Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
William Hall was born 25 April 1829, at Summerville, Nova Scotia. His father, Jacob, and mother, Lucinda, were formerly enslaved American black refugees who came to Nova Scotia during the War of 1812. Hall served as able seaman on HMS Rodney during the Crimean War and HMS Shannon during the 1857 Indian Sepoy Uprising. He received the Victoria Cross, two Crimean War medals, and the Indian Mutiny Medal. William Hall, VC retired on 10 June 1876 with the rank of quartermaster and a certificate of good conduct, and he returned to the family farm near Hantsport, Nova Scotia. In October 1901, he was presented to the Duke and Duchess of York (future King George V) during their visit to Halifax. Upon his death on 25 August 1904, Hall was buried without military honours at Lockhartville, Nova Scotia. In 1945 his remains were reinterred in the grounds of the Hantsport Baptist Church, and in 1947 a commemorative cairn was erected by the Canadian Legion on land it had purchased. The cairn is one of a number of memorials, several of them created by the black community of Nova Scotia, which perpetuate the name of William Hall, VC.