African Americans who sided with the Patriots in the American Revolution
Black Patriots
were
African Americans
who sided with the
colonists who opposed British rule
during the
American Revolution
. The term
Black Patriots
includes, but is not limited to, the 5,000 or more African Americans who served in the
Continental Army
and Patriot
militias
during the
American Revolutionary War
.
[1]
Their counterparts on the
pro-British side
were known as
Black Loyalists
, African Americans who sided with the British during the American revolution. Thousands of American slaves escaped to British lines to take up their offers of freedom in exchange for military service as per
Dunmore's Proclamation
and the
Philipsburg Proclamation
.
First Patriot martyr
[
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]
Crispus Attucks
is considered to be the first Black Patriot because he was killed in the
Boston Massacre
. Attucks was commemorated by his fellow Bostonians as a
martyr
for freedom. Attucks was a whaler who was believed to be of mixed
Native American
and
African
ancestry, born in or around
Framingham, Massachusetts
.
[3]
His death in the Boston Massacre is considered to be the first Patriot fatality of the Revolution.
[4]
Black Patriots who served in the state militias
[
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]
The
Bucks of America
were an all-Black,
Massachusetts Militia
company organized in 1775 in
Boston
. This was the name given to one of two all-black units fighting for independence. There is little known of the campaign history of the Bucks company, or if they ever saw combat. It appears that they operated mainly around Boston. The Bucks of America may have acted primarily as an
auxiliary police
or
security service
, in the city, during the war. They most likely did not see action against British forces.
[
citation needed
]
Black Patriots who served in the Continental Army
[
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]
After the British started enticing enslaved
African Americans
to serve or assist their cause in exchange for emancipation, Patriot leaders began to recruit
free people of color
in
New England
and other
East Coast
regions to serve in the
Continental Army
. They were promised a life of relative luxury and social mobility if they joined the war. Slaves in the American North were trying to escape harsh treatment of their servitude. By joining the war, they believed they would be bettering their lives. Most of the time, Black Patriot soldiers served as individuals in a variety of predominantly white units of the
Continental Army
.
The
1st Rhode Island Regiment
, also known as "Varnum's Continentals", was a Continental Army
regiment
from
Rhode Island
. It became well known as the "Black Regiment" because, for a time, it had several companies of African-American soldiers. It is regarded as the
first African American
military regiment, although its ranks were not exclusively African American.
[5]
Captain
David Humphreys
'
All Black, 2nd Company
, of the
Connecticut Continental Line
, served from October 1780-November 1782. On November 27, 1780, Humphrey's Black Company was assigned to the
3rd Connecticut Regiment
. On January 1, 1781, the Regiment was merged with the
4th Connecticut Regiment
, re-organized into nine companies, and re-designated as the
1st Connecticut Regiment
.
William "Billy" Lee
was an enslaved valet of
George Washington
who served in the
Continental Army
and fought with the general's forces. Lee was considered to be Washington's favorite slave, and was often featured in the background of the general's portraits.
[6]
Descendants
[
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]
Famed African American,
Harvard
scholar and professor
Henry Louis Gates
is descended from John Redman, a free African American who served in the
Continental Army
. Gates is currently working on a project to find all descendants of Black Patriots, who served in the American Revolutionary Continental Army.
Proposed national memorial
[
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]
The National Liberty Monument is a proposed
national memorial
to be located in the capital to honor the more than 5000 enslaved and free persons of African descent who served as soldiers or sailors, or provided civilian assistance during the American Revolutionary War. The memorial is an outgrowth of a failed effort to erect a Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial. This was authorized in 1986, but fundraising faltered and the memorial foundation dissolved in 2005.
Congress authorized the National Liberty Monument in January 2013. On September 8, 2014, the
United States House of Representatives
passed the joint resolution
approving the location in the capital of a memorial to commemorate the more than 5,000 slaves and free Black people who fought for independence in the American Revolution
.
[7]
The joint resolution would approve the location of a commemorative work to honor the more than 5000 slaves and free black persons who fought in the American Revolution.
[8]
Notable Black Patriots
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]
See also
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]
Bibliography
[
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]
- Guthrie, James M.
Camp-fires of the Afro-American; Or, The Colored Man as a Patriot, Soldier, Sailor, and Hero, in the Cause of Free America
, 1899
- Moore, George Henry.
Historical notes on the employment of Negroes in the American Army of the Revolution
, 1862
[1]
- Nell, William Cooper
.
The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, With Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons: To Which Is Added a Brief Survey of the Condition And Prospects of Colored Americans
. Boston: Robert F. Wallcut, 1855.
- Wilson, Joseph Thomas.
The Black Phalanx: A History of the Negro Soldiers of the United States in the Wars of 1775-1812, 1861-'65
, 1890
References
[
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]
- ^
White, Deborah; Bay, Mia; Martin Jr., Waldo E. (2013).
Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans
. Boston: Bedford St. Martin's. pp. 124?127.
- ^
Thomas O'Connor,
The Hub
, Northeastern University Press, p. 56.
- ^
White (2013).
Freedom on My Mind
. p. 124.
- ^
White (2013).
Freedom on My Mind
. pp. 149?150.
- ^
"THE FIRST RHODE ISLAND"
. AncientGreece-Early America. Archived from
the original
on 3 July 2007.
- ^
White, Deborah Gray (2013).
Freedom on My Mind: A History of African Americans
. New York: Bedford/St.Martins. pp. 152?153.
- ^
"H.J.Res. 120 - All Actions"
. United States Congress
. Retrieved
9 September
2014
.
- ^
Marcos, Cristina (8 September 2014).
"House authorizes location for American Revolution memorial in D.C."
The Hill
. Retrieved
9 September
2014
.
External links
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]