During the British occupation of Southern Maryland (May 1814 – August 1814) so many enslaved men joined the British forces that a training camp, Fort Albion, was established on Tangier Island. Eventually a total of 4,000 enslaved African Americans negotiated for their freedom, including some from Sotterley Plantation. Forty-nine of the 64 enslaved people self-emancipated from Sotterley to the British, settling in Nova Scotia or Trinidad.