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What:
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The first black man to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
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Where:
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Queenstown, Ireland.
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When:
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In 1859.
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Why:
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For bravery at Lucknow, India in 1857.
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The Bravest Among The Brave
William Hall was the first Black person, the first Nova Scotian, and the second Canadian
to receive the Victoria Cross, the British Empire’s highest award for bravery. William Hall
was born one of six children in Horton, Nova Scotia, and was the son of former American slaves,
Jacob and Lucinda Hall. As a young man, Hall worked in shipyards at Hantsport, NS, building
wooden ships for the merchant marine. He then joined the crew of a trading vessel, and before
age eighteen had visited most of the world’s important ports.
William Hall enlisted in the Royal Navy in Liverpool, England in 1852. His first vessel was
the HMS Rodney, which fought in the Crimean War. In the Crimean War he took part in the naval
brigade, in which soldiers joined foot soldiers to do battle on land, provided supplies, and
did whatever was required of them. Hall received British and Turkish medals for his work
during this campaign. Hall’s second vessel was the HMS Victory, at Portsmouth, England,
and his third was the HMS Shannon as captain of the foretop. It was this service in India
with the HMS Shannon in 1857 that led to him receiving the Victoria Cross. Hall was one
of the four pounders in this crew. While rebels shot at them, killing the entire crew
except Hall and Lieutenant James Young, Hall kept shooting until the wall was breached,
giving the soldiers enough room to scramble through. Captain William Peel subsequently
recommended Hall and Lieutenant Young for the Victoria Cross; it was going above and
beyond the call of duty that earned William Hall this honour. Hall received the
Victoria Cross aboard HMS Donegal in Queenstown, Ireland on October 28, 1859.
A Hero Comes Home
William Hall retired from the service in 1876 in Quartermaster with the rank of First
Class Petty Officer, and moved back to Nova Scotia. He lived for years without recognition
with his sisters, Rachel Robinson and Mary Hall, on a farm in Avonport. However, His Royal
Highness, the Duke of Cornwall and York, visited Nova Scotia in 1901. A parade was held in
his honour, and Hall went, wearing his Victoria Cross and three other service medals. The
Duke asked about the medals, drawing much-deserved attention to Hall’s service. William Hall
died three years later at home of paralysis and was buried in an unmarked grave without
military honours. In 1937, a campaign was launched to have William Hall recognized by
the Canadian Legion. It took eight more years to have his body reburied in the grounds
of the Hantsport Baptist church.
The monument at the Hantsport Baptist Church bears an enlarged replica of the Victoria
Cross and a plaque describing Hall’s courage and devotion to duty. A branch of Canadian Legion
in Halifax was renamed in his honour; also, a gym in Cornwallis, the DaCosta-Hall in Montreal
(an education program for Black students), and the annual gun run of the Halifax International
Tattoo carry on his name. In 1967, Hall’s medals were returned to Canada from England
to be shown at the 1967 Expo in Montreal. Later, as property of Nova Scotia, the medals
were transferred to the Nova Scotia Museum. They are currently displayed as part of
the Nova Scotia Museum’s collection.
References:
Pachai, B. William Hall: Winner of the Victoria Cross. Tantallon, Nova Scotia: Four East
Publications Limited, 1995. 5-39.
Nova Scotia Museum. Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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