Biography
William Wilson, William Wells, Frank Rounds, and George Bailey (d. 1869)
Executed on March 5, 1869 in Princess Anne, Maryland.
William Wilson, William Wells, Frank Rounds, and George Bailey were executed in Somerset County on March 5, 1869 in Princess Anne, Maryland. The four men were convicted of the murder of a schooner captain and his first mate, on which they all were employed. Bailey and Wells were 21 years of age, with Wilson being 20, and Rounds 27. All except Wilson are confirmed to have formerly been enslaved. The press referred to the suspects by the names listed, but several were suspected to be aliases. William Wilson was born Charles Denby, and also went by Charles Wilson. William Wells was born Linsey Wells, and Frank Rounds and George Bailey claimed to be born Frank Anderson and George Bryan, respectively.
On March 30, 1868, the oyster dredging schooner Brave was found blood-soaked and run aground on a sandbar in Somerset County. Captain Benjamin F. Johnson and First Mate Henry Cannon were nowhere to be found, but suspected to have been killed and thrown overboard. The bodies were later found, with the captain relieved of his clothing. The schooner had been run aground, with the murderers escaping in a smaller craft. It was suspected that the crew of Wilson, Wells, Rounds, and Bailey had committed the murder, and made off with $500 that had been on the ship.
Wilson and Wells were the first of the suspects to be apprehended. The duo was arrested in Accomack County, Virginia in mid-April, confessing to the crime, as well as implicating their accomplices, who were still in possession of the stolen money. Fellow oystermen expressed excitement surrounding their apprehension, and the Baltimore Sun speculates the two would have been lynched if not for the involvement of official law enforcement. According to Wilson and Wells, Rounds held primary responsibility for the murders. Wilson and Wells were transported to the jail in Princess Anne, where they unsuccessfully attempted to escape on May 25, 1868 by assaulting their jailer. The two were tried and sentenced to death in July. Their execution was set by Governor Thomas Swann in October for December 4. Efforts were made to commute their sentence due to their testimony and confession, but they ultimately were not successful. Wilson and Wells broke out of the Princess Anne jail on November 10, this time by gradually dismantling a wall in their cell. However, their freedom was short lived. Wilson was recaptured five days later, with Wells retaken on November 24. Their execution was then moved to January 8, 1869.
Frank Rounds was the next suspect to be apprehended. He had taken a job as a farm worker in Anne Arundel County under the alias John Robinson. Rounds had reportedly admitted his involvement in the murder of Captain Johnson to fellow worker James Grosser, as well as divulging plans to murder white men in Anne Arundel County for their money. Grosser had been arrested in October, with his testimony to be used against Rounds during the trial. A figure matching Rounds's description was reported as trying to encourage a robbery in Baltimore. This claim was investigated, and Rounds was apprehended by a policeman in a violent struggle. Rounds was then transported to Princess Anne on October 17 and sentenced to death for murder. After being sentenced, The Baltimore Sun claims Rounds confessed to being the ringleader of the plans to steal the money, as well as personally clubbing Captain Johnson to death. However, The New York Times holds that he claimed being put up to the murder by Wells and Wilson. His execution was scheduled for January 8, 1869.
In mid-November, an African American man named George Bailey was arrested in Anne Arundel County, but turned out to be connected in name only. The George Bailey involved in the murder of Captain Johnson and Henry Cannon was tracked down to a Baltimore jail by the investigating policemen. He was identified by another schooner captain as being the fourth crewman on Johnson's ship. Bailey was transported to Princess Anne, where he confessed to being present during the murder, but not participating in the crime himself. He too implicated Rounds as the murderer of the captain and mate. Bailey was not tried until January 12, resulting in the delay of his companions' executions so they could serve as witnesses. Despite his proclaimed innocence from participating in killing Johnson and Cannon, he too was sentenced to death.
The execution for William Wilson, William Wells, Frank Rounds, and George Bailey was scheduled for March 5, 1869. The hanging took place in Princess Anne, and was attended by four to five thousand spectators.
Newspaper clippings
"Local Matters - Alleged Double Murder," Baltimore Sun, April 7, 1868.
"The Reported Murder in the Chesapeake Bay," Baltimore Sun, April 9, 1868.
"Arrest of Alleged Murderers," Baltimore Sun, April 15, 1868.
"The Late Tragedy on the Eastern Shore," Baltimore Sun, April 17, 1868.
"Our Neighbors - Queen Anne's County," Cecil Whig, May 2, 1868.
"Assault and Attempt to Escape," Baltimore Sun, June 5, 1868.
"Arrested," Baltimore Sun, June 10, 1868.
"Guilty of Murder and Sentence of Death," Baltimore Sun, July 20, 1868.
"General," Baltimore Sun, July 21, 1868.
"Death Warrant," Baltimore Sun, October 2, 1868.
"Our Neighbors - Somerset County," Cecil Whig, July 25, 1868.
"Local Matters - Arrest on the Charge of Murder - Desperate Resistance and Attempt to Escape," Baltimore Sun, October 16, 1868.
"Local Matters - The Somerset County Murder - Witness Against the Colored Man Rounds," Baltimore Sun, October 17, 1868
"Our Neighbors - Somerset County," The Cecil Whig, October 17, 1868.
"Our Neighbors - Somerset County," The Cecil Whig, October 24, 1868.
"Conviction of a Murderer - A Full Confession," Baltimore Sun, October 27, 1868.
"Commutation of Sentence," Baltimore Sun, October 27, 1868.
"Escape of the Condemned Murderers," Baltimore Sun, November 16, 1868.
"Local Intelligence," Democratic Advocate, November 18, 1868.
"Arrest of a Condemned Murderer," Baltimore Sun, November 20, 1868.
"Capture of the Convicts," Baltimore Sun, November 25, 1868.
"Execution of Murderers in Maryland," Baltimore Sun, December 3, 1868.
Port Tobacco Times and Charles County Register, December 4, 1868.
"Local Matters - Arrest of a Murderer - He Confesses His Crime," Baltimore Sun, December 8, 1868.
"Local Matters - Taken to Somerset County," Baltimore Sun, December 9, 1868.
"Local Matters - The Murderers of Captain Johnson and Mate," Baltimore Sun, December 12, 1868.
"Our Neighbors - Somerset County," The Cecil Whig, December 12, 1868.
"Local Matters - Reprieve of the Chesapeake Pirates," Baltimore Sun, January 6, 1869.
"Murderers Sentenced and Respited," Baltimore Sun, Janurary 6, 1869.
"Affairs in Somerset County - Murder Trial," Baltimore Sun, January 14, 1869.
"Sentence of a Murderer to be Hung," Baltimore Sun, January 23, 1869.
"Our Neighbors - Somerset County," The Cecil Whig, February 6, 1869.
"Hanging," Baltimore Sun, March 1, 1869.
"The Schooner Brave Tragedy," Baltimore Sun, March 6, 1869.
"Hanging of Four Negroes," New York Times, March 6, 1869.
"The Executions in Princess Anne," The Port Tobacco Times and Charles County Advertiser, March 12, 1869.
"The News," The Aegis & Intelligencer, March 12, 1869.
