American Revolution

Blacks, free and slave, served in the military of both sides during the American Revolution. Free blacks already had a tradition of working as sailors, and this continued throughout the conflict, whereas their service in combat capacities on land was not as consistent an option.

The first African American—indeed, the first American—to die during the Revolution was Crispus Attucks. On March 5, 1770, a group of British soldiers in Boston had angered crowds in an altercation with a young boy. "Let us drive out these ribalds," some were reported to shout, "they have no business here!" Led by Attucks, a small group of irate Bostonians approached the soldiers and hurled snowballs, sticks, and other objects at them. It appears that Attucks was among the most vocal of the demonstrators. Accounts vary about what happened next, but the British opened fire on the crowd, killing five. Only Attucks' name was recorded; he was hailed by Patriots as a martyr.

When the war got under way, many blacks served in northern militias, participating in the early battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill. In 1862 George Livermore, as part of a campaign to encourage the government to once more enlist black soldiers for combat, wrote about black soldiers at Bunker Hill:

At the Battle of Bunker Hill, on the memorable 17th of June, 1775, negro soldiers stood side by side, and fought bravely, with their white brethren. If, on the monument which commemorates that event were inscribed the names of those most worthy of honor for their heroic deeds on that day, high up on the shaft … we should find that of Peter Salem, once a slave. (Livermore 1862, p. 118)

Salem, of the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, had already fought in the Battle of Concord. During the Battle of Bunker Hill he gained a measure of fame for killing Royal Marine Major John Pitcairn, who had appeared unexpectedly and demanded the Patriots' surrender. As Livermore reports, Peter Salem "blew him through" (1862, p. 119). Nor was he the only black soldier present in the Massachusetts militia that day. One white officer, who "commanded a company whose rank and file were all negroes, of whose courage, military discipline, and fidelity, he always spoke with respect" found himself cut off from his comrades and on the verge of death or capture (Livermore 1862, p. 119). His all-black company fought their way to his side and rescued him. Also present at Bunker Hill was Salem Poor; an ex-slave, he killed a lieutenant-colonel, James Abercrombie, and was afterward commended in a letter signed by fourteen officers:

The Reward due to so great and Distinguished a Character. The Subscribers beg leave to Report to your Honorable House (Which We do in justice to the Character of so Brave a man) that under Our Own observation, we declare that A Negro Man Called Salem Poor of Col. Fryes Regiment, Capt. Ames. Company in the late Battle of Charleston, behaved like an Experienced Officer, as Well as an Excellent Soldier, to Set forth Particulars of his Conduct would be Tedious, We Would Only beg leave to say in the Person of this Negro Centers a Brave & gallant Soldier. The reward due to so great and distinguished a character, we submit to the Congress. (Livermore 1862, pp. 122-123)

LORD DUNMORE'S PROCLAMATION

The following excerpt is taken from the frontispiece of Francis Berkeley's Dunmore's Proclamation of Emancipation:

… I have thought fit to issue this my Proclamation, hereby declaring, that until the aforesaid good Purposes can be obtained, I do in Virtue of the Power and Authority to ME given, by His MAJESTY, determine to execute Martial Law, and cause the same to be executed throughout this Colony: and to the end that Peace and good Order may the sooner be [effected], I do require every Person capable of bearing Arms, to [resort] to His MAJESTY'S STANDARD, or be looked upon as Traitors to His MAJESTY'S Crown and Government, and thereby become liable to the Penalty the Law inflicts upon such Offences; such as forfeiture of Life, confiscation of Lands, &c. &c. And I do hereby further declare all indentured Servants, Negroes, or others, (appertaining to Rebels,) [sic] free that are able and willing to bear Arms, they joining His MAJESTY'S Troops as soon as may be, for the more speedily reducing this Colony to a proper Sense of their Duty, to His MAJESTY'S Leige Subjects, to retain … any other Taxes due or that may become due, in their own Custody, till such Time as Peace may be again restored to this at present most unhappy Country, or demanded of them for their former salutary Purposes, by Officers properly authorised to receive the fame.

GIVEN under my Hand on board the ship WILLIAM, off NORPOLE, the 7th Day of NOVEMBER, in the SIXTEENTH Year of His MAJESTY'S Reign.

DUNMORE.

(GOD save the KING.)

SOURCE: Berkeley, Francis L. Dunmore's Proclamation of Emancipation: with an Invitation to the McGregor Library & an Account by Francis Berkeley of the Publication of the Proclamation. Charlottesville: Tracy W. McGregor Library, University of Virginia, 1941.

The southern colonies, fearful of arming blacks, were opposed to their use. Virginian George Washington, upon taking command of the Continental Army the following month, forbade the enlistment of any more blacks. Four months later, in November 1775, blacks would get a different kind of military opportunity. John Murray, earl of Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia—and himself a slaveholder—issued a proclamation offering freedom to any slave who escaped his disloyal masters and fought for the Crown. The royal governor of New York later made a similar offer. Hundreds of slaves did in fact escape to Dunmore and accept his offer; throughout the war, as many as 100,000 took advantage of the confusion of war to escape their masters, some to the British and others to Canada or Florida. Washington reconsidered, because of his own losses and the British overtures to slaves, and reluctantly agreed to enlist blacks again, beginning with the "Black Battalion" of Rhode Island. In addition to free blacks, slaves were enlisted and their masters paid for their losses. Blacks could also serve as substitutes for their masters. As a Hessian officer wrote in his journal in 1777:

From here to Springfield there are few habitations which have not a Negro family dwelling in a small house nearby. The Negroes here are as fruitful as other cattle. The young ones are well-foddered, especially while they are still calves … The Negro can take the field instead of his master, and therefore, no regiment is to be seen, in which there are not Negroes in abundance; and among them are able-bodies, strong, and brave fellows. (Baird 1863, p. 5)

As many as 5,000 blacks served in the Continental Army; among the British the number was probably much higher. An ex-slave named Titus, who later was known as Colonel Tye, led a large band—at one point numbering as many as 800—of Loyalist guerrillas in New Jersey; he died of an infection from a wound in 1780. The Patriots, meanwhile, were also reinforced by all-black French units from Saint-Domingue, which would later become Haiti. When Britain withdrew its forces, many "Black Loyalists" left with them to go to England. Others went to Canada or the West Indies. Many, too, were captured and resold into slavery. Black veterans on the Patriot side did not fare all that well, although in many cases neither did white ones. Peter Salem died in the poorhouse.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baird, Henry Carey. General Washington and General Jackson, on Negro Soldiers … Philadelphia: H. C. Baird, 1863.

Greene, Lorenzo J. "Some Observations on the Black Regiment of Rhode Island in the American Revolution." Journal of Negro History 37 no. 2 (1952): 142-172.

Livermore, George. An Historical Research Respecting the Opinions of the Founders of the Republic on Negroes as Slaves, as Citizens, and as Soldiers. Boston: J. Wilson and Son, 1862. (Repr., New York: A. M. Kelley, 1970.)

Nell, William Cooper. The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution: With Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons. Boston: R. F. Wallcut, 1855. (Repr., New York: Arno Press, 1968.)

Norton, Mary Beth. "The Fate of Some Black Loyalists of the American Revolution." Journal of Negro History 58, no. 4 (1973): 402-426.

                                         Troy D. Smith