been here 67 years.

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Also the mayor of
Tangier Island.

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It's a two-year term,
but after this term,

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I'll be in for 20 years.

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See this guy here?

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It's a pet.
Summertime is his name.

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He's been coming
for nine years now.

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Hangs out on the boat
out here,

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and he's soon going to
head for Florida.

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I feed him all the summer,
and he leaves.

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He's going to get that one.
There he goes.

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Most people on Tangier,
like Mayor Ooker,

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make their living on the water.

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{\an8}My father was a crabber,
grandfather, great-grandfather.

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{\an8}My older son's a crabber.

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Yeah, it's all about
the seafood.

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That's what keeps
the ball rolling out here.

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Bella, stop eating our bait!

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Stop it!

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You're gonna eat all
of our bait.

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Myself and the community living
out here, we love what we do.

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All in all,
it's a wonderful life.

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This is
a tight-knit community,

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and they're fiercely protective
of their way of life.

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What a blessing, Lord,
that you have bestowed on us

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to be able to come together
in fellowship.

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It's a good place.
There's some good people here.

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I mean, everybody look out
for everybody.

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All the kids can run around
and go all over the island.

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Yeah, we have a lot
to be thankful for.

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I feel very proud of being
a Tangierman, as we call it.

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I do, too.

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On Tangier, the dead remain
close to the living.

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Loved ones are buried
alongside people's homes,

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most of them aboveground,
due to the threat of flooding.

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A lot of people just likes
to bury 'em right close.

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There's both of my parents
buried right there.

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That whole place there is
all our family.

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Tangier Island's
storied past

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stretches back
hundreds of years.

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Surrounded by the warm waters
of the Chesapeake,

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Tangier sits perfectly between
the eastern shore of Virginia

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and the western coast
of Maryland...

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a prime location
for a long line of people

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who have lived off the ocean,
from the indigenous inhabitants

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who thrived here
before the 17th century,

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to the first European settlers,
who arrived in the 18th century.

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Now this unique way of life
is in jeopardy.

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{\an8}Tangier Island
and all its culture and history

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{\an8}are on the verge of being lost
due to being washed away

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{\an8}and essentially drowned.

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The sea level has been rising.

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And over the last, say,
150 to 200 years,

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there has been an acceleration
of that process.

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Marine ecologist
Dr. Russell Burke is in a race

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to protect what's left
of Tangier Island.

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What if someone said to you

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that where you've lived
for 200 years,

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your family,
not only do you have to move,

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but it's no longer
going to exist?

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And this is our chance to show
what we're really made of.

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Is this worth saving?
Are they worth saving?

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♪ Thank you, Lord,
for saving my soul ♪

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♪ Thank you, Lord,
for making me whole ♪

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- Good morning.
- Morning.

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- Good to see you, Captain.
- You, too. You ready to go out?

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Oh, yeah.

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Dr. Burke is determined
to help save this village...

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and meets up with local
environmentalist and activist

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Cameron Evans to see
the remains of a community

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already lost
to rising sea levels.

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{\an8}So, right where we're
at in the boat now,

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{\an8}you know, used to be land.

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{\an8}I'd say not quite this far,

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{\an8}but close to it,
I remember land.

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I remember it used to
be hunting lodges here after,

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- I guess, in the '80s, '90s.
- Yeah?

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And I remember three trailers
here, riding lawnmowers.

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The whole cemetery was intact.

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And I've watched it all
wash away

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just in my short lifetime.

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I'm only 25.
- Right.

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All of these shorelines
had trees.

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See, here's part of sediment
that's broke away.

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That's 4 feet of land lost
right there in this last storm.

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Yeah, in one shot.

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Here's one of the bricks
from one of the foundations.

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That was a part of one
of the houses

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that was here in the early 1900s
into the 1800s.

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- Wow.
- Cemetery should be up here.

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You know what that is?
- No.

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This very well could be,
you know, a human bone.

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I've found a lot of bones
a lot bigger than this one.

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And I found a grave unearthed,

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washed out,
and I was standing right by it.

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Didn't even realize it was
until I saw the whole--

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you know, whole skeleton
and the outline of the casket.

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Back when these people
were probably buried here,

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you know, the community
was still thriving then

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and didn't have any indication

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that they were going to
be moving away.

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Wow. Look at this.
I mean, is that marble?

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Yeah. Yeah.

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It shows just
how close we are to becoming,

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you know, exactly this.

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People finding our remnants
here 150 years later.

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Well, that is my concern
for Tangier.

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It really puts it
into perspective.

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You know, you see it,
touch it, feel it.

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It's very real.

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Seeing parts of the island that
have already been washed away

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really makes you understand
why you need a good game plan,

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but also shows you
how quickly history

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can be drowned away and lost.

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The arrival of a fleet
of British warships

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more than 200 years ago
was a pivotal moment

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in Tangier Island's past.

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So, this is where
the British would have come in,

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right in here,
right where my crab shanty is.

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There's a path
that would go up to the island.

186
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My father and grandfather
used to--

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they used to talk to the people
and just said, you know,

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fishermen were out here,
and these ships showed up

189
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and anchored out here
and said they noticed they had

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the British flag on the ship,
and, yeah, quite intimidating.

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The British ships brought
the War of 1812

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to the shores of Tangier Island.

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So, when the British arrived
in the Chesapeake Bay,

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they brought with them
two battalions of Royal Marines.

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By day,
Dr. Matthew Taylor

196
00:10:03,637 --> 00:10:07,239
manages correspondence
at Britain's House of Lords,

197
00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:11,344
but his real passion lies
two centuries in the past.

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00:10:11,345 --> 00:10:14,347
A leading expert
on the War of 1812,

199
00:10:14,348 --> 00:10:17,383
he lectures
in full period dress.

200
00:10:17,384 --> 00:10:20,086
And he wrote the definitive
account of the conflict's

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00:10:20,087 --> 00:10:24,223
Colonial Marines,
or "Black Redcoats."

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{\an8}The War of 1812
was very poorly named,

203
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{\an8}as it lasted from 1812 to 1815.

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{\an8}It was very much a war
that should not have happened.

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At the beginning
of the War of 1812,

206
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the United States and
Great Britain

207
00:10:39,339 --> 00:10:42,842
were in an ongoing
diplomatic spat,

208
00:10:42,843 --> 00:10:46,145
which was itself
a kind of reverberation

209
00:10:46,146 --> 00:10:48,848
of the much greater
Napoleonic War going on

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00:10:48,849 --> 00:10:51,651
between the French Empire and
the British Empire at the time.

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00:10:52,386 --> 00:10:55,454
The United States
decided that the best way

212
00:10:55,455 --> 00:11:00,259
to make the British Empire
change a maritime policy

213
00:11:00,260 --> 00:11:03,295
of impressment and duties
and taxes

214
00:11:03,296 --> 00:11:05,965
on international trade
was by invading what was

215
00:11:05,966 --> 00:11:07,400
to become Canada,

216
00:11:07,401 --> 00:11:10,870
seemingly intending
to use occupation

217
00:11:10,871 --> 00:11:14,607
as a bargaining chip-- the idea
that "We're here in Canada

218
00:11:14,608 --> 00:11:17,877
and we will leave if you give
us what we want, politically."

219
00:11:17,878 --> 00:11:19,912
Unfortunately
for the United States,

220
00:11:19,913 --> 00:11:22,048
it turns out that
when you invade a territory,

221
00:11:22,049 --> 00:11:24,083
the people in that territory
tend to fight back.

222
00:11:27,287 --> 00:11:29,422
The British Empire counters,

223
00:11:29,423 --> 00:11:32,758
seizing American land
along the border.

224
00:11:32,759 --> 00:11:39,365
{\an8}And in a major escalation, the
British Navy attacks Delaware.

225
00:11:39,366 --> 00:11:42,268
{\an8}They set their sights
on a highly strategic location

226
00:11:42,269 --> 00:11:45,137
further south for their fort.

227
00:11:45,138 --> 00:11:49,208
Naval forces descend on Tangier,
in hopes of capturing

228
00:11:49,209 --> 00:11:52,079
and occupying
this small fishing community.

229
00:11:52,779 --> 00:11:55,014
From here,
they will launch attacks

230
00:11:55,015 --> 00:11:56,949
throughout the Chesapeake region

231
00:11:56,950 --> 00:11:59,853
and eventually into
the heart of America.

232
00:12:00,587 --> 00:12:02,988
As a strategy
that was taken on by the British

233
00:12:02,989 --> 00:12:06,225
to take away resources
from the American enemies,

234
00:12:06,226 --> 00:12:10,797
{\an8}they encouraged black people
to come join the British.

235
00:12:11,631 --> 00:12:14,166
The man in charge
of the operation--

236
00:12:14,167 --> 00:12:17,403
Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane.

237
00:12:17,404 --> 00:12:23,142
{\an8}Admiral Cochrane presented
a proclamation to tell slaves

238
00:12:23,143 --> 00:12:26,245
{\an8}that they could be free,

239
00:12:26,246 --> 00:12:29,615
they could serve as
Colonial Marines here,

240
00:12:29,616 --> 00:12:31,051
to be trained here.

241
00:12:32,285 --> 00:12:36,055
They were also promised land
in the British colonies--

242
00:12:36,056 --> 00:12:39,126
Nova Scotia, Trinidad.

243
00:12:40,494 --> 00:12:43,262
Cochrane's Proclamation
significantly said

244
00:12:43,263 --> 00:12:45,231
that you would not only
gain freedom,

245
00:12:45,232 --> 00:12:47,133
be taken away
to British territory,

246
00:12:47,134 --> 00:12:50,369
but you would also receive
tools and supplies

247
00:12:50,370 --> 00:12:52,873
necessary to build
yourself a new life.

248
00:12:53,607 --> 00:12:58,144
The news of this proclamation
made the American newspapers,

249
00:12:58,145 --> 00:12:59,845
and in so doing,

250
00:12:59,846 --> 00:13:04,350
they unwittingly transferred
knowledge of the proclamation

251
00:13:04,351 --> 00:13:07,454
even more widely than the
British could have themselves.

252
00:13:08,155 --> 00:13:12,124
So those who can read
will tell those who can't,

253
00:13:12,125 --> 00:13:13,726
because they have all
of these networks,

254
00:13:13,727 --> 00:13:17,296
and these things will
get back to more rural areas.

255
00:13:17,297 --> 00:13:20,399
Dr. Deirdre McCorkindale is
a leading historian

256
00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,702
of black history
at the University of Guelph,

257
00:13:23,703 --> 00:13:26,372
whose research explores
the lives and legacies

258
00:13:26,373 --> 00:13:28,841
of black communities in Canada.

259
00:13:28,842 --> 00:13:32,444
Then there's a lot
of inter-plantation networks.

260
00:13:32,445 --> 00:13:35,381
{\an8}People who could move
between plantations,

261
00:13:35,382 --> 00:13:36,982
{\an8}people who could
go on the water,

262
00:13:36,983 --> 00:13:38,584
{\an8}people who could
go to the markets,

263
00:13:38,585 --> 00:13:41,020
{\an8}who were trusted
to do those things

264
00:13:41,021 --> 00:13:42,756
were usually
the message carriers.

265
00:13:44,057 --> 00:13:46,692
Word of the proclamation
spreads,

266
00:13:46,693 --> 00:13:50,296
and enslaved men
risk everything to escape

267
00:13:50,297 --> 00:13:53,098
and accept the British offer
of freedom.

268
00:13:53,099 --> 00:13:56,368
As a slave trying
to emancipate yourself,

269
00:13:56,369 --> 00:14:01,173
it was not easy to walk away
from friends and others

270
00:14:01,174 --> 00:14:03,409
to go with the British
and not look back.

271
00:14:03,410 --> 00:14:06,245
You had to find a way to dress

272
00:14:06,246 --> 00:14:09,415
so that you could
not be identified as a slave.

273
00:14:09,416 --> 00:14:14,820
You had to find a way to plot
moving from place to place,

274
00:14:14,821 --> 00:14:20,727
usually by water, knowing the
waterways, the inlets, the bay.

275
00:14:21,761 --> 00:14:24,230
Slavery in the United States,
at this point,

276
00:14:24,231 --> 00:14:27,299
predates the United States
by about a century.

277
00:14:27,300 --> 00:14:30,636
So the overwhelming majority
of the enslaved population there

278
00:14:30,637 --> 00:14:35,074
are born into slavery
in the United States.

279
00:14:35,075 --> 00:14:36,976
Cochrane's Proclamation
is a kind of

280
00:14:36,977 --> 00:14:42,781
incredible blank check offered
to an enslaved population.

281
00:14:42,782 --> 00:14:44,083
Admiral Cochrane,
though--

282
00:14:44,084 --> 00:14:46,185
he did not have
entirely clean hands.

283
00:14:46,186 --> 00:14:47,853
He was himself a slave owner,

284
00:14:47,854 --> 00:14:51,324
owning several hundred people in
the British colony of Trinidad.

285
00:14:52,158 --> 00:14:54,059
With a deep hypocrisy,

286
00:14:54,060 --> 00:14:56,228
he knew that the ultimate thing

287
00:14:56,229 --> 00:14:57,796
you can offer
to an enslaved person

288
00:14:57,797 --> 00:15:01,667
in any situation
is freedom from enslavement

289
00:15:01,668 --> 00:15:04,603
and having the opportunity
to be armed,

290
00:15:04,604 --> 00:15:07,106
uniformed as part
of an adversary

291
00:15:07,107 --> 00:15:09,442
of your former enslavers.

292
00:15:10,410 --> 00:15:13,112
It is believed
that the uprising involved

293
00:15:13,113 --> 00:15:16,815
approximately 6,000 individuals.

294
00:15:16,816 --> 00:15:21,253
Tangier Island becomes
a thriving military camp.

295
00:15:21,254 --> 00:15:24,323
Alongside the
newly emancipated soldiers,

296
00:15:24,324 --> 00:15:28,227
formerly enslaved civilians
arrive to support the troops

297
00:15:28,228 --> 00:15:30,329
and gain their own freedom.

298
00:15:30,330 --> 00:15:33,266
Tangier is sacred ground.

299
00:15:33,967 --> 00:15:36,568
It is sacred ground
because of the individuals

300
00:15:36,569 --> 00:15:40,172
who sacrificed
so that they could be free.

301
00:15:40,173 --> 00:15:42,541
But the strange thing
about it is that

302
00:15:42,542 --> 00:15:45,377
not that many people
know about it.

303
00:15:45,378 --> 00:15:46,880
That's what is so sad.

304
00:15:47,981 --> 00:15:50,582
Mayor Ooker has asked
Graham Nickerson to search

305
00:15:50,583 --> 00:15:53,419
for any evidence
of the Colonial Marines,

306
00:15:53,420 --> 00:15:56,255
as the black soldiers
were known.

307
00:15:56,256 --> 00:15:58,691
For Nickerson,
this is personal.

308
00:15:58,692 --> 00:16:01,560
He can trace his ancestry
back to the island

309
00:16:01,561 --> 00:16:03,996
and is on a mission
to recover the history

310
00:16:03,997 --> 00:16:08,067
that disappeared after
the Canadian border was crossed.

311
00:16:08,068 --> 00:16:12,104
The way that history
is appreciated,

312
00:16:12,105 --> 00:16:14,073
if there isn't a narrative

313
00:16:14,074 --> 00:16:19,378
that's been written by
an old white guy from the past,

314
00:16:19,379 --> 00:16:20,579
people dismiss it.

315
00:16:20,580 --> 00:16:22,748
Our oral histories
are dismissed.

316
00:16:22,749 --> 00:16:25,584
And so when we have
this tangible evidence of

317
00:16:25,585 --> 00:16:28,320
our presence
and the stories of our past,

318
00:16:28,321 --> 00:16:30,322
they're almost impossible
to refute.

319
00:16:30,323 --> 00:16:33,325
- Well, welcome to the island.
- Thank you.

320
00:16:33,326 --> 00:16:35,627
So, I see there's lots
of golf carts here.

321
00:16:35,628 --> 00:16:37,963
Yeah, that's the main mode of
transportation here,

322
00:16:37,964 --> 00:16:39,531
golf carts.

323
00:16:39,532 --> 00:16:43,736
So, this building right here
is the Methodist Parsonage.

324
00:16:43,737 --> 00:16:46,872
Building is probably
about 120 years old.

325
00:16:46,873 --> 00:16:48,640
Oh, it's beautiful.

326
00:16:48,641 --> 00:16:51,844
Well, I notice it's pretty flat.
- Oh, yeah. Yeah.

327
00:16:51,845 --> 00:16:56,115
So, our high ground here is
about 4 foot above sea level.

328
00:16:56,116 --> 00:16:57,583
Okay. Yeah.

329
00:16:57,584 --> 00:17:00,687
The island is about 3 miles
long, maybe a mile wide.

330
00:17:01,621 --> 00:17:04,289
The island is
so different from anywhere else.

331
00:17:04,290 --> 00:17:05,225
Yeah.

332
00:17:05,892 --> 00:17:08,660
So, my family is
a mixture of black people

333
00:17:08,661 --> 00:17:11,630
who fought for the British,
mostly from Virginia...

334
00:17:11,631 --> 00:17:13,532
- Okay.
- ...who came to Nova Scotia,

335
00:17:13,533 --> 00:17:15,501
but we know so little
about them.

336
00:17:15,502 --> 00:17:18,670
We don't learn about them
much in school.

337
00:17:18,671 --> 00:17:20,506
They're just these communities
of black people

338
00:17:20,507 --> 00:17:23,242
who we know came from here.

339
00:17:23,243 --> 00:17:25,277
Nickerson is one
of many descendants

340
00:17:25,278 --> 00:17:28,647
whose family stories vanished
at the border.

341
00:17:28,648 --> 00:17:31,483
Black Canadians
with roots in the South

342
00:17:31,484 --> 00:17:35,487
left their pasts behind the
moment they crossed into Canada.

343
00:17:35,488 --> 00:17:38,690
It's almost like the boundary
between Canada and the U.S.

344
00:17:38,691 --> 00:17:41,226
is an iron curtain
in which history just dies

345
00:17:41,227 --> 00:17:42,728
when it reaches the border.

346
00:17:42,729 --> 00:17:47,599
And, so, like, I'm here
where this story really unfolds.

347
00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:49,635
This is a sort of beacon,

348
00:17:49,636 --> 00:17:53,472
a central location
that holds all of this history.

349
00:17:53,473 --> 00:17:55,374
Nickerson is searching
for the centerpiece

350
00:17:55,375 --> 00:17:57,476
of the Colonial Marines'
history--

351
00:17:57,477 --> 00:18:01,547
the original British fort
built here centuries ago.

352
00:18:01,548 --> 00:18:03,949
So, down here to the south
of the island,

353
00:18:03,950 --> 00:18:05,717
this is where
the fort would have been.

354
00:18:05,718 --> 00:18:08,987
So, the actual site is
offshore now, underwater.

355
00:18:08,988 --> 00:18:12,024
It'd be interesting
if it could be located--

356
00:18:12,025 --> 00:18:15,494
like, the exact site-- in hopes
that we could determine

357
00:18:15,495 --> 00:18:16,996
where the fort was.

358
00:18:18,031 --> 00:18:21,633
{\an8}Fort Albion stood on the
southern tip of Tangier Island,

359
00:18:21,634 --> 00:18:24,970
{\an8}a massive military installation,
complete with barracks,

360
00:18:24,971 --> 00:18:29,107
training grounds,
a hospital, even a church.

361
00:18:29,108 --> 00:18:34,080
It housed hundreds of soldiers
and hundreds more support staff.

362
00:18:34,814 --> 00:18:37,049
Somewhere in the region
of maybe 1 out of every 7

363
00:18:37,050 --> 00:18:42,388
or 1 out of every 8
served as a Colonial Marine.

364
00:18:43,022 --> 00:18:45,290
The other civilians
were here to support

365
00:18:45,291 --> 00:18:47,192
the newly enlisted soldiers--

366
00:18:47,193 --> 00:18:49,495
cooking meals,
stitching uniforms,

367
00:18:49,496 --> 00:18:52,799
and handling
necessary domestic tasks.

368
00:18:53,366 --> 00:18:55,601
Well, alongside the
primarily young men

369
00:18:55,602 --> 00:18:57,736
who became Colonial Marines,

370
00:18:57,737 --> 00:18:59,838
hundreds or
potentially thousands of others,

371
00:18:59,839 --> 00:19:01,907
both men, women, and children,

372
00:19:01,908 --> 00:19:05,812
took upon other roles
that aided the British cause.

373
00:19:06,613 --> 00:19:09,014
We have so much
modern convenience now

374
00:19:09,015 --> 00:19:10,349
that we take for granted.

375
00:19:10,350 --> 00:19:13,585
Laundry used to take
a lot of time to do.

376
00:19:13,586 --> 00:19:16,388
Cooking also
takes a lot of time.

377
00:19:16,389 --> 00:19:19,691
Formerly enslaved people
who are smart,

378
00:19:19,692 --> 00:19:23,195
they're resilient,
they're very, very good with,

379
00:19:23,196 --> 00:19:25,764
like, farming and building
and all of those things.

380
00:19:25,765 --> 00:19:29,067
These are all
very, very important skills

381
00:19:29,068 --> 00:19:30,770
that enslaved people had.

382
00:19:31,538 --> 00:19:33,672
But at the same time,
the British

383
00:19:33,673 --> 00:19:37,175
wanted to capitalize
on taking that labor away

384
00:19:37,176 --> 00:19:38,610
from the Americans.

385
00:19:38,611 --> 00:19:40,078
They see value in the work.

386
00:19:40,079 --> 00:19:42,347
They know how valuable it is
to the people

387
00:19:42,348 --> 00:19:43,749
that they're trying to destroy.

388
00:19:45,418 --> 00:19:47,519
Black soldiers
fight side by side

389
00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,655
with their British
brothers-in-arms,

390
00:19:49,656 --> 00:19:52,491
but are segregated
into their own unit--

391
00:19:52,492 --> 00:19:55,427
the Corps of Colonial Marines.

392
00:19:55,428 --> 00:19:57,062
- Let's get into these.
- What do you got for me?

393
00:19:57,063 --> 00:19:58,397
I got you some maps.

394
00:19:58,398 --> 00:20:01,400
Nickerson and Dr. Burke
study a map

395
00:20:01,401 --> 00:20:05,939
to better understand what the
soldiers would have experienced.

396
00:20:08,408 --> 00:20:09,808
So, we're on
this little island,

397
00:20:09,809 --> 00:20:13,211
and if we were
standing here in 1814

398
00:20:13,212 --> 00:20:17,349
and we were looking out across
the channel here and out to sea,

399
00:20:17,350 --> 00:20:21,887
we would have seen, like, the
most powerful navy in the world

400
00:20:21,888 --> 00:20:26,626
basically patrolling this area
and dominating the Chesapeake.

401
00:20:27,727 --> 00:20:30,228
{\an8}With the valuable manpower
the Colonial Marines

402
00:20:30,229 --> 00:20:31,730
brought to the fight,

403
00:20:31,731 --> 00:20:35,500
the British launch raid
after raid from Fort Albion

404
00:20:35,501 --> 00:20:37,737
across the Chesapeake.

405
00:20:38,671 --> 00:20:40,672
The Colonial Marines are local,

406
00:20:40,673 --> 00:20:42,908
so they're more likely to have
a better feel for the ground

407
00:20:42,909 --> 00:20:45,777
and, therefore, guide the
British Army more effectively.

408
00:20:45,778 --> 00:20:48,981
Any encounters
with civilian Americans shows

409
00:20:48,982 --> 00:20:50,949
that the British force
is amenable

410
00:20:50,950 --> 00:20:55,054
and friendly to the enslaved,
but not to the slave owners.

411
00:20:55,622 --> 00:20:58,156
In August 1814,

412
00:20:58,157 --> 00:21:01,693
the Colonial Marines advance
with the British forces,

413
00:21:01,694 --> 00:21:03,595
first to Bladensburg, Maryland,

414
00:21:03,596 --> 00:21:06,565
and then straight on
to Washington, D.C.

415
00:21:06,566 --> 00:21:08,066
And most famously, of course,

416
00:21:08,067 --> 00:21:10,335
the British Army burned down
the White House.

417
00:21:10,336 --> 00:21:13,905
It's impossible to imagine
that operation taking place

418
00:21:13,906 --> 00:21:16,908
without formerly enslaved
African-Americans.

419
00:21:16,909 --> 00:21:19,811
For an enslaved person
to be part of an effort

420
00:21:19,812 --> 00:21:25,050
burning down the White House,
to burn down the symbol

421
00:21:25,051 --> 00:21:30,789
that represents their
continued lack of legal rights

422
00:21:30,790 --> 00:21:35,028
is pretty symbolic
for a lot of black people.

423
00:21:35,662 --> 00:21:38,330
And, you know,
all of this stuff is happening

424
00:21:38,331 --> 00:21:41,099
out of this little island
where we are right now.

425
00:21:41,100 --> 00:21:46,138
And, like, all of that evidence
is-- it's missing.

426
00:21:46,139 --> 00:21:49,041
It's missing because,
as you can see on this map,

427
00:21:49,042 --> 00:21:52,811
there is a red
and a green indicator.

428
00:21:52,812 --> 00:21:55,580
And the red is what
Tangier Island was

429
00:21:55,581 --> 00:21:57,015
about 10 years ago.

430
00:21:57,016 --> 00:22:00,452
The green is
what it was in 1850.

431
00:22:00,453 --> 00:22:02,087
So what you're noting here

432
00:22:02,088 --> 00:22:06,758
is a loss of almost 67%
of the total landmass...

433
00:22:06,759 --> 00:22:08,694
- Holy smokes!
- ...since 1850.

434
00:22:08,695 --> 00:22:10,696
One other thing
I really wanted to point out

435
00:22:10,697 --> 00:22:14,866
is that our attention is
in this part of the island,

436
00:22:14,867 --> 00:22:17,636
in particular Fort Albion.

437
00:22:17,637 --> 00:22:19,571
So everything is underwater.

438
00:22:19,572 --> 00:22:22,140
Yeah, that's--
I mean, there's nothing there.

439
00:22:22,141 --> 00:22:23,809
Yes.

440
00:22:23,810 --> 00:22:27,579
Given that the fort was burned
down before the British left,

441
00:22:27,580 --> 00:22:32,384
all we really think we will be
able to find is the foundation

442
00:22:32,385 --> 00:22:35,187
and maybe some of the timbers.

443
00:22:35,188 --> 00:22:39,324
It is like a metaphor for what
has happened to the black story.

444
00:22:39,325 --> 00:22:43,662
The island itself, so much of it
has disappeared into the ocean.

445
00:22:43,663 --> 00:22:45,797
And, essentially,
so has the story

446
00:22:45,798 --> 00:22:47,566
just disappeared into the ether.

447
00:22:47,567 --> 00:22:50,736
Clues to what might remain
of Fort Albion

448
00:22:50,737 --> 00:22:53,238
come from an original
British plan discovered

449
00:22:53,239 --> 00:22:57,042
in the Cochrane Archives at The
National Library of Scotland.

450
00:22:57,043 --> 00:22:59,845
Okay, so, let's
take a look at what was here.

451
00:22:59,846 --> 00:23:01,313
- Officer's barracks.
- Officer's--

452
00:23:01,314 --> 00:23:03,648
- And now we've got the--
- The regular barracks.

453
00:23:03,649 --> 00:23:05,150
Regular barracks, right.

454
00:23:05,151 --> 00:23:07,986
- What else do we have there?
- Are these graveyards?

455
00:23:07,987 --> 00:23:09,321
Or burial--
They're burial grounds.

456
00:23:09,322 --> 00:23:11,123
- Number 13, burial grounds.
- Burial grounds.

457
00:23:11,124 --> 00:23:15,026
So, I mean,
that really changes the--

458
00:23:15,027 --> 00:23:17,529
I mean, this is not just a place
where black people

459
00:23:17,530 --> 00:23:19,030
lived and then left.

460
00:23:19,031 --> 00:23:22,134
Our black brothers and sisters
are buried there.

461
00:23:22,135 --> 00:23:25,737
And it would be
great to commemorate

462
00:23:25,738 --> 00:23:28,273
not only
their presence in the ground,

463
00:23:28,274 --> 00:23:31,309
but their contribution
to the freedoms

464
00:23:31,310 --> 00:23:33,078
that we all enjoy today.

465
00:23:33,079 --> 00:23:38,283
The presence of the cemetery at
Fort Albion demonstrates to us

466
00:23:38,284 --> 00:23:41,052
that freedom has a cost

467
00:23:41,053 --> 00:23:46,525
and that even once
people reached Tangier Island,

468
00:23:46,526 --> 00:23:49,427
the story and the risks
weren't over.

469
00:23:49,428 --> 00:23:50,762
It goes beyond like,

470
00:23:50,763 --> 00:23:52,864
"The British gave
these people freedom."

471
00:23:52,865 --> 00:23:54,233
These people freed themselves.

472
00:23:55,401 --> 00:23:58,271
They earned their freedom
by fighting for the British.

473
00:23:59,005 --> 00:24:01,040
And that came with risks.

474
00:24:01,908 --> 00:24:05,011
In that time,
medicine was not as advanced.

475
00:24:05,545 --> 00:24:07,746
Those people
who suffered wounds

476
00:24:07,747 --> 00:24:09,614
got carried back to the fort.

477
00:24:09,615 --> 00:24:12,217
Sometimes,
they survive.

478
00:24:12,218 --> 00:24:14,986
Other times, they perish
from their wounds

479
00:24:14,987 --> 00:24:20,793
and their bodies are left in
the graveyard on Tangier Island.

480
00:24:22,728 --> 00:24:26,865
To lose Tangier Island
to the forces of nature

481
00:24:26,866 --> 00:24:31,536
would probably be
a kind of final erasure

482
00:24:31,537 --> 00:24:34,472
of what Tangier Island should
probably always have meant

483
00:24:34,473 --> 00:24:36,675
in American history.

484
00:24:36,676 --> 00:24:38,977
Nickerson and Dr. Burke's
next task?

485
00:24:38,978 --> 00:24:41,680
Determining if the waters
around the sunken fort

486
00:24:41,681 --> 00:24:44,983
are safe
for underwater exploration.

487
00:24:44,984 --> 00:24:46,885
Hey, you think
this wind's gonna let up?

488
00:24:46,886 --> 00:24:49,588
I hope it does. It's gonna
make it bumpy out there.

489
00:24:50,790 --> 00:24:53,058
They head out on
the same waters

490
00:24:53,059 --> 00:24:57,295
the British Navy once commanded
more than two centuries ago.

491
00:24:57,296 --> 00:24:59,731
Somewhere hidden away,
there is this piece of history

492
00:24:59,732 --> 00:25:01,299
that ties to me.

493
00:25:01,300 --> 00:25:04,703
It's literally being swallowed
up by the sea.

494
00:25:04,704 --> 00:25:08,740
If we don't do the work now,
the site is going to disappear.

495
00:25:08,741 --> 00:25:10,508
And then,
with the site disappearing,

496
00:25:10,509 --> 00:25:12,111
the story disappears.

497
00:25:13,279 --> 00:25:17,916
Black people who essentially
rode out to this island

498
00:25:17,917 --> 00:25:19,251
from the mainland...

499
00:25:20,419 --> 00:25:22,687
...not only the Colonial Marines
or the recruits,

500
00:25:22,688 --> 00:25:24,756
but their families
also came out.

501
00:25:24,757 --> 00:25:27,225
And so these boats
were loaded down with--

502
00:25:27,226 --> 00:25:31,463
You can imagine, like,
a whaler or even canoes with

503
00:25:31,464 --> 00:25:35,033
10, 12 people
stuffed on them.

504
00:25:35,034 --> 00:25:40,038
I think about the freedom
struggle all the time.

505
00:25:40,039 --> 00:25:44,409
These black people--
they knew what they wanted.

506
00:25:44,410 --> 00:25:47,345
They were willing
to brave the challenges.

507
00:25:47,346 --> 00:25:53,184
We've got 25-, 30-mile winds
from the west, northwest,

508
00:25:53,185 --> 00:25:57,056
so it's gonna be pretty rough,
pretty sloppy.

509
00:25:57,623 --> 00:25:59,891
It makes you appreciate just

510
00:25:59,892 --> 00:26:02,929
how much they were driven
to be free.

511
00:26:04,931 --> 00:26:07,599
Being here now
and looking back at the land,

512
00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:10,435
you can imagine having
a fortified position here.

513
00:26:10,436 --> 00:26:12,203
You have the Royal Navy
supporting you,

514
00:26:12,204 --> 00:26:16,207
so you're safe
from seaborne attack.

515
00:26:16,208 --> 00:26:18,543
But you also have all
of the island.

516
00:26:18,544 --> 00:26:21,447
They were secure pretty much
from land and from sea.

517
00:26:21,948 --> 00:26:23,481
That's a good wave right there.

518
00:26:23,482 --> 00:26:27,252
Yeah, this is just the bay.
Imagine the ocean.

519
00:26:27,253 --> 00:26:32,290
We are encountering seemingly
further-roughening conditions.

520
00:26:32,291 --> 00:26:34,926
It gives you a sense
of what it must have been like

521
00:26:34,927 --> 00:26:37,862
to have been moving
from the mainland

522
00:26:37,863 --> 00:26:40,466
to Tangier in a rowboat.

523
00:26:41,334 --> 00:26:42,801
And here we go.

524
00:26:42,802 --> 00:26:45,503
I'm just glad that I'm not
over the side, throwing up.

525
00:26:45,504 --> 00:26:48,406
Wow! Wow!
- Whoa-ho!

526
00:26:48,407 --> 00:26:51,509
We must really want to see
this place.

527
00:26:51,510 --> 00:26:54,580
Rough seas
bring the search to a halt.

528
00:26:55,481 --> 00:26:58,650
So Nickerson shifts
his focus from the fort

529
00:26:58,651 --> 00:27:00,352
to a deeper mystery--

530
00:27:00,353 --> 00:27:02,787
uncovering the names
of those who lived

531
00:27:02,788 --> 00:27:05,256
and fought on Tangier Island.

532
00:27:05,257 --> 00:27:08,393
So much history has been lost
that we must do

533
00:27:08,394 --> 00:27:12,731
everything we can
within our power to preserve it.

534
00:27:12,732 --> 00:27:14,833
He and historian
Dr. Clara Small

535
00:27:14,834 --> 00:27:17,369
head to the island's museum.

536
00:27:17,370 --> 00:27:21,306
Dr. Small has
a detailed knowledge

537
00:27:21,307 --> 00:27:25,910
of specifically the black people
who lived in the Chesapeake.

538
00:27:25,911 --> 00:27:29,180
{\an8}And so I'm hoping
to learn from her immense wealth

539
00:27:29,181 --> 00:27:31,182
{\an8}of knowledge individuals

540
00:27:31,183 --> 00:27:34,052
{\an8}who might have actually served
in the Colonial Marines

541
00:27:34,053 --> 00:27:37,555
and been at Fort Albion
here on Tangier Island.

542
00:27:37,556 --> 00:27:39,524
So, in Nova Scotia,
we really don't know much

543
00:27:39,525 --> 00:27:40,859
about the history here.

544
00:27:40,860 --> 00:27:42,260
- Oh, my gosh!
- How well-known is it

545
00:27:42,261 --> 00:27:45,063
for the black community
on the Chesapeake?

546
00:27:45,064 --> 00:27:48,733
Not very many people know it,
because in the beginning,

547
00:27:48,734 --> 00:27:52,404
many slaves or free blacks
were-- according to the law,

548
00:27:52,405 --> 00:27:55,306
were prevented
from writing their history,

549
00:27:55,307 --> 00:27:59,244
from even learning to
read and write.

550
00:27:59,245 --> 00:28:01,379
And so a lot of it
is oral history.

551
00:28:01,380 --> 00:28:04,115
As a slave,
you receive little

552
00:28:04,116 --> 00:28:07,318
{\an8}or no protection whatsoever

553
00:28:07,319 --> 00:28:09,487
{\an8}from your owner,
not even from the law,

554
00:28:09,488 --> 00:28:12,524
{\an8}because you were property,
the same as your shoes.

555
00:28:12,525 --> 00:28:17,295
When someone came and offered
to you the right to be free,

556
00:28:17,296 --> 00:28:19,931
to have liberty, justice
and equality,

557
00:28:19,932 --> 00:28:22,934
as a slave,
you took that opportunity,

558
00:28:22,935 --> 00:28:25,571
because you might
not ever get it again.

559
00:28:26,105 --> 00:28:28,273
This history--
I hope that they're

560
00:28:28,274 --> 00:28:30,075
preserving a lot of it here.

561
00:28:30,076 --> 00:28:33,211
My gosh. It's amazing.
- Oh, look, War of 1812.

562
00:28:33,212 --> 00:28:35,180
There's a whole display
dedicated to it.

563
00:28:35,181 --> 00:28:38,316
Yes. Oh, imagine--
Look, the cannon.

564
00:28:38,317 --> 00:28:42,220
32-pound cannon,
solid iron shot.

565
00:28:42,221 --> 00:28:45,256
Imagine seeing one
of those coming towards you.

566
00:28:45,257 --> 00:28:50,528
Once you have become free
from your master's plantation,

567
00:28:50,529 --> 00:28:54,833
you had to learn how to fight
with guns and ammunition,

568
00:28:54,834 --> 00:28:58,503
because the laws had been passed
in Virginia and Maryland

569
00:28:58,504 --> 00:29:03,242
that prevented a slave
to have guns and ammunition.

570
00:29:03,909 --> 00:29:07,645
So, I know, like, the
general history of this area.

571
00:29:07,646 --> 00:29:10,348
Do you know, like,
intimate details of people

572
00:29:10,349 --> 00:29:13,084
who may have participated
in the war?

573
00:29:13,085 --> 00:29:15,353
Some details
of some individuals.

574
00:29:15,354 --> 00:29:18,089
Maybe the most famous
individual,

575
00:29:18,090 --> 00:29:20,024
or the one we know a lot about,

576
00:29:20,025 --> 00:29:22,627
was a man by the name
of William Dare--

577
00:29:22,628 --> 00:29:24,896
but we know of him as
William Deer--

578
00:29:24,897 --> 00:29:26,231
and his wife, Nancy.

579
00:29:28,234 --> 00:29:30,802
William escaped
his plantation in Maryland

580
00:29:30,803 --> 00:29:33,404
and joined the British Army.

581
00:29:33,405 --> 00:29:36,574
Once enlisted,
he famously risked his life,

582
00:29:36,575 --> 00:29:40,512
returning to the plantation
to rescue his wife, Nancy.

583
00:29:40,513 --> 00:29:46,417
And after the war,
ended up in Nova Scotia,

584
00:29:46,418 --> 00:29:47,919
raised a family,

585
00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:51,956
and also established an inn--
became very, very prosperous.

586
00:29:51,957 --> 00:29:54,559
The inn was the Stag Inn.

587
00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:57,595
I know of the Stag Inn.
It's in Preston, Nova Scotia.

588
00:29:57,596 --> 00:30:01,533
There's still a black refugee
community in the Preston area.

589
00:30:01,534 --> 00:30:03,602
- Oh, my gosh!
- So it's amazing.

590
00:30:04,236 --> 00:30:06,671
William and Nancy Deer
were among the thousands

591
00:30:06,672 --> 00:30:09,073
{\an8}who claimed land,
promised by the British,

592
00:30:09,074 --> 00:30:10,441
{\an8}in Nova Scotia--

593
00:30:10,442 --> 00:30:14,078
{\an8}more than 600 miles north of
Tangier Island.

594
00:30:16,348 --> 00:30:21,586
It's very hard to truly grasp
the kind of emotional state

595
00:30:21,587 --> 00:30:25,056
that people like William
and Nancy must have been in.

596
00:30:25,057 --> 00:30:28,993
Because they'd left
a known state of horror

597
00:30:28,994 --> 00:30:32,298
{\an8}for an uncertain
state of freedom.

598
00:30:32,998 --> 00:30:35,567
The British offer
of encouragement

599
00:30:35,568 --> 00:30:37,969
primarily took the form
of land grants,

600
00:30:37,970 --> 00:30:41,339
and the authorities they are now
under-- the British authorities

601
00:30:41,340 --> 00:30:43,474
and soon to be the
Nova Scotian authorities--

602
00:30:43,475 --> 00:30:47,712
might be as indifferent
or neglectful as anyone else

603
00:30:47,713 --> 00:30:49,080
in looking after them.

604
00:30:49,081 --> 00:30:51,917
It's very much their
own show from now on.

605
00:30:52,751 --> 00:30:55,753
{\an8}Like so many others,
the story of William and Nancy's

606
00:30:55,754 --> 00:31:00,159
{\an8}escape to freedom disappears
at the Canadian border.

607
00:31:01,193 --> 00:31:03,661
Back in Nova Scotia,
Nickerson knows

608
00:31:03,662 --> 00:31:07,599
how rarely black stories make it
into the history books.

609
00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:08,933
At his alma mater,

610
00:31:08,934 --> 00:31:11,402
St. Mary's University
in Halifax,

611
00:31:11,403 --> 00:31:15,640
he searches for any trace
of William and Nancy Deer.

612
00:31:15,641 --> 00:31:18,476
Against the odds,
he finds two--

613
00:31:18,477 --> 00:31:20,478
"Acadia; or,
A Month with the Blue Noses,"

614
00:31:20,479 --> 00:31:23,114
featuring an interview
with Nancy,

615
00:31:23,115 --> 00:31:25,450
and "Traditional
Lifetime Stories,"

616
00:31:25,451 --> 00:31:28,786
containing recollections
from a Deer family descendant.

617
00:31:28,787 --> 00:31:31,522
I found an interview
with George Brooks,

618
00:31:31,523 --> 00:31:34,993
who is a descendant
of the William and Nancy.

619
00:31:34,994 --> 00:31:37,095
And, so,
it talks about them coming here

620
00:31:37,096 --> 00:31:39,530
and starting the Stag Hotel
in Preston,

621
00:31:39,531 --> 00:31:42,600
which is--
I didn't know this--

622
00:31:42,601 --> 00:31:46,537
is the first hotel to be run by
a black person in the area.

623
00:31:46,538 --> 00:31:51,276
And there's a quote here
about William, and it says,

624
00:31:51,277 --> 00:31:54,312
"He came here, I guess,
as a slave from the south

625
00:31:54,313 --> 00:31:56,080
and lived here for years."

626
00:31:56,081 --> 00:31:57,382
{\an8}I'm glad you found something.

627
00:31:57,383 --> 00:31:59,117
{\an8}I had no idea
about all this history,

628
00:31:59,118 --> 00:32:01,120
{\an8}so it's quite fascinating stuff.

629
00:32:02,788 --> 00:32:05,556
Between 1835 and 1840,

630
00:32:05,557 --> 00:32:09,227
William and Nancy Deer
established the Stag Inn,

631
00:32:09,228 --> 00:32:11,296
which became well-known

632
00:32:11,297 --> 00:32:14,767
and was featured
in the travelogue "Acadia."

633
00:32:15,801 --> 00:32:17,368
I was looking
in another one of our books.

634
00:32:17,369 --> 00:32:19,570
This is on "Acadia,"
but there's a whole section here

635
00:32:19,571 --> 00:32:21,839
which talks about
the Deer family in Chapter 3.

636
00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,375
I think it's the same folks
you're looking at.

637
00:32:24,376 --> 00:32:25,910
There's a question in here,

638
00:32:25,911 --> 00:32:29,480
"'In which place do you like
the best, this or Maryland?'

639
00:32:29,481 --> 00:32:33,351
'Well,' said Mrs. Deer,
'I like Nova Scotia best.'"

640
00:32:33,352 --> 00:32:35,520
I think that's the right answer.

641
00:32:35,521 --> 00:32:37,188
That's amazing.
What a discovery.

642
00:32:37,189 --> 00:32:39,291
Oh, that's great.
- Yeah, it's fascinating.

643
00:32:39,992 --> 00:32:41,693
Armed with determination,

644
00:32:41,694 --> 00:32:43,861
William and Nancy
turned their plot of land

645
00:32:43,862 --> 00:32:47,899
into a thriving home
for a growing family.

646
00:32:47,900 --> 00:32:51,436
But the story of their bravery
and where they came from

647
00:32:51,437 --> 00:32:53,871
remains a mystery
to their descendants.

648
00:32:53,872 --> 00:32:58,176
I'm Nicole Brooks.
I'm African-Nova Scotian.

649
00:32:58,177 --> 00:33:00,345
Nova Scotia means
"New Scotland" in Latin.

650
00:33:00,346 --> 00:33:02,880
{\an8}The province itself
is sort of painted as

651
00:33:02,881 --> 00:33:06,517
{\an8}the land of seafarers
and Scotsmen and Irishmen

652
00:33:06,518 --> 00:33:08,619
who came to the province

653
00:33:08,620 --> 00:33:10,888
and, you know,
established its roots here,

654
00:33:10,889 --> 00:33:12,657
and that's the legacy.

655
00:33:12,658 --> 00:33:17,862
What is often forgotten in the
legacy is the many other people

656
00:33:17,863 --> 00:33:20,665
who existed before,

657
00:33:20,666 --> 00:33:24,669
how African-Nova Scotians--
how we arrived here

658
00:33:24,670 --> 00:33:28,506
and how we made a lasting mark
on the province's history.

659
00:33:28,507 --> 00:33:31,242
It's not something
that's inherent in

660
00:33:31,243 --> 00:33:33,979
a lot of the history teachings
of Nova Scotia.

661
00:33:35,881 --> 00:33:37,749
{\an8}Nicole Brooks
and her father, Herman,

662
00:33:37,750 --> 00:33:40,753
{\an8}are direct descendants
of the Deers.

663
00:33:42,721 --> 00:33:46,224
Two centuries after William
and Nancy settled in Canada,

664
00:33:46,225 --> 00:33:50,529
Nicole and Herman wait for word
about their family's past.

665
00:33:51,797 --> 00:33:52,930
So nice to meet you,

666
00:33:52,931 --> 00:33:54,966
and I'm glad
that you agreed to talk to me

667
00:33:54,967 --> 00:34:01,672
about your family and what
you know of the Deer family.

668
00:34:01,673 --> 00:34:05,076
So, in this book,
George Brooks...

669
00:34:05,077 --> 00:34:06,344
- Granddad.
- Yep.

670
00:34:06,345 --> 00:34:07,945
- Yeah.
- ...is interviewed.

671
00:34:07,946 --> 00:34:12,718
And, so, he talks about
what he knew about William.

672
00:34:13,385 --> 00:34:15,820
And, so, the interview
sort of chronicles,

673
00:34:15,821 --> 00:34:19,824
like, he is a descendant
of William and Nancy.

674
00:34:19,825 --> 00:34:23,895
They run the Stags Inn Hotel,
which is, like,

675
00:34:23,896 --> 00:34:27,432
the first hotel to be run
by a black person in this area,

676
00:34:27,433 --> 00:34:30,435
and it's a very popular landmark
for the community.

677
00:34:30,436 --> 00:34:35,406
{\an8}When I was a kid growing up,
the place was there,

678
00:34:35,407 --> 00:34:37,609
{\an8}but no one lived in it
at that time.

679
00:34:38,844 --> 00:34:41,647
I used to run in and out it
when I was a kid.

680
00:34:42,815 --> 00:34:46,818
{\an8}I didn't realize who
this Deer person was.

681
00:34:46,819 --> 00:34:49,754
{\an8}We didn't know any
of the significance.

682
00:34:49,755 --> 00:34:54,125
We didn't realize it was
the only black-owned inn

683
00:34:54,126 --> 00:34:55,726
of that time, ever, period.

684
00:34:55,727 --> 00:34:58,496
And, like, that's huge.
I mean, it's monumental.

685
00:34:58,497 --> 00:35:02,099
I've been wondering for years,
"Where did I come from?"

686
00:35:02,100 --> 00:35:03,601
You know?
- Yep.

687
00:35:03,602 --> 00:35:06,804
And now that these--
tracing these roots back,

688
00:35:06,805 --> 00:35:09,006
gosh, we've come a long ways.

689
00:35:09,007 --> 00:35:10,975
Look where we were at,
and, all of a sudden,

690
00:35:10,976 --> 00:35:12,009
we're over here now.

691
00:35:12,010 --> 00:35:13,144
- Yeah.
- You know?

692
00:35:13,145 --> 00:35:14,779
- We're still here.
- Yeah.

693
00:35:14,780 --> 00:35:18,683
So, this is a great entry point
to this book, which you're...

694
00:35:18,684 --> 00:35:20,818
- Okay.
- ...really going to like.

695
00:35:20,819 --> 00:35:24,388
- Okay.
- Which is a first edition.

696
00:35:24,389 --> 00:35:27,358
It was written in 1859.

697
00:35:27,359 --> 00:35:28,727
Okay.

698
00:35:29,628 --> 00:35:32,630
I'm nervous.
- And he's asking Nancy,

699
00:35:32,631 --> 00:35:36,101
"Did you prefer
Nova Scotia or Maryland?"

700
00:35:37,035 --> 00:35:39,670
"'Why, I never had
so much work to do at home

701
00:35:39,671 --> 00:35:43,407
as I have to do here, grubbin'
up old stumps and stones;

702
00:35:43,408 --> 00:35:45,376
it isn't women's work.

703
00:35:45,377 --> 00:35:48,179
When I was home,
I had only to wait on misses,

704
00:35:48,180 --> 00:35:50,715
and work was light and easy.'

705
00:35:50,716 --> 00:35:52,550
{\an8}'But which place
do you like best?'

706
00:35:52,551 --> 00:35:55,052
'I like Nova Scotia best.'

707
00:35:55,053 --> 00:35:58,924
{\an8}'Why... do you prefer
Nova Scotia to Maryland?'

708
00:35:59,958 --> 00:36:03,861
'The difference is, when
I work here, I work for myself,

709
00:36:03,862 --> 00:36:06,197
and when I was working at home,

710
00:36:06,198 --> 00:36:09,401
I was working for
other people.'"

711
00:36:10,335 --> 00:36:12,637
William, here, is a soldier.

712
00:36:12,638 --> 00:36:14,338
You know,
they're on Tangier Island

713
00:36:14,339 --> 00:36:16,040
in a fort called Fort Albion.

714
00:36:16,041 --> 00:36:18,109
And they're part of
the Royal Marines--

715
00:36:18,110 --> 00:36:20,077
this endeavor
that the British were taking.

716
00:36:20,078 --> 00:36:21,946
They're part of, like,
this British war machine,

717
00:36:21,947 --> 00:36:23,481
essentially.
- Yes. A crucial part.

718
00:36:23,482 --> 00:36:24,982
- Yeah.
- They basically have

719
00:36:24,983 --> 00:36:28,786
roughshod all over
the Chesapeake for a year.

720
00:36:28,787 --> 00:36:31,923
And they go and burn
the White House.

721
00:36:31,924 --> 00:36:36,460
And then they end up going to
Nova Scotia.

722
00:36:36,461 --> 00:36:40,765
That's very significant
to me to know this.

723
00:36:40,766 --> 00:36:43,634
We're related to a legend.

724
00:36:43,635 --> 00:36:44,936
And that's incredible.

725
00:36:44,937 --> 00:36:47,973
My forefathers were
great people.

726
00:36:49,107 --> 00:36:52,777
They persevered through slavery.

727
00:36:52,778 --> 00:36:55,947
My heart is full of joy.
- Oh.

728
00:36:55,948 --> 00:36:57,815
I'm very proud.

729
00:36:57,816 --> 00:37:00,185
- Yeah.
- Yeah. Very proud.

730
00:37:00,953 --> 00:37:03,788
The property remains
in the Brooks family.

731
00:37:03,789 --> 00:37:05,957
And they agree to an excavation,

732
00:37:05,958 --> 00:37:07,959
in hopes of uncovering
physical evidence

733
00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:11,696
of the life William and Nancy
built here.

734
00:37:11,697 --> 00:37:14,432
{\an8}These large stones
that we're seeing here

735
00:37:14,433 --> 00:37:16,534
{\an8}are part of
the actual foundation,

736
00:37:16,535 --> 00:37:18,603
{\an8}the back wall
of the building.

737
00:37:18,604 --> 00:37:22,006
- There you go.
- Look at that. What is that?

738
00:37:22,007 --> 00:37:23,708
Now, that's a
very interesting piece.

739
00:37:23,709 --> 00:37:25,476
- It's pink!
- It's pink.

740
00:37:25,477 --> 00:37:28,012
It's a very early use
of the color red.

741
00:37:28,013 --> 00:37:29,780
Because I was gonna say,
you see, like,

742
00:37:29,781 --> 00:37:31,482
a lot of old dishes, and,
usually, it's a lot of blue.

743
00:37:31,483 --> 00:37:32,850
Yes. Yeah, yeah.

744
00:37:32,851 --> 00:37:34,552
That was a color
that they mastered earlier.

745
00:37:34,553 --> 00:37:36,220
- Okay.
- By about 1830,

746
00:37:36,221 --> 00:37:38,889
they're experimenting with
other colors, including red.

747
00:37:38,890 --> 00:37:43,494
Now, the family is here,
operating the inn in that era.

748
00:37:43,495 --> 00:37:45,630
Like, I'm thinking about
the symbolism of having,

749
00:37:45,631 --> 00:37:49,400
like, the brand-new colors
on your brand-new plates

750
00:37:49,401 --> 00:37:50,735
and what that means.

751
00:37:50,736 --> 00:37:53,571
Like, obviously,
the inn is doing well.

752
00:37:53,572 --> 00:37:55,640
That's so meaningful to me that,

753
00:37:55,641 --> 00:37:57,908
you know,
Nancy picked out those dishes

754
00:37:57,909 --> 00:38:01,112
especially for her business
and for her home

755
00:38:01,113 --> 00:38:04,382
and what that would
have been like as a free woman

756
00:38:04,383 --> 00:38:06,450
in your own business,
your own space.

757
00:38:06,451 --> 00:38:07,919
That's amazing.

758
00:38:08,954 --> 00:38:12,089
The Brookses are invited
to the Museum of Natural History

759
00:38:12,090 --> 00:38:16,494
in Halifax to see an important
artifact from the Stag Inn

760
00:38:16,495 --> 00:38:18,696
that's been hidden away
for years.

761
00:38:18,697 --> 00:38:19,897
- Hello again.
- Hi.

762
00:38:19,898 --> 00:38:21,165
- Hi.
- Hi.

763
00:38:21,166 --> 00:38:22,533
- How are you?
- Welcome.

764
00:38:22,534 --> 00:38:25,036
So, here, we have the sign
from the Stag Inn.

765
00:38:25,037 --> 00:38:26,737
It looks really good
for an old sign.

766
00:38:26,738 --> 00:38:28,205
- It's amazing, isn't it?
- Yeah.

767
00:38:28,206 --> 00:38:30,007
Like, it looks like
it's in excellent shape

768
00:38:30,008 --> 00:38:33,077
for being almost 200 years old.

769
00:38:33,078 --> 00:38:36,681
"Brandy, whiskey,
hop, spruce, ginger beer,

770
00:38:36,682 --> 00:38:39,117
clean beds,
and food for horses here.

771
00:38:39,551 --> 00:38:42,086
To suit the public's taste
is clear.

772
00:38:42,087 --> 00:38:46,357
Bill Deer will labour.
So will his dearest dear."

773
00:38:46,358 --> 00:38:47,992
Nancy?
- Nancy. Yes, Nancy.

774
00:38:47,993 --> 00:38:50,561
Nancy being mentioned
on the sign of the Stag Inn--

775
00:38:50,562 --> 00:38:52,963
it seems very much
so that they were a team.

776
00:38:52,964 --> 00:38:57,201
{\an8}When we're talking
about the running of an inn,

777
00:38:57,202 --> 00:38:58,536
{\an8}that's running a house.

778
00:38:58,537 --> 00:39:00,404
I think she probably knew
more about

779
00:39:00,405 --> 00:39:02,907
how to do that than he did.

780
00:39:02,908 --> 00:39:05,143
And he gave her the recognition.

781
00:39:07,245 --> 00:39:10,214
While Nancy and William
tend to their guests,

782
00:39:10,215 --> 00:39:12,116
their son Bill helps out,

783
00:39:12,117 --> 00:39:14,752
picking up visitors
like Frederic Cozzens,

784
00:39:14,753 --> 00:39:18,723
who interviewed the Deers
for the travelogue "Acadia."

785
00:39:18,724 --> 00:39:21,559
"The pony under the hands
of Bill is still cheerful

786
00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:24,296
despite the long travel up
and down hills.

787
00:39:24,863 --> 00:39:27,364
A savoury odour
of fried bacon and eggs

788
00:39:27,365 --> 00:39:29,033
stole forth from the door

789
00:39:29,034 --> 00:39:33,237
as we sat in the calm summer air
upon the stone fence.

790
00:39:33,238 --> 00:39:34,939
'Mrs. Deer,' said I,

791
00:39:34,940 --> 00:39:38,275
'is that your husband's portrait
on the back of the sign?'

792
00:39:38,276 --> 00:39:39,844
'Why,' replied Mrs. Deer,

793
00:39:39,845 --> 00:39:43,047
'he doesn't look quite good
to brag on,

794
00:39:43,048 --> 00:39:46,717
but I don't think he looks
quite like a beast either.'"

795
00:39:46,718 --> 00:39:47,985
I think that's
a fitting description

796
00:39:47,986 --> 00:39:51,255
after years of
marriage and trials.

797
00:39:51,256 --> 00:39:55,259
Then, yeah,
not to mention war, you know?

798
00:39:55,260 --> 00:39:57,428
We know that she was strong
and that she was

799
00:39:57,429 --> 00:40:02,433
very, very competent and
not afraid to speak her mind.

800
00:40:02,434 --> 00:40:05,770
And many
of those characteristics

801
00:40:05,771 --> 00:40:07,972
are the characteristics
of so many black women

802
00:40:07,973 --> 00:40:09,607
whose names we don't know.

803
00:40:09,608 --> 00:40:12,643
They were smart.
They were resourceful.

804
00:40:12,644 --> 00:40:14,178
They were brave.

805
00:40:14,179 --> 00:40:17,915
Knowing those things
can be very, very helpful,

806
00:40:17,916 --> 00:40:22,386
especially to black families,
who often--

807
00:40:22,387 --> 00:40:26,824
due to the way that
our history has been suppressed,

808
00:40:26,825 --> 00:40:31,462
often don't know very much
about who our ancestors were

809
00:40:31,463 --> 00:40:33,698
and the things that they did.

810
00:40:35,333 --> 00:40:38,202
Determined to learn more
about their ancestors,

811
00:40:38,203 --> 00:40:41,605
Nicole and Herman
travel more than 600 miles south

812
00:40:41,606 --> 00:40:43,475
to Tangier Island.

813
00:40:43,942 --> 00:40:46,143
- Are you ready?
- Yes, I'm ready.

814
00:40:46,144 --> 00:40:50,114
- Alright, let's do it.
- Let's go.

815
00:40:50,115 --> 00:40:53,250
It's been such an exciting
experience learning more about

816
00:40:53,251 --> 00:40:56,554
where we came from
and our family story.

817
00:40:56,555 --> 00:41:00,558
But now, to have the experience
to go up to Tangier Island

818
00:41:00,559 --> 00:41:04,328
and figure out who our ancestors
were and walk in their shoes

819
00:41:04,329 --> 00:41:05,830
and find out what
their lived experience

820
00:41:05,831 --> 00:41:09,334
was leading up to that,
I can't wait.

821
00:41:12,370 --> 00:41:14,138
Back on Tangier Island,

822
00:41:14,139 --> 00:41:18,509
Dr. Burke discovers a troubling
sign in the island's interior.

823
00:41:18,510 --> 00:41:20,711
Everyone notices the erosion
on the outside,

824
00:41:20,712 --> 00:41:23,547
but it's not just shorelines--
it's people's properties, right?

825
00:41:23,548 --> 00:41:25,583
Where their houses are,
where the grasses are turning

826
00:41:25,584 --> 00:41:28,619
from regular grass
to wetland grasses.

827
00:41:32,724 --> 00:41:35,893
Right now,
I am standing in the marsh.

828
00:41:35,894 --> 00:41:38,262
{\an8}If you look around, it doesn't
look like it's the marsh.

829
00:41:38,263 --> 00:41:39,930
{\an8}It looks like
it's someone's lawn.

830
00:41:39,931 --> 00:41:42,733
{\an8}It once was.
Now it is wetland.

831
00:41:42,734 --> 00:41:44,969
And this conversion
from upland to wetland

832
00:41:44,970 --> 00:41:48,005
is the silent killer
of this island,

833
00:41:48,006 --> 00:41:50,708
because this is what's happening
in people's backyards,

834
00:41:50,709 --> 00:41:53,978
even in the interior
of the island.

835
00:41:53,979 --> 00:41:56,747
Dr. Burke
is using nature itself--

836
00:41:56,748 --> 00:42:01,018
newly built oyster reefs--
to fight erosion.

837
00:42:01,019 --> 00:42:03,954
I started with oyster
restoration, so when I see--

838
00:42:03,955 --> 00:42:05,322
All the oysters all over.

839
00:42:05,323 --> 00:42:07,024
Yeah, I just can't help
but to get excited.

840
00:42:07,025 --> 00:42:09,094
- Gets you excited.
- It does. I want to jump out.

841
00:42:10,729 --> 00:42:13,030
So, this definitely helps
for the erosion.

842
00:42:13,031 --> 00:42:14,798
I'm looking at this flat
over here,

843
00:42:14,799 --> 00:42:19,136
and you could do
extensive reef restoration,

844
00:42:19,137 --> 00:42:20,437
and that would provide
a lot of protection

845
00:42:20,438 --> 00:42:21,739
for what's back there.

846
00:42:21,740 --> 00:42:23,040
And that's really what
we're hoping to do

847
00:42:23,041 --> 00:42:26,744
right up past
that last crab house.

848
00:42:26,745 --> 00:42:29,113
Oysters grow
in clusters and clumps

849
00:42:29,114 --> 00:42:31,749
and eventually form oyster rock.

850
00:42:31,750 --> 00:42:34,184
They rely on something
to settle on.

851
00:42:34,185 --> 00:42:37,154
So they float around
in their larval state,

852
00:42:37,155 --> 00:42:39,924
looking for
a good place to land.

853
00:42:39,925 --> 00:42:43,060
This reef,
we call it an "X" reef.

854
00:42:43,061 --> 00:42:45,095
We make sure we have
nooks and crannies,

855
00:42:45,096 --> 00:42:47,298
because when they're really
small, they'll settle in there.

856
00:42:47,299 --> 00:42:48,999
And you won't see them
for a while,

857
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:51,302
but, eventually, they're
going to grow out and emerge

858
00:42:51,303 --> 00:42:53,837
like a flower blooms
and comes out.

859
00:42:53,838 --> 00:42:55,906
So, a reef,
when we first put it out there,

860
00:42:55,907 --> 00:42:57,508
provides a certain amount
of protection,

861
00:42:57,509 --> 00:43:01,179
but when it's a full, living,
growing reef, it does even more.

862
00:43:04,149 --> 00:43:07,918
The parallels between trying to
save a history that's been lost,

863
00:43:07,919 --> 00:43:09,486
and maybe would have
been lost forever,

864
00:43:09,487 --> 00:43:11,522
at the same moment
that we're trying to save

865
00:43:11,523 --> 00:43:13,891
a living community
that could also be lost

866
00:43:13,892 --> 00:43:16,360
to history if we don't act?

867
00:43:16,361 --> 00:43:19,029
So we could
simultaneously protect the past

868
00:43:19,030 --> 00:43:21,532
and the present so that
the people here have a future.

869
00:43:21,533 --> 00:43:24,868
And that really is what is
giving me goose bumps right now,

870
00:43:24,869 --> 00:43:26,271
just talking about it.

871
00:43:28,173 --> 00:43:30,007
Nickerson joins
the Brookses

872
00:43:30,008 --> 00:43:33,478
as they set out to learn more
about their ancestors.

873
00:43:34,079 --> 00:43:36,780
First stop,
Benedict, Maryland,

874
00:43:36,781 --> 00:43:39,650
60 miles north
of Tangier Island.

875
00:43:39,651 --> 00:43:42,821
He has something
deeply meaningful to show them.

876
00:43:44,089 --> 00:43:46,223
I have no idea
where we're going.

877
00:43:46,224 --> 00:43:48,192
I have no idea
what Graham has in store,

878
00:43:48,193 --> 00:43:50,828
but it's time for an adventure.

879
00:43:50,829 --> 00:43:52,796
But what's so weird
is that, like,

880
00:43:52,797 --> 00:43:54,498
in the year of our Lord 2026,

881
00:43:54,499 --> 00:43:56,300
it still says
Williams Wharf Plantation

882
00:43:56,301 --> 00:44:00,170
on, like, the signs to these
communities, which, like, ick.

883
00:44:00,171 --> 00:44:02,272
It doesn't feel like it's warm
enough here to grow cotton...

884
00:44:02,273 --> 00:44:04,675
- No, I don't think so.
- ...but what do I know?

885
00:44:04,676 --> 00:44:07,678
Which is, like,
what a privilege to say, right?

886
00:44:07,679 --> 00:44:09,880
I don't know
how cotton is grown.

887
00:44:09,881 --> 00:44:12,549
And I love that for me.
May I never find out.

888
00:44:12,550 --> 00:44:14,685
Don't want to pick it either.

889
00:44:14,686 --> 00:44:16,054
Oh! Exactly.

890
00:44:17,956 --> 00:44:20,224
It's a big house.
- It is.

891
00:44:20,225 --> 00:44:22,559
- Hi!
- Hello! How are you today?

892
00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:25,596
This is the location where
William and Nancy

893
00:44:25,597 --> 00:44:27,965
would have been enslaved.

894
00:44:27,966 --> 00:44:30,201
- Oh, okay. Okay.
- Oh, my. Okay.

895
00:44:31,436 --> 00:44:37,241
And at one point,
in the census of 1810...

896
00:44:37,242 --> 00:44:38,509
Right.

897
00:44:38,510 --> 00:44:40,077
...they are--

898
00:44:40,078 --> 00:44:43,047
well, they didn't list black
people by name at the time.

899
00:44:43,048 --> 00:44:46,917
So, you'll see there are
10 enslaved people living...

900
00:44:46,918 --> 00:44:49,319
- Here.
- ...here, on this property.

901
00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:52,022
And 10 people,
including William and Nancy?

902
00:44:52,023 --> 00:44:54,324
- William and Nancy.
- Wow.

903
00:44:54,325 --> 00:44:56,693
Never mentioned their names,
but mentioned by number.

904
00:44:56,694 --> 00:44:57,728
- Yes.
- Yeah.

905
00:44:57,729 --> 00:44:59,630
Yeah, because they...

906
00:44:59,631 --> 00:45:03,101
they didn't really consider them
to be people at the time.

907
00:45:04,335 --> 00:45:06,603
The Brookses
explore the grounds,

908
00:45:06,604 --> 00:45:10,408
imagining how their ancestors
might have escaped.

909
00:45:13,178 --> 00:45:15,345
- It's a long way to go, hey?
- Yes.

910
00:45:15,346 --> 00:45:17,714
There's the river, and--
- That's the river.

911
00:45:17,715 --> 00:45:19,617
It's a long walk.

912
00:45:20,952 --> 00:45:24,688
What would probably happen would
be the British would show up.

913
00:45:24,689 --> 00:45:27,591
The militia would set something
on fire or whatever

914
00:45:27,592 --> 00:45:29,493
and cause distractions.

915
00:45:29,494 --> 00:45:32,096
And so you have all this chaos,
and in that chaos,

916
00:45:32,097 --> 00:45:33,797
the British would send
a whaleboat in.

917
00:45:33,798 --> 00:45:35,499
- Gotcha.
- And they would hop on, and...

918
00:45:35,500 --> 00:45:39,069
- It was opportunity.
- Opportunity and planning.

919
00:45:40,572 --> 00:45:44,008
William distinguishes himself
on the battlefield.

920
00:45:44,876 --> 00:45:46,810
Then, during the
Battle of Bladensburg,

921
00:45:46,811 --> 00:45:49,947
an eyewitness account
describes him asking permission

922
00:45:49,948 --> 00:45:54,084
to return to Maryland and face
a different kind of danger--

923
00:45:54,085 --> 00:45:56,653
saving his wife
from slavery.

924
00:45:58,556 --> 00:46:00,424
It's clear
that he must have been held

925
00:46:00,425 --> 00:46:03,427
in some kind of high regard,
that he, as a Colonial Marine,

926
00:46:03,428 --> 00:46:07,498
{\an8}had been released
from his duties in order to go

927
00:46:07,499 --> 00:46:10,367
{\an8}and attempt to rescue his wife,
Nancy,

928
00:46:10,368 --> 00:46:12,236
who remained in enslavement.

929
00:46:12,237 --> 00:46:14,371
To be trusted not just
to leave the ranks,

930
00:46:14,372 --> 00:46:18,041
but leave the ranks on quite a
dangerous kind of solo mission

931
00:46:18,042 --> 00:46:20,245
and be expected to return.

932
00:46:21,012 --> 00:46:23,981
William and Nancy Deer
self-emancipated,

933
00:46:23,982 --> 00:46:26,583
but their freedom came
at a price.

934
00:46:26,584 --> 00:46:30,087
When the Treaty of Ghent
is signed, ending the war,

935
00:46:30,088 --> 00:46:33,223
Britain agrees to pay
the Deers' former enslavers

936
00:46:33,224 --> 00:46:35,292
for the loss of "property."

937
00:46:35,293 --> 00:46:38,695
William and Nancy
are reduced to line items,

938
00:46:38,696 --> 00:46:42,399
their lives stripped
down to a number and a price.

939
00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:44,368
One of the
big stipulations is

940
00:46:44,369 --> 00:46:48,839
for the American enslavers
to be compensated for the people

941
00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:50,507
that joined the British.

942
00:46:50,508 --> 00:46:52,075
Okay.

943
00:46:52,076 --> 00:46:53,610
It says,

944
00:46:53,611 --> 00:46:56,780
"Indemnities due under the award
of the Emperor of Russia,

945
00:46:56,781 --> 00:47:00,817
for slaves and other
private property carried away

946
00:47:00,818 --> 00:47:02,720
by the British forces."

947
00:47:04,355 --> 00:47:06,356
"Private property."

948
00:47:06,357 --> 00:47:08,091
And their average value?

949
00:47:08,092 --> 00:47:10,194
$280.
- Oh, okay.

950
00:47:10,195 --> 00:47:15,799
$280 was my worth,
according to them.

951
00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:16,934
That's correct.

952
00:47:16,935 --> 00:47:18,536
Wow.

953
00:47:19,904 --> 00:47:24,308
The thing that I have come
to do when I am in a place

954
00:47:24,309 --> 00:47:26,510
where the ancestors live...
- Okay.

955
00:47:26,511 --> 00:47:30,147
...is I give libation for
what the ancestors sacrificed

956
00:47:30,148 --> 00:47:32,150
for us to be here.

957
00:47:35,153 --> 00:47:37,387
It gives some closure.
- It does.

958
00:47:37,388 --> 00:47:38,590
Yeah.

959
00:47:39,924 --> 00:47:42,659
Much appreciated.
- No problem.

960
00:47:46,064 --> 00:47:48,065
The Brookses cross
the Chesapeake Bay to

961
00:47:48,066 --> 00:47:50,767
Tangier Island,
retracing the journey

962
00:47:50,768 --> 00:47:54,805
William and Nancy
made in their quest for freedom.

963
00:47:54,806 --> 00:47:58,475
I cannot imagine leaving,

964
00:47:58,476 --> 00:48:04,716
getting across this huge body of
water in a rowboat to freedom.

965
00:48:05,750 --> 00:48:08,752
I cannot even imagine
what William or Nancy

966
00:48:08,753 --> 00:48:09,886
must have been thinking.

967
00:48:09,887 --> 00:48:11,555
They are so brave.

968
00:48:15,593 --> 00:48:17,527
To pay tribute to
the sacrifices

969
00:48:17,528 --> 00:48:19,963
William made on behalf
of the British,

970
00:48:19,964 --> 00:48:24,234
a Royal Marine is sent to meet
the Brookses on Tangier Island

971
00:48:24,235 --> 00:48:27,739
and honor the
Corps of Colonial Marines.

972
00:48:29,340 --> 00:48:32,676
It's a real honor and
a privilege to be here today,

973
00:48:32,677 --> 00:48:35,445
{\an8}I think probably
more than 200 years

974
00:48:35,446 --> 00:48:40,284
{\an8}since any previous Royal Marine
has stood on Tangier Island,

975
00:48:40,285 --> 00:48:44,421
to commemorate fallen
Royal Naval, Royal Marines,

976
00:48:44,422 --> 00:48:47,457
and, of course,
the Corps of Colonial Marines

977
00:48:47,458 --> 00:48:51,596
who lived and died
on this incredible island.

978
00:48:52,430 --> 00:48:54,431
I'm personally very delighted
that the Royal Marines

979
00:48:54,432 --> 00:48:57,534
recognize this incredible part
of their history.

980
00:48:57,535 --> 00:49:00,003
This is not a story
about Britain coming

981
00:49:00,004 --> 00:49:03,840
into the United States and
rescuing people from slavery.

982
00:49:03,841 --> 00:49:07,544
British forces were present
and provided the means,

983
00:49:07,545 --> 00:49:10,681
but the people
who caught their own freedom

984
00:49:10,682 --> 00:49:12,983
were the enslaved people
themselves,

985
00:49:12,984 --> 00:49:16,286
who took the incredibly
courageous risk of fleeing

986
00:49:16,287 --> 00:49:18,790
from slavery to try
and find freedom.

987
00:49:19,924 --> 00:49:23,660
As Lieutenant Colonel
James Smith prepares the plaque,

988
00:49:23,661 --> 00:49:26,997
Nickerson makes another attempt
at locating Fort Albion.

989
00:49:26,998 --> 00:49:29,566
Alright, Graham,
you want to direct our divers?

990
00:49:29,567 --> 00:49:31,201
Sure. Okay.

991
00:49:31,202 --> 00:49:33,704
The site itself
is much more elaborate

992
00:49:33,705 --> 00:49:36,873
than what we thought originally,
so...

993
00:49:36,874 --> 00:49:38,642
- It looks extensive.
- Yeah.

994
00:49:38,643 --> 00:49:42,546
There's lots of potential
artifacts you could come across.

995
00:49:42,547 --> 00:49:43,781
Okay.

996
00:49:45,350 --> 00:49:47,384
So, what are
we expecting the divers to see?

997
00:49:47,385 --> 00:49:48,785
It's hard to know.

998
00:49:48,786 --> 00:49:51,855
We know that the British
burned it once it was abandoned.

999
00:49:51,856 --> 00:49:53,690
It was an extensive
wooden structure,

1000
00:49:53,691 --> 00:49:56,960
so we should find, hopefully,
remnants of preserved wood.

1001
00:49:56,961 --> 00:49:58,195
Okay.

1002
00:49:58,196 --> 00:50:00,030
There were thousands
of people there.

1003
00:50:00,031 --> 00:50:01,732
They were building lives there.

1004
00:50:01,733 --> 00:50:03,600
There were gardens.
There were markets.

1005
00:50:03,601 --> 00:50:05,435
And the other thing
is that there's

1006
00:50:05,436 --> 00:50:08,472
a pretty substantial graveyard.

1007
00:50:08,473 --> 00:50:10,574
- Wow.
- And so we might find

1008
00:50:10,575 --> 00:50:13,577
grave markers,
human bone, or--

1009
00:50:13,578 --> 00:50:16,513
it's really difficult to know.

1010
00:50:16,514 --> 00:50:19,383
Oh, it's such a shame
that it's all underwater now.

1011
00:50:19,384 --> 00:50:21,785
I...
That's...

1012
00:50:21,786 --> 00:50:23,987
Well, the thing about it
being underwater is that

1013
00:50:23,988 --> 00:50:27,457
it means that it's been
preserved, hard to get to,

1014
00:50:27,458 --> 00:50:29,559
so it might still be there.

1015
00:50:29,560 --> 00:50:30,427
Okay.

1016
00:50:30,428 --> 00:50:32,562
Diver in the water!

1017
00:50:47,078 --> 00:50:49,946
Buried beneath the sands
of the Chesapeake Bay,

1018
00:50:49,947 --> 00:50:54,285
divers uncover what could be
remnants of Fort Albion.

1019
00:50:55,253 --> 00:50:57,487
Looks like we found
a little bit

1020
00:50:57,488 --> 00:50:59,890
of a debris field down there.

1021
00:50:59,891 --> 00:51:04,294
{\an8}It looked like flecks of either
old wood or stuff like that.

1022
00:51:04,295 --> 00:51:06,129
Wow. So you actually
found wood down there.

1023
00:51:06,130 --> 00:51:07,364
Do you think it was part
of the fort?

1024
00:51:07,365 --> 00:51:08,665
It very well
could have been.

1025
00:51:08,666 --> 00:51:11,435
{\an8}It was almost like
petrified wood,

1026
00:51:11,436 --> 00:51:13,603
{\an8}which very well could
have been part of the fort.

1027
00:51:13,604 --> 00:51:16,006
Mother Nature takes
its toll over 200 years,

1028
00:51:16,007 --> 00:51:18,442
but it very well could have been
something that, you know,

1029
00:51:18,443 --> 00:51:22,213
was part of the history
of this fort that was here.

1030
00:51:23,014 --> 00:51:25,949
This petrified wood may be
the only remaining evidence

1031
00:51:25,950 --> 00:51:29,286
that the Colonial Marines
stood here...

1032
00:51:29,287 --> 00:51:32,256
but their story is
no longer buried.

1033
00:51:32,990 --> 00:51:35,592
Islanders, descendants,
and Royal Marines

1034
00:51:35,593 --> 00:51:39,529
now come together
to honor their legacy.

1035
00:51:39,530 --> 00:51:42,365
Good afternoon,
Tangier Island.

1036
00:51:42,366 --> 00:51:44,334
It is a real honor

1037
00:51:44,335 --> 00:51:48,905
and a privilege
to be here today to remember

1038
00:51:48,906 --> 00:51:54,579
and to commemorate
the Corps of Colonial Marines.

1039
00:51:55,580 --> 00:51:58,482
The motto of my
first Royal Marines company,

1040
00:51:58,483 --> 00:52:03,887
the unit that I first joined,
is "Slave to no man."

1041
00:52:03,888 --> 00:52:07,624
And the Colonial Marines
personified this ethos.

1042
00:52:07,625 --> 00:52:12,496
The Colonial Marines
braved impossible odds,

1043
00:52:12,497 --> 00:52:18,034
a hostile shore,
16 miles of merciless sea

1044
00:52:18,035 --> 00:52:21,137
to reach this place...

1045
00:52:21,138 --> 00:52:23,406
to claim their freedom...

1046
00:52:23,407 --> 00:52:26,177
and to fight as free men.

1047
00:52:27,011 --> 00:52:30,947
And it is a real honor
to be here today with

1048
00:52:30,948 --> 00:52:35,485
a number of descendants
of the Colonial Marines.

1049
00:52:35,486 --> 00:52:37,687
Thank you for being here.

1050
00:52:37,688 --> 00:52:42,759
It's been wonderful to meet you
and to understand your story.

1051
00:52:42,760 --> 00:52:44,895
We have a saying
in the Royal Marines...

1052
00:52:44,896 --> 00:52:48,032
"Once a Marine,
always a Marine."

1053
00:52:49,300 --> 00:52:54,571
And that is a promise that
transcends not just continents,

1054
00:52:54,572 --> 00:52:56,239
but also generations.

1055
00:52:56,240 --> 00:52:59,609
So it's my pleasure to welcome
you to the Royal Marines family.

1056
00:52:59,610 --> 00:53:01,545
You're in it whether
you want to be or not, right?

1057
00:53:01,546 --> 00:53:03,179
You've got no choice.
You're in the family.

1058
00:53:03,180 --> 00:53:04,581
I'm sorry.

1059
00:53:04,582 --> 00:53:07,117
Greetings, my brother.

1060
00:53:07,118 --> 00:53:10,620
It's a pretty good way
to join the Marines, I'd say.

1061
00:53:10,621 --> 00:53:13,424
- Thank you.
- Thank you.

1062
00:53:15,626 --> 00:53:16,894
Thank you so much.

1063
00:53:19,463 --> 00:53:21,464
The wreath, please.

1064
00:53:24,902 --> 00:53:26,269
Thank you.

1065
00:53:30,174 --> 00:53:33,376
I am so grateful that everybody
came to the ceremony today.

1066
00:53:33,377 --> 00:53:35,478
Thank you so much.

1067
00:53:35,479 --> 00:53:38,982
I'm just reflecting and looking
at this beautiful medallion--

1068
00:53:38,983 --> 00:53:41,284
"Once a Marine,
always a Marine"--

1069
00:53:41,285 --> 00:53:44,854
and James' words,
"Slave to no man."

1070
00:53:44,855 --> 00:53:48,925
May none of us
be slaves to any man again.

1071
00:53:48,926 --> 00:53:50,194
Thank you.

1072
00:53:51,228 --> 00:53:54,198
It's such a privilege
to be here and to...

1073
00:53:55,566 --> 00:53:58,035
to share this moment
with you all.

1074
00:54:00,805 --> 00:54:03,173
I've been thinking to myself,

1075
00:54:03,174 --> 00:54:08,178
God has put me here for
this particular time and place.

1076
00:54:08,179 --> 00:54:11,982
I'm so pleased to
see you all

1077
00:54:11,983 --> 00:54:16,586
honor those who fought in
the Royal Marine.

1078
00:54:16,587 --> 00:54:21,025
My heart will be
ever grateful to you all.

1079
00:54:22,460 --> 00:54:25,629
The ceremony was
really the sort of--

1080
00:54:25,630 --> 00:54:28,465
the punching home
of what we're trying to do,

1081
00:54:28,466 --> 00:54:30,800
is we want everyone
who's involved

1082
00:54:30,801 --> 00:54:32,736
and the descendants
of the Royal Marines--

1083
00:54:32,737 --> 00:54:35,171
and the black refugees
in general--

1084
00:54:35,172 --> 00:54:38,174
to feel this emotional
connection to Tangier,

1085
00:54:38,175 --> 00:54:41,044
{\an8}to Fort Albion,
to own their place in history

1086
00:54:41,045 --> 00:54:45,783
{\an8}as what the story
of the War of 1812 actually was.

1087
00:54:47,051 --> 00:54:49,786
{\an8}I hope they're so proud of
how far we've come.

1088
00:54:49,787 --> 00:54:52,022
{\an8}It pushes me
to want to go further

1089
00:54:52,023 --> 00:54:56,693
{\an8}and make sure
their story is heard

1090
00:54:56,694 --> 00:55:01,197
{\an8}and that their contributions
are understood and heard.

1091
00:55:01,198 --> 00:55:06,936
{\an8}♪ Thank you, Lord,
for giving to me ♪

1092
00:55:06,937 --> 00:55:13,144
{\an8}♪ Thy great salvation,
so rich and free ♪