Existing comment:
The Cost of War:
This is a replica "hogshead," a shipment barrel which could hold over 1,300 pounds of tobacco. It is a symbol of the immense cost of the war in the Chesapeake region.
The economy in southern Maryland centered on its main export, tobacco, and the slave labor that was the backbone of the cash crop. The British offensive against trade in the region was one of the most destructive of the war, with 30 farms and 16 tobacco towns and warehouses seized or destroyed. In one month alone, during the summer of 1814, the British confiscated 402 tobacco hogsheads and destroyed another 2,500, a loss equivalent to many millions of dollars today.
The campaign affected other exports, shipbuilding and enslaved labor. Americans feared that the British were stirring up a widespread slave revolt, as the British had offered freedom to runaways in the form of enlistment or resettlement. About 2,600 people gained their freedom by going over to the British, most of whom settled in Canada or Trinidad.
Economically, America was damaged by the war. Exports dropped by almost 90 percent and imports by 75 percent. However, throughout the conflicts, both official and illegal trade with the British continued. On both sides, some people put profit before patriotism. |