|
The
history of the patriotic Negro Americans who
swelled the ranks of the Colonial and
Continental armies has never been written,
nor was any attempt made by the historians
of that day to record the deeds of those who
dared to face death for the independence of
the American Colonies. W. H. Day,
in addressing a convention of negro men at
Cleveland, O., in 1852, truly said:
"Of the services and sufferings of the
colored soldiers of the Revolution, no
attempt has, to our knowledge, been made to
preserve a record. Their history is
not written; it lies upon the soil watered
with their blood; who shall gather it?
It rests with their bones in the charnel
house; who shall exhume it?" Upon
reading these lines, it occurred to me that
somewhere among the archives of that period
there must exist at least a clue to the
record of the negro patriots of that war.
If I cannot exclaim Eureka, after years of
diligent search, I take pride in presenting
what I have found scattered throughout the
pages of the early
[Pg. 22]
histories and literature, and from the
correspondence of men who in that period
discussed the topics of the day who led and
fashioned public opinion, many of whom
commanded in the field. Not a few
biographers have contributed to my fund of
knowledge. To avoid as much as
possible the charge of plagiarism I have
aimed to give credit to my informants for
what shall follow regarding the colored
patriots in the war of the Revolution.
I have reason to believe that I have
gathered much that has been obscure; "that I
have exhumed the bones of that noble Phalanx
who, at Bunker Hill and Yorktown, in various
military employments, served their country.
It is true they were few in number when
compared to the host that entered the
service in the late Rebellion, but it must
be remembered that their number was small at
that time in the country, and that the seat;
of war was at the North, and not, as in the
late war, at the South, where their numbers
have: always been large.
Of the three hundred thousand troops in the
Revolutionary war, it has been estimated
that five thousand were colored, and these
came principally from the North, whose
colored population at that time was about
50,000, while the Southern colonies
contained about 300,000. The interest
felt in the two sections for the success of
the cause of independence, if referred to
the army, can easily be seen. 'The
Northern colonies furnished two hundred and
forty-nine thousand, five hundred and three,
and the Southern colonies one hundred and
forty-seven thousand, nine hundred and forty
soldiers, though the whole population of
each section was within a few hundred of
being equal.
The love of liberty was no less strong with the
Southern than with the Northern colored man,
as their efforts for liberty show. At
the North he gained his freedom by entering
the American army; at the South, only by
entering the British army, which was joined
by more than fifteen thousand colored men.
Jefferson says 30,000 negroes from Virginia
alone went to the British army. I make
the digression simply to assert that had the
colored men at the South possessed the same
opportunity as those at the
[Pg. 23] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
North, of enlisting in the American army, a
large force of colored men would have been
in the field, fighting for America's
independence. Of the services of the
little band,
scattered as they were throughout the army,
two or three in a company composed of
whites, a squad in a regiment, a few
companies with an army, made it quite
impossible
for their record, beyond this, to be
distinct from the organizations they were
attached to. However, enough has
been called from the history of that
conflict, to show that they bore a brave
part in the struggle which wrested the
colonies from the control of Great Britain,
and won for themselves and offspring,
freedom, which many of them never enjoyed.
I have studiously avoided narrating the
conduct of those who cast their fortune with
the British, save those who went with
Lord Dunmore, for reasons too
obvious to
make mention of.
The sentiments of a majority of the people of the
colonies
were in full accord with the declaration
opposing slavery, and they sought to give it
supremacy by their success in the conflict.
Slavery, which barred the entrance to the
army of the colored man at the South, had
been denounced by the colonist before the
adoption of the articles of confederation,
and was maintained solely by local
regulations. As early as 1774, all the
colonies had agreed
to, and their representatives to the
congress had signed, the articles of the
Continental Association, by which it was
agreed, "that we will neither import nor
purchase any slave imported
after the first day of December next,
(1774), after which we will wholly
discontinue the slave trade, and will
neither be concerned in it ourselves, nor
will we hire our vessels, nor sell our
commodities or manufactories to those who
are concerned in it." Georgia not
being represented in this Congress,
consequently was not in the Association, but
as soon as her Provincial Congress assembled
in
July, 1775, it passed the following
resolutions:
"I. - Resolved, That this Congress will adopt
and carry into execution all and singular
the measures and recommendations of the late
Continental Congress.
"IV. - Resolved, That we will neither
import or purchase any slave imported from
Africa or elsewhere after this day, (July,
6.")
[Pg. 24]
The sincerity with which this agreement was entered
into may be seen by the action of the
colonists at Norfolk, Virginia, where, in
March, 1775, a brig arrived from the coast
of Guinea, via Jamaica, with a number of
slaves on board consigned to a merchant of
that town. To use a modern phrase the
vessel was boycotted by the
committee, who published the following:
"TO THE FREEMEN OF
VIRGINIA
|
{ |
COMMITTEE CHAMBER,
NORFOLK, March 6th, 1775 |
"Trusting to your sure resentment against
the enemies of your country, we, the
committee, elected by ballot for the Borough
of Norfolk, hold up for your just
indignation Mr. John Brown merchant,
of this place.
"On Thursday, the 2nd of March, this committee were
informed of the arrival of the brig Fanny,
Capt. Watson, with a number of slaves
for Mr. Brown; and, upon inquiry, it
appeared they were shipped from Jamaica as
his property, and on his account; that he
had taken great pains to conceal their
arrival from the knowledge of the committee;
and that the shipper of the slaves, Mr.
Brown's correspondent, and the captain
of the vessel, were all fully apprised of
the Continental prohibition against the
article.
"From the whole of this transaction, therefore, we, the
committed for Norfolk Borough, do give it as
our Unanimous opinion, that teh said John
Brown has wilfully and perversely
violated the Continental Association, to
which he had with his own hand subscribed
obedience; and that, agreeable to the
eleventh article, we are bound, forthwith,
to publish the truth of the case, to the end
that all such foes to the rights of British
America may be publicly known and
universally contemned as the enemies of
American liberty, and that every person may
henceforth break off all dealings with him."
This was the voice of a majority of the colonists, and
those who dissented were regarded as Tories,
and in favor of the crown as against the
independence of the colonies, although there
were many at the North and South who held
slaves, and were yet loyal to the cause of
the colonies; but the public sentiment was
undoubtedly as strong against the
institution as it was in 1864. But the
Tories were numerous at the South, and by
continually exciting the imagination of the
whites by picturing massacre and
insurrection on the part of the negros if
they were armed, thwarted the effort of
Col. Lauren's and of Congress to raise a
"negro army" at the South. The leaders
were favorable to it, but the colonists, for
the reason cited, were distrustful of its
practicability. Though a strong effort
was made, as will be seen, the scare raised
by the
[Pg. 25] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
Tories prevented its success.
Notwithstanding, hundreds of colored men,
slave and free, at the South, not only
followed the army but in every engagement
took an active part on the side of the
colonist. They were ot enrolled and
mustered into the army, it is true, but they
rendered important service to the cause.
The caste prejudice now so strong in the country was
then in its infancy. The white man at
that time lived with a colored woman without
fear of incurring the ostracism of his
neighbors, and with the same impunity he
lived with an Indian Squaw. So common
was this practice, that in order to correct
it laws were passed forbidding it. The
treatment of the slaves was not what it came
to be after the war, nor had the spirit of
resentment been stifled in them as it was
subquently. Manifestations of their
courage and manliness were not wanting when
injustice was attempted to be practiced
against them, consequently the spirit and
courage with which they went into the
conflict were quite equal to that of the
whites, who were ever ready to applaud them
for deeds of daring. It is only
through this medium that we have discovered
the need of praise due the little Phalanx,
which linked its fortune with the success of
the American army, and of whom the following
interesting facts can now be recorded.
It is well for the negro and for his decendants
in America, cosmopolitan as it is, that his
race retains its distinctive
characteristicts, color and features,
otherwise they would not have, as now, a
history to hand down to posterity so
gloriously patriotic and interesting.
His amalgamation with other races is
attributable to the relation which it bore
to them, although inter-marriage was not
allowed. By the common consent of his
enslavers, he was allowed to live
clandestinely with the women of his own
color; sometimes from humane considerations,
sometimes from a standpoint of gain, but
always as a slave or a subject of slave
code. Reduced from his natural state
of freedom by his misfortune in tribal war,
to that of a slave, and then transported by
the consent of his captors and enemies to
these shores, and sold
[Pg. 26]
into an unrequited bondage, the fire of his
courage, like that of other races similarly
situated, without hope of liberty; doomed to
toil, slackened into an apathetic state, and
seeming willing servitude, which produced a
resignation to fate from 1619 to 1770, more
than a century and a half. At the
latter date, for the first time in the
history of what is now the United States,
the negro, inspired with the love of
liberty, aimed a blow at the authority that
held him in bondage. In numerous
instances, when the Indians attacked the
white settlers, particularly in the Northern
colonies, negroes were summoned and took
part in the defense of the settlements.
As early as 1652, the militia law of Massachusetts
required negroes, Scotchmen and Indians, the
indentured slaves of Cromwell, who
encountered his army at the battle of
Dunbar, to train in the militia. Nor
was it an uncommon occurrence for them to be
manumitted for meritorious and courageous
action in defending their masters' families,
often in the absence of the master, when
attacked by the red men of the woods.
It was not infrequent to find the negro as a
sentinel at the meeting-house door; or
serving as a barricade for the master's
mansion. The Indian was more of a
terror to him than the boa-constrictor;
though slaves, they knew that if captured by
the Indians their fate would be the same as
that of the white man; consequently they
fought with a desperation equal to that of
the whites, against the common enemy.
So accustomed did they become to the use of
arms, that one of the first acts of the
settlers after the Indians were driven from
the forest, was to disarm and forbid negroes
keeping or handling fire-arms and weapons of
every sort. This was done from a sense
of self-preservation and fear that the
negroes might (and many did) attempt to
revenge themselves when cruelly treated, or
rise in mutiny and massacre the whites.
But it was not until 1770, when the fervor of rebellion
had influenced the people of the colonies,
and Capt. Preston, with the
King's soldiers, appeared in King Street,
Boston, to enforce the decree of the British
Parliament,
[Pg. 27]
DEATH OF CRISPUS ATTUCKS
While leading an attack against British
troops in Boston
[Pg. 28] -
BLANK PAGE
[Pg. 29] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
that the people met the troops face to face.
This lent force to the rebellious spirit
against the Mother Country, which the people
of the United Northern Colonies had felt
called upon to manifest in public meetings
and by written resolutions. The
soldiers were regarded as invaders.
And while the leading men of Boston were
discussing and
deliberating as to what steps should be
taken to drive the British troops out of the
town, Crispus Attucks, a negro
runaway slave,* led a crowd against the
soldiers, with brave words of encouragement.
The soldiers fired upon them, killing the
negro leader, Attucks, first, and
then two white men, and mortally wounding
two others. A writer says:
"The presence of the British soldiers in King Street,
excited the patriotic indignation of the
people. The whole community was
stirred, and sage counsellors were
deliberating and writing and talking about
the public grievances. But it was not
for the 'wise and prudant' to be first to
act against the encroachments of arbitrary
power. A motley rabble of saucy boys,
negroes and mulattoes, Irish Jeazues, and
outlandish Jack tars, (as John
Adams described them in his plea in
defence of the soldiers), could not restrain
their emotion, or stop to enquire if what
they must do was according to the letter of
the law. Led by Crispus Attucks,
the mulatto slave, and shouting, 'The way to
get rid of these soldiers is to attack the
main guard; strike at the root; this is the
nest; with more valor than discretion they
rushed to King Street, and were fired upon
by Capt. Preston's company.
Crispus Attucks was the first
to fall; he and Samuel Gray
and Jonas Caldwell were killed
on the
spot. Samuel Maverick
and Patrick Carr were mortally
wounded. The excitement which followed
was intense. The bells of the town
were rung. An impromptu town-meeting
was held, and an immense assembly was
gathered. Three days after, on the
17th, a public funeral of the martyr took
place. The shops in Boston were
closed, and all the bells of Boston and the
neighboring towns were rung. It is
said that a greater number of persons
assembled on this occasion, than ever before
gathered on this continent for a similar
purpose. The body of Crispus
Attucks, the mulatto, had been placed in
Fanueil Hall with that of Caldwell;
both being strangers in the city.
Maverick was buried from his mother's
-----
*"Ran away from his master, William
Brown, of Framingham, on the 30th of
Sept. last, a Mullato Fellow, about 27 years
of age, named Crispus, 6 feet 2
inches high, short, curl'd hair, his knees
nearer together than common; had on a light
coloured Bearskin Coat, plain brown Fustain
Jacket, or brown All Wool one, new Buck skin
breeches, blue Yarn Stockings, and a checked
woolen shirt. Whoever shall take up said
Runaway, and convey him to his abovesaid
master, shall have ten pounds, old Tenor
Reward, and all necessary charges paid.
And all Masters of Vessels and others, are
hereby cautioned against concealing or
carrying off said Servant on Penalty of the
Law.
Boston, October 2, 1750." Boston Gazette,
[Pg. 30]
house in Union Street, and Gray, from his
brother's, in Royal Exchange Lane. The
four hearses formed a junction in King
Street, and then the procession marched in
columns six deep, with a long file of
coaches belonging to the most distinguished
citizens, to the Middle Burying Ground,
where the four victims were deposited in one
grave; over which a stone was placed with
the inscription:
|
' Long as in
Freedom's cause the wise contend,
Dear to your country shall your fame
extend;
While to the world the lettered
stone shall tell'
Where Caldwell, Attucks,
Gray and Maverick
fell.' |
"The anniversary of this event was publicly
commemorated in Boston by an oration and
other exercises every year until our
National Independence was achieved, when the
Fourth of July was substituted for the Fifth
of March, as the more proper day for a
general celebration. Not only was the
event commemorated, but the martyrs who then
gave up their lives were remembered and
honored."
Thus the first blood for liberty shed in the colonies
was that of a real slave and a negro.
As the news of the affray spread , the
people became aroused throughout the land.
Soon, in every town and village, meetings
were held, and the colonists urged to resist
the oppressive and aggresive measures which
the British Parliament had passed, and for
the enforcement of which troops had been
stationed in Boston, and as we see, had shot
down those who dared to oppose them.
In all the colonies slavery was at this time
tolerated, though the number of slaves was
by no means large in the Northern Colonies,
nor had there been a general ill treatment
of them, as in after years in the Southern
States. Their war-like courage, it is
true, had been slackened, but their manhood
had not been crushed.
Crispus Attucks was a fair representative
of the colonial negro, as they evinced
thereafter, during the prolonged struggle
which resulted in the Independence of the
United States. When the tocsin sounded
"to arms, to arms, ye who would be free,"
the negro responded to the call, and side by
side with the white patriots of the colonial
militia, bled and died.
Mr. Bancroft in his history of the United States
says:
"Nor should history forget to record, that as in the
army at Cambridge, so also in this gallant
band, the free negroes of the colony had
[Pg. 31] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
their representatives. For the right
of free negroes to bear arms in the public
defense was, at that day, as little disputed
in New England as other rights. They
took their place, not in a separate corps,
but in the ranks with the white men; and
their names may be seen on the pension rolls
of the country, side by side with those of
other soldiers of the Revolution."
It was not the free only who took up arms in
defence of America's independence; not alone
those who, in preceding wars. - Indian and
French, - had gained their liberty, that
swelled the ranks of the colonial militia;
but slaves, inspired by the hope of freedom,
went to the front, as Attucks had
done when he cut the Gordian knot that held
the colonies to Great Britain. "From
that moment we may date the severance of the
British Empire," said Daniel Webster,
in his Bunker Hill oration, referring to the
massacre on the 5th of March, 1770.
The thirs for freedom was universal among
the people of New England. With them
liberty was not circumscribed by condition
and now, since the slave Attucks had
struck the first blow for America's
independence, thereby electrifying the
colonies and putting quite a different phase
upon their grievances, the people were
called upon to witness a real slave
struggling with his oppressors for his
freedom. It touched the people of the
colonies as they had never been touched
before, and they arrayed themselves for true
freedom.
Dr. Joseph Warren thus heralds the sentiment of
the colonist, in his oration delivered at
Boston, Mar. 5th, 1775:
"That personal freedom is the natural right of
every man, and that property, or an
exclusive right to dispose of what he has
honestly acquired by his own labor,
necessarily arises therefrom, are truths
which common sense has placed beyond the
reach of contradiction. And no man, or
body of men, can, without being guilty of
flagrant injustice, claim a right to dispose
of the persons or acquisitions of any other
man or body of men, unless it can be proved
that such a right has arisen from some
compact between the parties, in which it has
been explicitly and freely granted."
The year previous, John Hancock
was the orator on the occasion of the 4th
anniversary of the shedding of
[Pg. 32]
the first blood for the Independence of
America, and he thus presents the case to a
Boston audience yet smarting under the
insult and sting given them by the British
soldiery:
"But, I forbear, and come reluctantly to the
transactions of that dismal night, when in
such quick succession, we felt the extremes
of grief, astonishment and rage; when
Heaven, in anger, for a dreadful moment
suffered Hell to take the reins; when Satan
with his chosen band opened the sluices of
New England's blood, and sacrilegiously
poluted our land with the dead bodies of her
guiltless sons. Let this sad tale of
death never be told without a tear; let the
heaving bosom cause to burn with a manly
indignation at the barbarous story, through
the long tracts of future time; let ever
parent tell the shameful story to his
listening children 'til tears of pity
glisten in their eyes, and boiling passions
shake their tender frames; and whilst the
anniversary of that ill-fated night is kept
a jubilee in the grim court of pandemonium,
let all America join in one common prayer to
Heaven, that the inhuman, unprovoked murders
of the 5th of March, 1770, planned by
Hillsborough and a knot of treacherous
knaves in Boston, and executed by the cruel
hand of Preston and his sanguinary
coadjutors, may stand in history without a
parallel. But what, my countrymen,
withheld the ready arm of vengence from
executing instant justice on the vile
assassins? Perhaps you feared
promiscuous carnage might ensue, and that
the innocent might share the fate of those
who had performed the infernal deed.
But were not all guilty? Were you not
too tender of the lives of those who came to
fix a yoke on your necks? But I must
not too severely blame you for a fault which
great souls only can commit. May that
magnificence of spirit which scorns the low
pursuit of malice; may that generous
compassion which often preserves from ruin,
even a guilty villain, forever actuate the
noble bosoms of Americans! But let not
the miscreant host vainly imagine that we
feared their arms. No, those we
despised; we dread nothing but slavery.
Death is the creature of a poltroon's
brains; 'tis immortality to sacrifice
ourselves for the salvation of our country.
We fear not death. That gloomy night,
the pale-face moon, and the affrighted stars
that hurried through the sky, can witness
that we fear not death. Our hearts,
which, at the recollection, glow with rage
that four revolving years have scarcely
taught us to restrain, can witness that we
fear not death; and happy it is for those
who dared to insult us, that their naked
bones are not now piled up an everlasting
monument of Massachusetts's bravery.
But they retired; they fled, and in that
flight they found their only safety.
We then expected that the hand of public
justice would soon inflict that punishment
upon the murderers, which, by the laws of
god and man, they had incurred. But
let the unbiased pen of a Robertson, or
perhaps of some equally famed American,
conduct this trial before the great tribunal
of succeed-
[Pg. 33] -
THE WAR OF 1775
ing generations. And though the
murderers may escape the just resentment of
an enraged people; though drowsy justice,
intoxicated by the poisonous draft prepared
for her cup, still nods upon her rotten
seat, yet be assured, such complicated
crimes will meet their due reward.
Tell me, ye bloody butchers! ye villains
high and low! ye wretches who contrived, as
well as you who executed the inhuman deed!
do you not feel the goads and stings of
conscious guilt pierce through your savage
bosoms? Though some of you may think
yourselves exalted to a height that bids
defiance to human justice, and others shroud
yourselves beneath the mask of hypocrisy,
and build your hopes of safety on the low
arts of cunning, chicanery and falsehood;
yet do you not sometimes feel the gnawings
of that worm which never dies; do not the
injured shades of Maverick, Gray,
Cadwell, Attucks and Carr,
attend you in your solitary walks; arrest
you in the midst of your debaucheries and
fill even your dreams with terror?"
The orators of New England poured out upon
this once slave, now hero and martyr, their
unstinted praise. We have but to
recall the recollection of the earliest
conflicts which the colonist had with the
British, in order to
see the negro occupying a place in the ranks
of the patriot army. Their white
fellow-citizens were only too glad to
take ground to the left, in order that they
could fall in on their colors. And
they did good service whenever they
fought, as the record shows.
The Committee of safety upon reviewing the situation
and the army, before the first great battle
of the Revolution had been fought, adopted
the following resolution:
"Resolved,
That it is the opinion of this committee,
that as the contest now between Great
Britain and the Colonies respects the
liberties and privileges of the latter,
which the Colonies are determined to
maintain, that the admission of any persons,
as soldiers, into the army now raising, but
such as are Freeman, will be inconsistent
with the principals that are supported, and
reflect dishonor on this Colony; and that no
Slaves be admitted into this army upon any
consideration whatever."
The exception was well taken, and this act
of the Committee, excluding slaves from the
army, placed the rebels upon the basis of
patriots, fighting for freedom. This,
however, did not detract from those who had
already distinguished themselves, by their
bravery at Bunker Hill a few weeks previous,
where Peter Salem, once a slave, fought side
by side in the ranks with the white
soldiers. When the British Major
Pitcairn mounted the redoubt,
[Pg. 34]
upon that memorable occasion, shouting, "The
day is ours!" Peter Salem
poured the contents of his gun into that
officer's body, killing him instantly, and
checking, temporarily, the advance of the
British. Swett, in his
"Sketches of Bunker Hill Battle," says:
"Major Pitcairn caused
the first effusion of blood at Lexington.
In that battle, his horse was shot under
him, while he was separated from his troops.
With presence of mind he feigned himself
slain; his pistols were taken from his
hostlers, and he was left for dead, when he
seized the opportunity and escaped. He
appeared at Bunker Hill, and, says the
historian, 'Among those who mounted the
works was the gallant Major
Pitcairn, who exultingly cried out, 'The
day is ours!' when a black soldier, named
Salem, shot him through and he fell.
His agonized son received him in his arms,
and tenderly bore him to the boats.' A
contribution was made in the army for the
colored soldier, and he was presented to
Washington as having performed this feat."
Mr. Aaron White, of
Thompson, Conn., in a letter to George
Livermore, Esq., of the Massachusetts
Historical Society, writes :
"With regard to the black Hero of Bunker
Hill, I never knew him personally, nor did I
ever hear from his lips the story of his
achievements; but I have better authority.
About the year 1809, I heard a soldier of
the Revolution, who was present at the
Bunker Hill Battle, relate to my father the
story of the death of Major
Pitcairn. He said the Major had
passed the storm of fire without, and had
mounted the redoubt, when, waving his sword,
he commanded, in a loud voice, the 'rebels'
to surrender. His sudden appearance,
and his commanding air, at first startled
the men immediately before him. They
neither answered nor fired; probably not
being exactly certain what was next to be
done. At this critical moment, a negro
soldier stepped forward, and, aiming his
musket directly at the Major's bosom, blew
him through. My informant declared
that he was so near, that he distinctly saw
the act. The story made quite an
impression on my mind. I have
frequently heard my farther relate the
story, and have no doubt of its truth.
My father on the day of the battle was a
mere child, and witnessed the battle and
burning of Charlestown from Roxbury Hill,
sitting on the shoulders of the Rev. Mr.
Jackson, who said to him as he placed
him on the ground, 'Now, boy, do you
remember this!' Consequently, after
such an injunction, he would necessarily pay
particular attention to anecdotes concerning
the first and only battle he ever
witnessed."
Salem was undoubtedly one of the chief
heroes of that ever memorable battle.
Orator, historian, poet, all give
[Pg. 35]
Battle of Bunker Hill
[Pg. 36] -
BLANK PAGE
[Pg. 37] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
this sable patriot credit for having been
instrumental in checking the British advance
and saving the day.
At the unveiling of the statue erected to the memory of
Gen. Joseph Warren, who fell at
Bunker Hill, the orator of the occasion,
Hon. Edward Everett, said:
"It is the monument of the day of the
event, of the battle of Bunker Hill; all of
the brave men who shared its perils, alike
of Prescott and Putnam and
Warren, the chiefs of the day, and the
colored man, Salem, who, is reported
to have shot the gallant Pitcairn, as
he mounted the parapet. Cold as the
clods on which it rests, still as the silent
Heaven to which it soars, it is yet vocal,
eloquent, in their individual praise."
The following is a copy of a petition now in
the Archive Department of Massachusetts:
"TO THE HONORABLE GENERAL
COURT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS' BAY.
"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 named Salem
Poor, of Col. Frye's
regiment, Capt. Ame's company,
in the late battle at Charleston, behaved
like an experienced officer, as well as an
excellent soldier. To set forth
particulars of his conduct would be tedious.
We only beg leave to say, in the person of
this said negro, centers a brave and gallant
soldier. The reward due to so great
and distinguished a character, we submit to
Congress.
|
" JONA.
BREWER, Col.
THOMAS NIXON, Lt. Col.
WM. PRESCOTT, Col.
EPHM. COREY, Lieut.
JOSEPH BAKER, Lieut.
JOSHUA ROW, Lieut.
JONAS RICHARDSON, Capt. |
ELIPHALET BODWELL, SG'T.
JOSIAH FOSTER, Lieut.
EBENR. VARNUM, 2nd Lieut.
WM. HUDSON BALLARD, Capt.
WM. SMITH, Cap.
JOHN MORTON, Sergt. (?)
Lieut. RICHARD WELSH. |
"In Council Dec. 21,
1775. - Read, and sent down.
PEREZ MORTON, Dep'y Sec'y."
A biographical account of Peter Salem
is given in the following newspaper extract:
"April, 1882, the town of Framingham
voted to place a memorial stone over the
grave of Peter Salem, alias Salem
Middlesex, whose last resting place in
the old burial ground an Framingham Centre
has been unmarked for years. For this
purpose $150 was appropriated by the town.
The committee in charge of the matter has
placed a neat granite memorial over his
grave, and it bears the following
inscription: "Peter Salem,
a soldier of the revolution, Died Aug. 16,
1816. Concord, Bunker
[Pg. 38]
Hill, Saratoga. Erected by the
town, 1882." Peter Salem
was the colored man who particularly
distinguished himself in the revolutionary
war by shooting down Major
Pitcairn at the battle of Bunker Hill,
as he was mounting a redoubt and shouting,
"The day is ours!" this being the time when
Pitcairn fell back into the arms of
his son. Peter Salem
served faithfully in the war for seven years
in the companies of minute men under the
command of Capt. John Nixon and
Capt. Simon Edgell of Framingham, and
came out of it unharmed. He was a
slave, and was owned, originally,, by
Capt Jeremiah Belknap of
Framingham, being sold by him to Major
Lawson Buckminster of that
town, he becoming a free man when he joined
the army. Salem was born in
Framingham, and, in 1783, married Katie
Benson, a Granddaughter of Nero,
living for a time near what is now the State
muster field. He removed to Leicester
after the close of the war, his last abode
in that town being a cabin on the road
leading from Leicester to Auburn. He
was removed to Framingham, where he had
gained a settlement in 1816 and there he
died."
Salem was not the
only negro at the battle of Bunker Hill.
Says an authority:
"Col.
Trumbull in his celebrated historic
picture of this battle, introduces
conspicuously the colored patriot. At
the time of the battle, the artist, then
acting as adjutant, was stationed with his
regiment at Roxbury, and saw the action from
this point. The picture was painted in
1786 when the event was fresh in his mind.
It is a significant historical fact,
pertinent to our present research, that,
among the limited number of figures
introduced on the canvas, more than one
negro soldier can be distinctly seen."
Of the others who participated in the battle
we have knowledge of Salem Poor,
whose bravery won for him favorable comment.
Major Wm. Lawrence, who fought
through the war for independence, from
Concord, until the peace of 1783,
participating in many of the severest
battles of the war.
Says a memoir:
"At
Bunker Hill, where he was slightly wounded,
his coat and hat were pierced with the balls
of the enemy, and were preserved in the
family for several years. At one time
he commanded a company whose rank and file
were all negroes, of whose courage, military
discipline, and fidelity, he always spoke
with respect. On one occasion, being
out reconnoiteriug with his company, he got
so far in advance of his command, that he
was surrounded, and on the point of being
made prisoner by the enemy. The men,
soon discovering his peril, rushed to his
rescue, and fought with the most determined
bravery till that rescue was effectually
[Pg. 39] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
secured. He never forgot this
circumstance, and ever took special pains to
show kindness and hospitality to any
individual of the colored race, who came
near his dwelling."
The Committee of Safety having excluded
slaves from the army, many were thereafter
manumitted, that they might enlist.
There was no law regulating enlistment in
the army at the time which required the
color of a soldier's skin to be recorded or
regarded. A prejudice existed in the
legislature that prompted that body to begin
a series of special enactments, regarding
negroes, which did not exclude them
altogether from the army, but looked to
their organization into exclusive companies,
batallions and regiments.
Notwithstanding the record made by the negroes who had
swollen the ranks of the American army a few
weeks after the battle of Bunker Hill,
General Gates, then at
Cambridge, issued the following order to the
officers, then recruiting for the service:
"You are not to enlist any deserter
from the Ministerial army, nor any stroller,
negro, or vagabond, or persons suspected of
being an enemy to the liberty of America,
nor any under eighteen years of age.
As the cause is the best that can engage men
of courage and principle to take up arms, so
it is expected that none but such will be
accepted by the recruiting officer.
The pay, provision, &c., being so ample, it
is not doubted but that the officers sent
upon this service will, without delay,
complete their respective corps, and march
the men forthwith to camp. You are not
to enlist any person that is not an American
born, unless such person has a wife and
family, and is a settled resident in this
country. The persons you enlist must
be provided with good and complete arms."
This was in July, and on the 26th of the
following September, Edward
Rutledge, of South Carolina, moved in
the Colonial Congress that all negroes be
discharged that were in the army. As
might be expected, his proposition was
strongly supported by the Southern
delegates, but the Northern delegates being
so much stronger, voted it down. The
negroes were crowding so rapidly into the
army, and the Northern colonists finding
their Southern comrades so strongly opposing
this element of strength, submitted the
question of their enlistment to a conference
committee in October, composed of such men
as Dr.
[Pg. 40]
Franklin, Benjamin Harrison
and Thomas Lynch, with the
Deputy Governors of Connecticut and Rhode
Island. This committee met at
Cambridge, with a committee of the council
of Massachusetts Bay. The object and
duty of the meeting was to consider the
condition of the army, and to devise means
by which it could be improved.
General Washington was present at the
meeting, and took part in the discussions.
Among others, the following subject was
considered and reported upon: " 'Ought not
negroes to be excluded from the new
enlistment, especially those such as are
slaves?' All were thought improper by
the council of officers. 'Agreed,
That they may be rejected altogether.' "
In the organization of the new army, were many officers
and men, who had served with negroes in the
militia, and who had been re-enlisted in the
colonial army. They protested against
the exclusion of their old comrades, on
account of color. So very strong were
their protests that most of the rank and
file of the Northern troops regarded the
matter as of serious import to the colonies,
and of danger to the wives and families of
those in the field. There was quite a
large number of free negroes in the Northern
Colonies at this time, and the patriotism
displayed by those who had the opportunity
of serving in the militia during the early
stages of the war, aroused a feeling which
prompted a great many masters to offer to
the commander of the army the services of
their slaves, and to the slaves their
freedom, if their services were accepted.
So weighty were the arguments offered, and
to soften the gloom which hung about the
homes and the camps of the soldiers, Gen.
Washington wrote to the President of
Congress regarding the matter, from
Cambridge, in December, 1775:
"It has been represented to me that
the free negroes who have served in this
army are very much dissatisfied at being
discarded. As it is to be apprehended
that they may seek employment in the
Ministerial army, I have presumed to depart
from the resolution respecting them, and
have given license for their being enlisted.
If this is disapproved by Congress, I will
put a stop to it." *
-----
* Mr. Sparks appends to this
letter the following note: "At a meeting of
the general officers, previously to the
arrival of the committee from Congress in
camp, it was unanimously resolved, that it
was not expedient to enlist slaves in the
new army; and,
[Pg. 41] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
The letter was submitted to Congress, and
General Washington's action was
sustained by the passage of the following
resolution: "That the free negroes, who had
served faithfully in the army at Cambridge,
may be re-enlisted therein, but no others."
The question of color first entered the army by order
of Washington's predecessor, Gen.
Artemus Ward, who in his first
general order required the "complexion" of
the soldier to be entered upon the roll.
In October, 1775, Gen. Thomas
wrote the following letter to John
Adams. The general was in every
way competent to draw a true picture of the
army, and had the opportunity of
observation. He says:
"I am sorry to hear that any
prejudices should take place in any Southern
Colony, with respect to the troops raised in
this. I am certain that the
insinuations you mention are injurious, if
we consider with what precipitation we are
obliged to collect an army. In the
regiments at Roxbury, the privates are equal
to any that I served with in the last war;
very few old men, and in the ranks very few
boys. Our fifes are many of them boys.
We have some negroes; but I look on them, in
general, as equally servicable with other
men for fatigue; and in action many of them
have proved themselves brave. I would
avoid all reflection, or anything that may
tend to give umbrage: but there is in this
army from the southward, a number called
riflemen, who are the most indifferent men I
ever served with. These privates are
mutinous, and often deserting to the enemy:
unwilling for duty of any kind: exceedingly
vicious: and I think the army here would be
as well off without them. But to do
justice to their officers, they are, some of
them, likely men."
Despite all
prejudice, the negro, as in all conflicts
since, sought every opportunity to show his
patriotism, and his unquenchable thirst for
liberty; and no matter in what capacity he
entered the service, whether as
body-servant, hostler or teamster, he always
displayed the same characteristic courage.
In November of the same year the Provincial
Congress of South Carolina, by the passage
of the following resolution, gave permission
to her militia officers, to use slaves in
the army for certain purposes:
-----
by a large majority, negroes of every
description were excluded from enlistment.
When the subject was referred to the
Committee in conference, the resolve was not
adhered to, and probably for the reason here
mentioned by Washington. Many black
soldiers were in the service during all
stages of the war." Spark's
Washington, Vol. Ill, pp. 218-219.
[Pg. 42]
"On motion, Resolved, That the
colonels of the several regiments of militia
throughout the Colony have leave to enroll
such a number of able male slaves, to be
employed as pioneers and laborers, as public
exegencies may require; and that a daily pay
of seven shillings and sixpence be allowed
for the service of each such slave while
actually employed."
The foregoing
resolution must not in any way be understood
as sanctioning the employment of negroes as
soldiers, notwithstanding some of the ablest
men of the State advocated the enlistment of
negroes in the army; the opposition was too
strong to carry the measure through either
Congress or the legislature. The
feeling among the Northern colonists may be
shown by citing the views of some of their
leading men, and none perhaps was better
calculated to give a clear expression of
their views, than the Rev. Dr. Hopkins,
of Newport, R. I., who wrote a "Dialogue
Concerning the slavery of the Africans,"
published soon after the commencement of
hostilities. Here is an extract from a
note to the Dialogue:
"God is so ordering it in his
providence, that it seems absolutely
necessary something should speedily be done
with respect to the slaves among us, in
order to our safety, and to prevent their
turning against us in our present struggle,
in order to get their liberty. Our
oppressors have planned to gain the blacks,
and induce them to take up arms against us,
by promising them liberty on this condition;
and this plan they are prosecuting to the
utmost of their power, by which means they
have persuaded numbers to join them. And
should we attempt to restrain them by force
and severity, keeping a strict guard over
them, and punishing them severely who shall
be detected in attempting to join our
oppressors, this will only be making bad
worse, and serve to render our
inconsistence, oppression, and cruelty more
criminal, perspicuous, and shocking, and
bring down the righteous vengeance of Heaven
on our heads. The only way pointed out
to prevent this threatening evil is to set
the blacks at liberty ourselves by some
public acts and laws, and then give them
proper encouragement to labor, or take arms
in the defence of the American cause, as
they shall choose. This would at once be
doing them some degree of justice, and
defeating our enemies in the scheme that
they are prosecuting."
Therefore it will be observed that public
opinion regarding the arming of negroes in
the North and South, was controlled by
sectional interest in the one, and the love
of liberty in the other. That both
desired America's
[Pg. 43] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
Independence, no one will doubt, but that
one section was more willing than the other
to sacrifice slavery for freedom, I think is
equally as plain. While the colonists
were debating with much anxiety the subject
of what to do with the negroes, the New
England States were endeavoring to draw the
Southern States or Colonies into the war by
electing George Washington as
Commander of the army at Cambridge, and
accepting the mis-interpretations of the
declarations of war. The Punic faith
with which the Southern States entered the
war for liberty humiliated the army, and
wrung from its commander the letter written
to Congress, and its approval of his course
in re-enlisting free negroes.
Meanwhile the British were actively engaged
in recruiting and organizing negroes into
their army and navy.
In November, 1775, Lord Dunmore visited
Norfolk, Virginia,* and, as Governor,
finding his authority as such not regarded
by the whites, issued a proclamation
offering freedom to the slaves who would
join the British army, A full description of
the State of affairs at that time, is thus
given by an English historian:
"In
letters which had been laid before the
English Parliament, and published to the
whole world, he (Lord Dunmore)
had represented the planters as ambitious,
selfish men, pursuing their own interest and
advancement at the expense of their poorer
countrymen, and as being ready to make every
sacrifice of honesty and principle, and he
had said more privately, that, since they
were so anxious for liberty, for more
freedom than was consistent with the free
institutions of the Mother Country and the
charter of the Colony, that since they were
so eager to abolish a fanciful slavery in a
dependence on Great Britain, he would try
how they liked abolition of real slavery, by
setting free all their negroes and
indentured servants, who were, in fact,
little better than white slaves. This
to the Virginians was like passing a rasp
over a gangrened place; it was probing a
wound that was incurable, or one which had
not yet been healed. Later in
the year, when the battle of Bunker's Hill
had been
-----
* Dunmore after destroying Norfolk, sailed with
his fleet of men-of-war and more than fifty
transports, on board of which were many
armed negroes and Royal troops, to the mouth
of the Piankatank river, and took possession
of Gwynn's Island, where he landed his
troops and entrenched. Here he was
attacked by Gen. Lewis' men
from the opposite shore. One of
Dunmore's ships was badly damaged by
cannon balls, and he drew off and sailed up
the Potomoc river, and occupied St.
Georgia's Island, after having burned a
mansion at the mouth of Aqua Creek. He
was here attacked by a militia force and
retired. Misfortune followed him;
disease, shipwreck and want of
provisions. He soon made sail, and
with his negroes reached England, where he
remained.
[Pg. 44]
fought, when our forts on Lake
Champlain had been taken from us, and when
Montgomery and Arnold were
pressing on our possessions in Canada,
Lord Dunmore carried his threat
into execution. Having established his
headquarters at Norfolk, he proclaimed
freedom to all the slaves who would repair
to his standard and bear arms for the King.
The summons was readily obeyed by the most
of the negroes who had the means of escape
to him. He, at the same time, issued a
proclamation, declaring martial law
throughout the colony of Virginia; and he
collected a number of armed vessels, which
cut off the coasting trade, made many
prizes, and greatly distressed an important
part of that Province. If he could
have opened a road to slaves in the interior
of the Province, his measures would have
been very fatal to the planters. In
order to stop the alarming desertion of the
negroes, and to arrest his Lordship in his
career, the provincial Assembly detached
against him a strong force of more than a
thousand men, who arrived in the
neighborhood of Norfolk in the month of
December. Having made a circuit, they
came to a village called Great Bridge, where
the river Elizabeth was traversed by
a bridge; but before their arrival the
bridge had been made impassable, and some
works, defended chiefly by negroes, had been
thrown up."
During the same month Edmund Pendleton
wrote to Richard Henry Lee
that many slaves had flocked to the
British standard:
"The Governor, * * * *
marched out with three hundred and fifty
soldiers, Tories and slaves, to Kemp's
Landing; and after setting up his standard,
and issuing his proclamation, declaring all
persons rebels who took up arms for the
country, and inviting all slaves, servants
and apprentices to come to him and receive
arms, he preceded to intercept Hutchings
and his party, upon whom he came by
surprise, but received, it seems, so warm a
fire, that the ragmuffins ran away.
They were, however, rallied on discovering
that that two companies of our militia gave
away; and left Hutchings and Dr.
Reid with a volunteer company, who
maintained their ground bravely till they
were overcome by numbers, and took shelter
in a swamp. The slaves were sent in
pursuit of them; and one of Col.
Hutching's, with another, found him.
On their approach, he discharged his pistol
at his slave, but missed him; and he was
taken by them, after receiving a wound in
the face with a sword. The number
taken or killed on either side is not
ascertained. It is said the Governor
went to Dr. Reid's shop, and
after taking the medicines and dressing
necessary for his wounded men, broke all the
others to pieces. Letters mention that
slaves flock to him in abundance; but I hope
it is magnified."
Five months after he issued the
proclamation, Lord Dunmore thus
writes, concerning his success:
[Pg. 45] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
[No. 1]
Lord Dunmore to the Secretary of State.
|
{ |
SHIP 'DUNMORE,'
IN ELIZABETH RIVER, VA.,
30th March, 1776 |
"Your Lordship will observe by my letter,
No. 34, that I have been endeavoring to
raise two regiments here - one of white
people, the other of black. The former
goes on very slowly, but the latter very
well, and would have been in great
forwardness, had not a fever crept in
amongst them, which carried off a great many
very fine fellows."
-----
[No. 3]
|
{ |
SHIP
'DUNMORE,' IN GWIN'S ISLAND
HARBOR, VA.,
30th March, 1776 |
"I
am extremely sorry to inform your Lordship,
that that fever of which I informed you in
my letter No. 1 has proved a very malignant
one, and has carried off an incredible
number of our people, especially the blacks.
Had it not been for this horrid disorder, I
am satisfied I should have had no doubt of
penetrating into the heart of this colony."
The dread in which the colonists held the
negro was equal to that with which they
regarded the Indians. The incendiary
torch, massacre, pillage, and revolt, was
ever presenting a gloomy and disastrous
picture to the colonists at the South.
Their dreams at night; their thoughts by
day; in the field and in the legislature
hall, were how to keep the negro down.
If one should be seen in a village with a
gun, a half score of white men would rush
and take it from him, while women in the
street would take shelter in the nearest
house. The wrongs which they continued
to practice upon him was a terror to them
through their conscience, though then, as in
later years, many, and particularly the
leaders, endeavored to impress others with
their feigned belief of the natural
inferiority of the negro to themselves.
This doctrine served them, as the whistle
did the boy in the woods; they talked in
that way simply to keep their courage up,
and their conscience down.
The commander of the American army regarded the action
of Lord Dunmore as a serious blow to
the national cause. To take the
negroes out of the field from raising
produce for the army, and place them in
front of the patriots as opposing soldiers,
he saw was a danger that
[Pg. 46]
should be averted. With this in view
he wrote to Joseph Reed in December,
saying:
"If the Virginians are wise, that
arch-traitor to the rights of humanity,
Lord Dunmore, should be instantly
crushed, if it takes the whole army to do
it; otherwise, like a snowball in rolling,
his army will get size, some through fear,
some through promises, and some through
inclination, joining his standard; but that
which renders the measure indispensable is
the negroes; for, if he gets formidable,
numbers of them will be tempted to join, who
will be afraid to do it without."
Notwithstanding this, the Southern States
still kept the negro out of the army.
It was not until affairs became alarmingly
dangerous, and a few weeks before the
adoption of the Declaration of Independence,
that the subject of arming the slaves came
again before the people.
In May, 1777, the General Assembly of Connecticut
postponed in one house and rejected in the
other the report of a committee "that the
effective negro and mulatto slaves be
allowed to enlist with the Continental
battallions now raising in this State."
But under a law passed at the same session
"white and black, bond and free, if 'able
bodied,' went on the roll together, accepted
as the representatives of their 'class,' or
as substitutes for their employers."
At the next session (October, 1777), the law
was so amended as to authorize the selectmen
of any town, on the application of the
master. - after 'inquiry into the age,
abilities, circumstances, and character' of
the servant or slave, and being satisfied
'that it was likely to be consistent with
his real advantage, and that he would be
able to support himself' - to grant liberty
for his emancipation, and to discharge the
master 'from any charge or cost which may be
occasioned by maintaining or supporting the
servant or slave made free as aforesaid.'
Mr. J. H. Trumbull, of Connecticut,
in giving the foregoing facts, adds:
"The slave (of servant for term of years)
might receive his freedom; the master might
receive exemption from draft, and a
discharge from future liabilities, to which
he must otherwise have been subjected.
In point of fact, some hundreds or blacks, -
slaves and freemen, - were enlisted, from
time to time, in the regiments of State
troops and of the Connecticut line."
[Pg. 47] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
The British were determined, it seems, to
utilize all the available strength they
could command, by enlisting negroes at the
North as well as at the South. They
conceived the idea of forming regiments of
them at the North, as the letter of Gen.
Greene to Gen. Washington
will show:
"CAMP ON LONG ISLAND, July 21, 1776, two
o'clock.
"SIR: - Colonel Hnad reports seven large ships
are coming up from the Hook to the Narrows.
"A negro
belonging to one Strickler, at
Gravesend, was taken prisoner (as he says)
last Sunday at Coney Island. Yesterday
he made his escape, and was taken prisoner
by the rifle guard. He reports eight
hundred negroes collected on Staten Island,
this day to be formed into a regiment.
I am your Excellency's most obedient, humble
servant,
N. GREENE.
"To
His Excellency Gen. Washington,
Headquarters, New York."
Occasionally the public would be startled by
the daring and bravery of some negro in the
American army, and then the true lovers of
liberty, North and South, would again urge
that negroes be admitted into the ranks of
the army. When Lt. Col. Barton
planned for the capture of the British
Maj. Gen. Prescott, who commanded the
Brittish army at Newport R. I., and whose
capture was necessary in order to effect the
release of Gen. Lee, who was then in
the hands of the British, and of the same
rank as that of Gen. Prescott, Col.
Barton's plan was made a success through
the aid of Prince, a negro in Col. Barton's
command. The daring of the exploit
excited the highest patriotic commendations
of the Americans, and revived the urgent
appeals that had been made for a place in
the armed ranks of all men, irrespective of
color. The Pennsylvania Evening
Post of Aug. 7th, 1777, gives the
following account of the capture:
"They landed about five miles from Newport,
and three quarters of a mile from the house,
which they approached cautiously, avoiding
the main guard, which was at some distance.
The Colonel went foremost with a stout
active negro close behind him, and another
at a small distance; the rest followed so as
to be near but not seen.
"A single sentinel at the door saw and hailed the
Colonel; he answered by exclaiming against
and inquiring for, rebel prisoners, but kept
slowly advancing. The sentinel again
challenged him and required
[Pg. 48]
the countersign. He said he had not
the countersign; but amused the sentry by
talking about rebel prisoners, and still
advancing till he came within reach of the
bayonet, which, he presenting, the colonel
struck aside, and seized him. He was
immediately secured, and ordered to be
silent, on pain of instant death.
Meanwhile, the rest of the men surrounding
the house, the negro, with his head, at the
second stroke, forced a passage into it, and
then into the landlord's apartment.
The landlord at first refused to give the
necessary intelligence; but, on the prospect
of present death, he pointed to the
General's chamber, which being instantly
opened by the negro's head, the Colonel,
calling the General by name by name, told
him he was a prisoner."
Congress voted Col. Barton a
magnificent sword, but the real captor of
Gen. Prescott, so far as known, received
nothing. A surgeon in the American
army, Dr. Thacher, writes,
under date of Aug. 3d, 1777, at Albany:
"The pleasing information is received here
that Lieut.-Col. Barton, of the Rhode
Island Militia, planned a bold exploit for
the purpose of surprising and taking
Maj.-Gen. Prescott, the commanding
officer of the Royal army at Newport.
Taking with him, in the night, about forty
men, in two boats, with oars muffled, he had
the address to elude the vigilance of the
ships-of-war and guard boats; and, having
arrived undiscovered at the quarters of
Gen. Prescott, they were taken
for the sentinels; and the general was not
alarmed till the captors were at the door of
his lodging chamber, which was fast closed.
A negro man, named Prince, instantly
thrust his beetle head through the panel
door, and seized his victim while in bed.
This event is extremely honorable to the
enterprising spirit of Col. Barton,
and is considered an ample retaliation for
the capture of Gen. Lee by
Col. Harcourt. The event
occasions great joy and exultation, as it
puts in our possession an officer of equal
rank with Gen. Lee, by which
means an exchange may be obtained.
Congress resolved that an elegant sword
should be presented to Col. Barton,
for his brave exploit."
To recite here every incident and
circumstance illustrating the heroism and
the particular services rendered the
patriotic army by negroes, who served in
regiments and companies with white soldiers,
would fill this entire volume. Yet,
with the desire of doing justice to the
memory of all those negroes who aided in
achieving the independence of America, I
cannot forbear introducing notices, gathered
from various sources, of some prominent
examples. Ebenezer Hill,
a slave at Stonington, Conn., who served
throughout the war, and who took part in the
bat-
[Pg. 49] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
tles of Saratoga and Stillwater, and
witnessed the surrender of Burgoyne.
Prince Whipple acted as bodyguard to
General Whipple, one of
Washington's aids. Prince is
the negro seen on horseback in the engraving
of Washington crossing the Delaware, and
again pulling the stroke oar in the boat
which Washington crossed in.
At the storming of Fort Griswold, Maj.
Montgomery was lifted upon the walls of
the fort by his soldiers, and called upon
the Americans to surrender. John
Freeman, a negro soldier, with his
pike, pinned him dead to the earth.
Among the American soldiers who were
massacred by the British soldiers after the
surrender of the fort, were two negro
soldiers, Lambo Latham and
Jordan Freeman.
Quack Matrick, a negro, fought through
the Revolutionary war, as a soldier, for
which he was pensioned. Also
Jonathan Overtin, who was at the
battle of Yorktown. The grandfather of
the historian Wm. Wells Brown,
Simon Lee, was also a soldier
"in the times which tried mens souls."
"Samuel Charlton was born in
the State of New Jersey, a slave, in the
family of Mr. M., who owned, also,
other members belonging to his family all
residing in the English neighborhood.
During the progress of the war, he was
placed by his master (as a substitute for
himself) in the army then in New Jersey, as
a teamster in the baggage train. He
was in active service at the battle of
Monmouth, not only witnessing, but taking a
part in, the great struggle of that day.
He was also in several other engagements in
different sections of that part of the
State. He was a great admirer of
General Washington, and was, at
one time, attached to his baggage train, and
received the General's commendation for his
courage and devotion to the cause of
liberty. Mr. Charlton
was about fifteen or seventeen years of age
when placed in the army, for which his
master rewarded him with a silver dollar.
At the expiration of his time, he returned
to his master, to serve again in bondage,
after having toiled, fought and bled for
liberty, in common with the regular
soldiery. Mr. M., at his death,
by mil, liberated his slaves, and provided a
pension for Charlton, to be paid
during his lifetime.
"James Easton, of Bridgewater, a colored
man, participated in the erection of the
fortifications on Dorchester Heights, under
command of Washington, which the next
morning so greatly surprised the British
soldiers then encamped in Boston."
[Pg. 50]
"Among the brave blacks who fought in the
battles for American liberty was Major
Jeffrey, a Tennesseean, who, during
the campaign of Major-General
Andrew Jackson in Mobile,
filled the place of "regular" among the
soldiers. In the charge made by
General Stump against the enemy,
the Americans were repulsed and thrown into
disorder; Major Stump being forced to
retire, in a manner by no means desirable,
under the circumstances. Major
Jeffrey, who was but a common soldier,
seeing the condition of his comrades, and
comprehending the disastrous results about
to befall them, rushed forward, mounted a
horse, took command of the troops, and, by
an heroic effort, rallied them to the
charge, completely routing the enemy, who
left the Americans masters of the field.
He at once received from the General the
title of "Major," though he could not,
according to the American policy, so
commission him. To the day of his
death, he was known by that title in
Nashville, where he resided, and the
circumstances which entitled him to it were
constantly the subject of popular
conversation.
Major
Jeffrey was highly respected by the
whites generally, and revered, in his own
neighborhood, by all the colored people who
knew him.
A few years ago receiving an indignity from a common
ruffian, he was forced to strike him in
self-defense; for which act, in accordance
with the laws of slavery in that, as well as
many other of the slave States, he was
compelled to receive, on his naked person,
nine and thirty lashes with a raw hide!
This, at the age of seventy odd, after the
distinguished services rendered his country,
probably when the white ruffian for whom he
was tortured was unable to raise an arm in
its defense, was more than he could bear; it
broke his heart, and he sank to rise no
more, till summoned by the blast of the last
trumpet to stand on the battle-field of the
general resurrection."
Jeffrey was not an exception to this
kind of treatment. Samuel Lee
died on a tobacco plantation after the war.
The re-enslaving of the negroes who fought for American
Independence became so general at the South,
that the Legislature of Virginia in 1783, in
compliance with her honor, passed an act
directing the emancipation of certain
slaves, who had served as soldiers of the
State, and for the emancipation of the slave
Aberdeen.
James Armistead during the war acted as a
scout and spy for LaFayette during his
campaign in Virginia, and at one time gave
information of an intended surprise to be
made upon the forces of the Marquis, thereby
saving probably a rout of the army.
Armistead, after the surrender of Cornwallis
at Yorktown, was returned to his master
three years after the close of the war.
He was
[Pg. 51] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
manumitted by especial act of the Virginia
Legislature, whose attention was called to
the worthiness of the service rendered by
Armistead.
The opposition to the employment of negroes as
soldiers, by the persistency of its
advocates and the bravery of those who were
then serving in white regiments, was finally
overcome, so that their enlistment became
general and regulated by law. Companies,
battalions and regiments of negro troops
soon entered the field and the struggle for
independence and liberty, giving to the
cause the reality of freedmen's fight.
For three years the army had been fighting
under the smart of defeats, with an
occasional signal victory, but now the tide
was about to be turned against the English.
The colonists had witnessed the heroism of
the negro in Virginia at Great Bridge, and
at Norfolk; in Massachusetts at Boston and
Bunker Hill, fighting, in the former, for
freedom under the British flag, in the
latter for liberty, under the banner of the
colonies. The echoing shouts of the
whites fell heavily upon the ears of the
black people; they caught the strain as by
martial instinct, and reverberated the
appeal, "Liberty and Independence"
The negro's ancestors were not slaves, so upon the
alter of their hearts the fire of liberty
was re-kindled by the utterances of the
white colonists. They heard Patrick
Henry and Samuel Adams,
whose eloquence vehemently aroused their
compatriots, and, like them, they too
resolved to be free. They held no
regular organized meetings; at the North
they assembled with their white
fellow-citizens; at the South each balmy
gale that swept along the banks of the
rivers were laden with the negro's
ejaculations for freedom, and each breast
was resolute and determined. The
advocates and friends of the measure for
arming all men for freedom, were on the
alert, and now the condition of the army was
such as to enable them to press the
necessity of the measure upon the attention
of the American people. Washington
needed reinforcements; nay, more, the
perilous situation of the army as it lay in
camp at Valley Forge, at the conclusion of
the campaign of 1777, was
[Pg. 52]
indeed distressing. The encampment
consisted of huts, and there was danger of a
famine. The soldiers were nearly destitute
of comfortable clothing. "Many, "says
the historian, "for want of shoes, walked
barefoot on the frozen ground; few, if any,
had blankets for the night. Great
numbers sickened; near three thousand at a
time were incapable of bearing arms."
Within fifteen miles of them lay the city of
Philadelphia and the British army.
These gloomy circumstances overshadowed the
recent victory at Bennington, and the
surrender of Burgoyne. Under these
circumstances, the difficulty of recruiting
the patriot army may be easily imagined.
A general enlistment bill had failed to pass
the legislature in the spring, because,
perhaps, the spirit of the patriots were up
at the time; but now they were down, and the
advocates of arming negroes sought the
opportunity of carrying their plan. It
was not attempted in Connecticut, but in the
General Assembly of Rhode Island an act was
passed for the purpose. Here are some
of the principal provisions of this act:
"It
is Voted and Resolved, That every
able-bodied negro, mulatto, or Indian man
slave in this State, may enlist into either
of the said two battalions to serve during
the continuance of the present war with
Great Britain; that every slave so enlisted
shall be entitled to receive all the
bounties, wages, encouragements allowed by
the Continental Congress to any soldier
enlisted into their service.
"It is farther Voted and Resolved, That every
slave so enlisting shall, upon his passing
muster before Col. Christopher
Greene, be immediately discharged
from the service of his master or mistress,
and be absolutely free, as though he had
never been encumbered with any kind of
servitude or slavery. And in case such
slave shall, by sickness or otherwise, be
unable to maintain himself, he shall not be
chargable to his master or mistress, but
shall be supported at the expense of the
State.
"And whereas slaves have been by the laws deemed the
property of their owners; and therefore
compensation ought to be made to the owners
for the loss of their service,
"It is further Voted and Resolved, That there be
allowed, and paid by this State to the
owners, for every such slave so enlisting, a
sum according to his worth at a price not
exceeding one hundred and twenty pounds for
the most valuable slave, and in proportion
for a slave of less value; Provided
the owner of said slave shall deliver up to
the officer who shall enlist him the clothes
of said slave; or otherwise he shall not be
entitled to said sum
[Pg. 53]
On Picket
[Pg. 54] -
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[Pg. 55] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
To speak of the gallantry of the negro
soldiers recalls the recollection of some of
their daring deeds at Red Bank, where four
hundred men met and repulsed, after a
terrible, sanguinary struggle, fifteen
hundred Hessian troops led by Count
Donop.
"The glory of the defence of Red Bank, which
has been pronounced one of the most heroic
actions of the war, belongs in reality to
black men; yet who now hears them spoken of
in connection with it? Among the
traits which distinguished the black
regiment was devotion to their officers.
In the attack made upon the American lines,
near Croton river, on the 13th of May, 1781,
Col. Greene, the commander of
the regiment, was cut down and mortally
wounded; but the sabres of the enemy only
reached him through the bodies of his
faithful blacks, who gathered around him to
protect him, and every one of whom was
killed.
No\y the negro began to take the field; not
scattered here and there throughout the
army, filling up the shattered ranks of
white regiments, but in organizations
composed entirely of men of their own race,
officered, however, by white officers, men
of high social and military character and
standing. The success of the measure
in Rhode Island, emboldened the effort in
Massachusetts, where the advocates of
separate negro organizations had been
laboring zealously for its accomplishment.
Officers of the army in the field, expressed
their desire to be placed in command of
negro troops, in separate and distinct
organizations. Every effort, however,
up to this time to induce Massachusetts to
consent to the proposition had failed.
Rhode Island alone sent her negro regiments
to the field, whose gallantry during the war
more than met the most sanguine expectations
of their warmest friends, and fully merited
the trust and confidence of the State and
country. As the struggle proceeded,
re-enforcements were more frequently in
demand; but recruits were scarce, and the
question of arming negroes became again
prominent in the colonies and the army.
In April, 1778, Thomas Kench, then
serving in an artillery regiment, addressed
letters to the Massachusetts Legislature
urging the enlistment of negroes. He
wrote:
"A re-enforcement can quickly be raised of
two or three hundred men. Will your
honors grant the liberty, and give me the
command of
[Pg. 56]
the party? And what I refer to
is negroes. We have divers of them in our
service, mixed with white men. But I think
it would be more proper to raise a body by
themselves, than to have them intermixed
with the white men; and their ambition would
entirely be to outdo the white men in every
measure that the fortunes of war calls a
soldier to endure. And I could rely with
dependence upon them in the field of battle
or to any post that I was sent to defend
with them; and they would think
themselves happy could they gain their
freedom by bearing a part of subduing the
enemy that is invading our land, and clear a
peaceful inheritance for their masters, and
posterity yet to come, that they are now
slaves to."
The letter from which this extract was made
was duly referred to a joint committee "to
consider the same and report. "Some
days later" a resolution of the General
Assembly of Rhode Island for enlisting
negroes in the public service "was referred
to the same committee. They duly
reported the draft of a law, differing
little from the Rhode Island Resolution.
A separate organization of negro companies,
by Kench, does not appear to have been
deemed advisable at that time. The
usage was continued of "taking," in the
words of Kench, "negroes in our
service, intermixed with the white men. "
The negroes of Boston and their abolition friends,
rather insisted upon the intermingling of
the races in the army, believing that this
course had a greater tendency to destroy
slavery, and the inequality of rights among
the "blacks and whites; though it deprived
the negroes, as we now see, of receiving due
credit for their valor, save in a few
individual cases. It was not in
Massachusetts alone, but in many other
States that the same idea prevailed; and now
the facts connected with the services of the
negroes are to be gathered only in
fragments, from the histories of villages
and towns, or among the archives of the
State, in a disconnected and unsatisfactory
form.
The legislature of New York, two months after the
murder of Col. Greene and his
faithful negro troops at Point's Bridge, in
that State, by the British, passed an act
(March, 1781) looking to the raising of two
regiments. The sixth section of the
act reads as follows:
"And it is further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, that any person who shall deliver
one or more of his able-bodied male slaves
to any
[Pg. 57] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
warrant officer, as aforesaid, to
serve in either of the above regiments or
independent corps, and produce a certificate
thereof, signed by any person authorized to
muster and receive the men to be raised by
virtue of this act, and produce such
certificate to the Surveyor-General, shall,
for every male slave so entered and mustered
as aforesaid, be entitled to the location
and grant of one right, in manner as in and
by this act is directed; and shall be, and
hereby is discharged from any further
maintainance of such slave, any law to the
contrary notwithstanding. And such
slave so entering as aforesaid, who shall
serve for the term of three years or until
regularly discharged, shall, immediately
after such service or discharge, be, and is
hereby declared to be, a free man of this
State.
In 1821, in the convention which revised the
constitution of New York, Mr.
Clark, speaking in favor of allowing
negroes to vote, said in the course of his
remarks:
"My
honorable colleague has told us, that, as
the colored people are not required to
contribute to the protection or defence of
the State, they are not entitled to an equal
participation in the privileges of its
citizens. But, Sir, whose fault is
this? Have they ever refused to do military
duty when called upon? It is haughtily
asked, Who will stand in the ranks shoulder
to shoulder with a negro? I answer, No
one, in time of peace; no one, when your
musters and trainings are looked upon as
mere pastimes; no one, when your militia
will shoulder their muskets and march to
their trainings with as much unconcern as
they would go to a sumptuous entertainment
or a splendid ball. But, Sir, when the
hour of danger approaches, your white
'militia' are just as willing that the man
of color should be set up as a mark to be
shot at by the enemy, as to be set up
themselves. In the War of the
Revolution, these people helped to fight
your battles by land and by sea. Some
of your States were glad to turn out corps
of colored men, and to stand 'shoulder to
shoulder' with them.
"In your late war, they contributed largely towards some of
your most splendid victories. On Lakes
Erie and Charnplain, where your fleets
triumped over a foe superior in numbers and
engines of death, they were manned, in a
large proportion, with men of color. And, in
this very house, in the fall of 1814, a bill
passed, receiving the approbation of all the
branches of your government, authorizing the
Governor to accept the services of a corps
of two thousand free people of color.
Sir, these were times which tried men's
souls. In these times it was no
sporting matter to bear arms. These
were times, when a man who shouldered his
musket did not know but he barred his bosom
to receive a death wound from the enemy ere
he laid it aside; and in these times, these
people were found as ready and as willing to
volunteer in your service as any other.
They were not compelled to go; they were not
drafted. No, your pride had placed
them beyond your compulsory power. But
there was no necessity for its exercise;
they were volunteers; yes, Sir,
[Pg. 58]
volunteers to defend that very
country from the inroads and ravages of a
ruthless and vindictive foe, which had
treated them with insult, degradation and
slavery.
"Volunteers are the best of soldiers. Give me the
men, whatever be their complexion, that
willingly volunteer, and not those who are
compelled to turn out. Such men do not
fight from necessity, nor from mercinary
motives, but from principle."
Hon. Mr. Martindale,
who represented a District of the State of
New York, in Congress in 1828, thus speaks
of the negro soldiers:
"Slaves, or negroes who have been slaves,
were enlisted as soldiers in the War of the
Revolution; and I myself saw a battalion of
them, as fine martial-looking men as I ever
saw, attached to the Northern army."
Up to this time the East had been the
theatre of the war, with now and then a
battle in some one of the Middle Colonies,
but the British discovering that the people
of the South acted indifferently in
maintaining and recruiting the army,
transferred their operations to that
section. Maryland then stood as a
middle State or Colony. Her statesmen,
seeing the threatened danger of the invasion
of Pennsylvania, endeavored to prepare to
meet it, and taking council from her sister
States at the East, accepted the negro as a
soldier. In June, 1781, John
Cadwater, writing from Annapolis, Md.,
to Gen. Washington, says:
"We
have resolved to raise, immediately, seven
hundred and fifty negroes, to be
incorporated with the other troops; and a
bill is now almost completed."
It does not appear that the negroes were
formed into separate organizations in this
State, but tilled the depleted ranks of the
Continental regiments, where their energy
and daring was not less than that displayed
by their white comrades, with whom they
fought, shoulder to shoulder. The
advocates of arming the negroes were not
confined to the Eastern and Middle sections;
some of the best men of the South favored
and advocated the enlistment of free
negroes, and made many, though for a long
time unsuccessful, efforts to obtain legal
sanction for such enlistment throughout the
South. But their advice was not
listened to, even in the face of certain
invasion, and
[Pg. 59] -
THE WAR OF 1775 -
then the whites would not, and could not be
induced to rally to the defence of their own
particular section and homes.
For fear that I may be accused of too highly coloring
the picture of the Southern laxity of fervor
and patriotism, I quote from the valuable
essay which' accompanies the history of the
American Loyalists:
"The whole number of
regulars enlisted for the Continental
service, from the beginning to the close of
the struggle, was 231,959. Of these, I
have once remarked, 67,907 were from
Massachusetts; and I may now add, that every
State south of Pennsylvania provided but
59,493, or 8,414 less than this single
State."
The
men of Massachusetts did not more firmly
adhere to their policy of mixed troops as
against separate organizations, based upon
color, than did the men of the South to
their peculiar institution, and against the
arming of negroes, free or slave.
The war having fairly set in upon Southern
soil, and so urgent the necessity for
recruiting* the army, that Congress again
took up the subject of enrolling negroes as
soldiers. It was decided that the
general Government had no control over the
States in the matter, but a series of
resolutions were adopted recommending to the
States of Georgia and South Carolina, the
arming of three thousand able-bodied
negroes.
Now began an earnest battle for the carrying out of the
policy, as recommended by Congress.
Its friends were among the bravest and
truest to the cause of freedom in the
States. Hon. Henry
Laurens lead in the effort. Even
before the matter was brought to the
attention of Congress, he wrote to Gen.
Washington, as follows:
"Our affairs in the Southern
department are more favorable than we had
considered them a few days ago;
nevertheless, the country is greatly
distressed, and will be so unless further
re-inforcements are sent to its relief. Had
we arms for three thousand such black men as
I could select in Carolina, I should have no
doubt of success in driving the British out
of Georgia, and subduing East Florida before
the end of July."
Washington knew the temper of the Southerners. He
was well aware that slaves could not be
entrusted with arms within sight of the
enemy's camp, and* within hearing of his
proclamation of freedom to all who would
join
[Pg. 60]
his Majesty's standard, unless equal
inducements were offered them by the
colonists, and to this he knew the Southern
colonist would not consent. In his
reply to Mr. Laurens, he said:
"The policy of our arming slaves, is, in my
opinion a moot point, unless the enemy set
the example. For, should we begin to
form battallions of them, I have not
the smallest doubt, if the war is to be
prosecuted, of their following us in it, and
justifying the measure upon our own ground.
The contest then must be, who can arm
fastest. And where are our arms?
Besides, I am not clear that a
discrimination will not render slavery more
irksome to those who remain in it.
Most of the good and evil things in this
life are judged of by comparison; and I fear
a comparison in this case will be productive
of much discontent in those who are held in
servitude. But, as this is a subject
that has never employed much of my thoughts,
these are no more than the first crude ideas
that have struck me upon the occasion."
Washington certainly had no doubts as to the
value of the negro as a soldier, but for the
reasons stated, did not give the weight of
his influence, at this important juncture,
to the policy of their enlistment, while so
many of the leading men of the colonies were
favorable to the action.
Among those who advocated the raising of negro troops
was Col. John Laurens,
a native of South Carolina and a brave
patriot, who had acted as aide-de-camp to
the commander-in-chief, and had seen service
in Rhode Island and elsewhere. He was
the son of Hon. Henry Laurens,
at one time President of Congress, and was
noted for his high qualities of character.
A commission of lieutenant-colonel was
granted to him by Congress, and he proceeded
to South Carolina to use his personal
influence to induce the Legislature to
authorize the enlistment of negroes.
His services in Rhode Island had given him
an opportunity to witness the conduct and
worth of the negro soldier.
Alexander Hamilton in the course of a long letter to
John Jay, relating to the mission
of Col. Laurens to South
Carolina, says:
"I
foresee that this project will have to
combat much opposition from prejudice and
self-interest. The contempt we have
been taught to entertertain for the
blacks makes us fancy many things that are
founded
[Pg.
61] - THE WAR OF 1775 -
neither in reason nor experience; and
an unwillingness to part company with
property of so valuable a kind will furnish
a thousand arguments to show the
impracticability or pernicious tendency of a
scheme which requires such a sacrifice.
But it should be considered, that, if we do
not make use of them in this way, the enemy
probably will; and that the best way to
counteract the the temptations they will
hold out will be to offer them ourselves.
An essential part of the plan is to give
them their freedom with their muskets.
This will secure their fidelity, animate
their courage, and, I believe, will have a
good influence upon those who remain, by
opening a door to their emancipation.
This circumstance, I confess has no small
weight in inducing me to wish the success of
the project; for the dictates of humanity
and true policy, equally interest me in
favor of this unfortunate class of men."
The
patriotic zeal of Col. Laurens
for the accomplishment of his design was
earnest and conscientious. He wrote to
his friend Hamilton in these words:
"Ternant will
relate to you how many violent struggles I
have had between duty and inclination how
much my heart was with you, while I appeared
to be most actively employed here. But
it appears to me, that I should be
inexcusable in the light of a citizen, if I
did not continue my utmost efforts for
carrying the plan of the black levies into
execution, while there remains the smallest
hope of success."
The
condition of the colonies and the
Continental army at that time was critical
in the extreme. The campaign of 1779
had closed gloomily for the Americans.
The British had not only been active in
raiding in Virginia and destroying property,
but in organizing negro
troops. Lord Dunmore, as
we have seen, as early as November, 1775,
had issued a proclamation, inviting the
negroes to join the Royal forces, to which a
great many slaves responded, and were
organized into companies. A regiment
had been organized by the British on Long
Island in 1776, and now, Sir Henry
Clinton invited them by the following
proclamation:
"By his Excellency
Sir Henry Clinton, K.
B., General and Commander-in-Chief of all
his Majesty's Forces, within the Colonies
lying on the Atlantic Ocean, from Nova
Scotia to West Florida, inclusive, &c., &c.
PROCLAMATION.
"Whereas the enemy
have adopted a practice of enrolling Negroes
among their Troops, I do hereby give notice
That all Negroes taken in arms, or
upon any military Duty, shall be
purchased for the public service at a stated
Price; the money to be paid to the
Captors.
[Pg. 62]
"But I do most
strictly forbid any Person to sell or
claim Right over any Negro, the
property of a Rebel, who may take refuge in
any part of this Army: And I do
promise to every negro who shall desert the
Rebel Standard, full security to
follow within these Lines, any
Occupation which he shall think proper.
"Given under my Hand at Head-Quarters, Philipsburg, the
30th day of June, 1779.
H. CLINTON.
"By his Excellency's command, John Smith,
Secretary."
It
is highly probable that many negroes made
their way to the British camp. Col.
Laurens wrote to General
Washington, under date of February,
1780, six months
after the issuing of Sir Henry Clinton's
proclamation, as follows:
"Private accounts
say that General Provost is
left to command at Savannah; that his troops
consist of Hessians and Loyalists that were
there before, re-inforced by a corps of
blacks and a detachment of savages. It
is generally reported that Sir.
Henry Clinton commands the
present expedition."
Clinton left New York in the latter part
of 1779, for the reduction of Charleston,
which he completed in May, three months
after the date of Col. Laurens'
letter. Gen.
Lincoln, who commanded the American
forces at Charleston, joined in the effort
to arm the negroes. In a letter to
Gov. Rutledge, dated Charleston,
March 13th, 1780, he says:
"Give me leave to
add once more, that I think the measure of
raising a black corps a necessary one; that
I have great reason to believe, if
permission is given for it, that many men
would soon be obtained. I have
repeatedly urged this matter, not only
because Congress has recommended it, and
because it thereby becomes my duty to
attempt to have it executed, but because my
own mind suggests the ulility and
importance of the measure, as the safety of
the town maks it necessary.
The
project of raising negro troops gained some
friends in all sections, and Statesmen, both
South and North, as they talked about it,
became more free to express their
approbation of the measure. They had
witnessed the militia from Virginia and
North Carolina, at the battle of Camden,
throw down their arms before the enemy;*
they had seen black and white troops under
com-
-----
*At the first, onset, a large body of the Virginia
militia, under a charge of the British
infantry with fixed bayonets, threw down
their arms and fled. A considerable
part of the North Carolina militia followed
their unworthy example. But the Conti-
[Pg. 63] - THE WAR OF 1775 -
mand of Gen. Provost occupy
Savannah; the surrender of Charlestown had
become necessary; and these evils were all
brought about by the apathy of the white
inhabitants. Among those who spoke out
in favor of Col. Laurens' and
Gen. Lincoln's plan, was
Hon. James Madison, who,
on the 20th of November, 1780, wrote to
Joseph Jones:
"I am glad to find
the Legislature persisting in their
resolution to recruit their line of the army
for the war; though, without deciding on the
expediency of the mode under their
consideration, would it not be as well to
liberate and make soldiers at once of the
blacks themselves, as to make them
instruments for enlisting white soldiers?
It would certainly be more consonant with
the principles of liberty: and, with white
officers and a majority of white soldiers,
no imaginable danger could be feared from
themselves; as there certainly could be none
from the effect of the example on those who
should remain in bondage; experience having
shown that a freedman immediately loses all
attachment and sympathy with his former
fellow slaves."
No
circumstances under which the South was
placed, could induce either their
legislators or the people to adopt the
recommendations of Congress or the advice of
the patriots and statesmen of their section.
The opposition to the arming of the negroes
was much stronger than the love for
independence. The British, however,
adopted the plan, and left no stone unturned
to augment the strength of their army.
Thousands of negroes flocked to the Royal
standard at every opportunity, just as in
the war of the Rebellion in 1861-'65, they
sought freedom under the national banner.
It has ever been the rule among American historians to
omit giving credit to those negroes who
sought to gain their freedom by joining the
British. They have generally also
failed to acknowledge the valor of those who
swelled the ranks of the Continental army.
Enough, however, can be gathered, mostly
from private correspondence, to show that
the hope of success for the Americans rested
either in the docility of the negroes at the
South, or in their loyalty to the cause of
Independence. At all events, upon the
action of the blacks more than upon the brav-
-----
nentals evinced the most unyielding
firmness, and pressed forward with unusual
ardor.
Never did men acquit themselves more
honorably. They submitted only when forsaken
by their brethren in arms, and when
overpowered by numuers.
[Pg. 64]
ery and valor of the American troops,
depended the future status of the Colonies;
hence the solicitude of officers and of the
leading citizens; and it was not the love of
universal freedom, which prompted their
efforts for arming negroes; not at all, but
their keen appreciation of the value of a
neutral power, which could be utilized for
the benefit of America's Independence.
Nor do I attribute other than the same
motive to the British, who did arm and did
free a great many of the negroes, who joined
their service, especially at the South,
where they must have organized quite a large
force, not less than 5,000. Early in
1781, (Feb'y) Gen. Greene,
then in command in North Carolina, writing
to General Washington about
the doings of the enemy in South Carolina,
where he formally commanded, says:
"The enemy have
ordered two regiments of negroes to be
immediately embodied, and are drafting a
great portion of the young men of that State
[South Carolina], to serve during the war."
A few days after writing this letter, Gen.
Greene met the British at Guilford
Court House, and again witnessed the
cowardice of the Southern militia,* whose
conduct gave victory to the British, under
Cornwallis.
The persistency of Col. Laurens in his
effort to organize negro troops, was still
noteworthy. Having returned from
France, whither he went on important
business, connected with the welfare of the
States, he resumed his "favorite pursuit."
Under date of May, 19, 1782, in a letter
addressed to Washington, he says:
"The plan which
brought me to this country was urged with
all the zeal which the subject inspired,
both in our Privy Council and Assembly; but
the single voice of reason was drowned by
the howling of a triple-headed monster, in
which prejudice, avarice, and pusillanimity
were united. It was some degree of
consolation to me, however, to perceive that
the truth and philosophy had gained some
ground; the suffrages in favor of the
measure being twice as numerous as on a
former occasion. Some hopes have been
lately given me from Georgia; but I fear,
when
-----
* The British loss, in this battle, exceeded five
hundred in killed and wounded, among whom
were several of the most distinguished
officers. The American loss was about four
hundred, in killed and wounded, of which
more than three-fourths fell upon the
Continentals. Though the numericial
force of Gen. Greene nearly
doubled that of Cornwallis, yet, when
we consider the difference between these
forces; the shameful conduct of the
North Carolina militia, who fled at the
first fire; the desertion of the second
Maryland regiment, and that a body of
reserve was not brought into action, it will
appear that our numbers, actually engaged,
but little exceeded that of the enemy."
Grimshaw's U. S. History.
[Pg. 65] - THE WAR OF 1775 -
the question is put, we shall be
out-voted there with as much disparity as we
have been in this country.
*
* *
* *
*
"I earnestly desire
to be where any active plans are likely to
be executed, and to be near your Excellency
on all occasions in which my services can be
acceptable. The pursuit of an object
which, I confess, is a favorite one with me,
because I always regarded the interests of
this country and those of the Union as
intimately connected with it, has detached
me more than once from your family, but
those sentiments of veneration and
attachments with which your Excellency has
inspired me, keep me always near you, with
the sincerest and most zealous wishes for a
continuance of your happiness and glory."
Here
ended the project of arming negroes in South
Carolina, and before an earnest effort could
be made in Georgia, the brave man laid his
life upon the altar of American liberty.
But to show the state of public opinion at the South,
as understood by the Commander-in-Chief of
the American army, we have but to read
Washington's reply to Col. Laurens'
last letter, in which he speaks of "making a
last effort" in Georgia. Gen.
Washington uses this emphatic
language:
"I must confess that I am not at all
astonished at the failure of your plan.
That spirit of freedom, which, at the
commencement of this contest, would have
gladly sacrificed everything to the
attainment of its object, has long since
subsided, and every selfish passion has
taken its place. It is not the public
but private interest which influences the
generality of mankind; nor can the Americans
any longer boast an exception. Under
the circumstances, it would rather have been
surprising if you had succeeded; nor
will you, I fear, have better success in
Georgia."
This
letter settles forever any boast of the
Southerners, that to them is due the credit
of gaining the independence of the United
States. It is true Cornwallis'
surrender at Yorktown, Va., was the last of
the series of battles fought for
independence.* But we must remember
that the
-----
* The Burlington Gazette, in an issue of some
time ago, gives the following account of an
aged negro Revolutionary patriot: "The
attention of many of our citizens has
doubtless been arrested by the appearance of
an old colored man, who might have been
been, sitting in front of his residence, in
east Union street, respectfully raising his
hat to those who might be passing by.
His attenuated frame, his silvered head, his
feeble movements, combine to prove that he
is very aged: and yet, comparatively few are
aware that he is among the survivors of the
gallant army who fought for the liberties of
our country.
"On Monday last, we stopped to speak to him, and asked
how old he was. He asked the day of
the month, and upon being told that it was
the 24th of May, replied, with trembling
lips, 'I am very old I am a hundred years
old to-day.'
"His name is Oliver Cromwell, and he says
that he was born at the Black Horse.
[Pg. 66]
French were at Yorktown. It cannot be
doubted but that from Charleston to Yorktown
the Americans met negro troops more than
once fighting under the Royal flag; while at
the east, in every important engagement
between the two enemies, British and
American, the negro was found fighting with
the Americans. This division of the
negroes can easily be accounted for, since
at the North and East the object of the war
was acknowledged to be set forth in the
Declaration of Independence; at the South
only so much of the Declaration was accepted
as demanded Independence from Great Britain.
Therefore, though in separate and opposing
armies, the object of the negro was the same
liberty. It is to be regretted that
the historians of the Revolutionary period
did not more particularly chronicle the part
taken by negroes at the South, though enough
is known to put their employment beyond
doubt.
Johnson, the author of the life of Gen.
Greene, speaking of Greene's
recommendation to the Legislature of South
Carolina to enroll negroes, says:
"There is a
sovereign, who, at this time, draws his
soldiery from the same class of people;
and finds a facility in forming and
disciplining an army, which no other power
enjoys. Nor does his immense military
force, formed from that class of his
subjects, excite the least apprehension; for
the soldier's will is subdued to that of his
officer, and his improved condition takes
away the habit of identifying himself with
the class from which he has been separated.
Military men know what mere machines men
become under discipline, and believe that
any men, who may be obedient, may be made
soldiers; and that increasing their numbers
increases the means of their own subjection
and government."
-----
(now Columbus), in this county, in the
family of John Hutchins.
He enlisted in a company commanded by
Capt. Lowry, attached to the
Second New Jersey Regiment, under the
command of Col. Israel
Shreve. He was at the battles of
Trenton, Brandywine, Princetown, Mommouth,
and Yorktown, at which latter place, he told
us, he saw the last man killed.
Although his faculties are failing, yet he
relates many interesting reminiscences of
the Revolution. He was with the army
at the retreat of the Delaware, on the
memorable crossing of the 25th of December,
1776, and relates the story of the battle on
the succeeding day, with enthusiasm.
He gives the details of the march from
Trenton to Princetown, and told us, with
much humor, that they knocked the British
around lively,' at the latter place.
He was also at the |battle of Springfield,
and says that he saw the house burning in
which Mrs. Caldwell was shot,
at Connecticut Farms."
"I further learn, (says the author of the 'olored
Patriots of the Revolution'), "that
Cromwell was brought up a farmer, having
served his time with Thomas
Hutchins, Esq., his maternal uncle.
He was, for six years and nine months under
the immediate command of Washington, whom he
loved affectionately."
"His discharge," says Dr. M'Cune Smith,
"at the close of the war, was in
Washington's own handwriting, of which
he was very proud, often speaking of it.
He received annually, ninety-six dollars
pension. He lived a long and honorable
life. Had he been of a little lighter
complexion, (he was just half white), every
newspaper in the land would have been
eloquent in praise of his many virtues."
[Pg. 67] - THE WAR OF 1775 -
Cornwallis doubtless had gathered within
his lines a large number of negroes, to
whose energy and labor, the erection of his
breastworks were mainly due.
Lafayette feeling satisfied that the
position of his army before Yorktown would
confine the British, and make the escape of
Cornwallis impossible without battle,
wrote to Gen. Washington in
September:
"I hope you will find we have taken the best
precautions to lessen his Lordship's escape.
I hardly believe he will make the attempt.
If he does, he must give up ships,
artillery, baggage, part of his horses, and
all the negroes."
All
this time in some of the Northern States an
opposition as strong as at the South had
existed against organizing negro troops, and
in some instances even against employing
them as soldiers. The effort for
separate organizations had been going on,
but with only the little success that has
been already noticed. In a
biographical sketch of Col. David
Humphreys, in the "National Portrait
Gallery of Distinguished Americans," is the
following:
"In November, 1782,
he was, by resolution of Congress,
commissioned as a Lieutenant-Colonel, with
order that his commission should bear date
from the 23rd of June, 1780, when he
received his appointment as aid-de-camp to
the Commander-in-Chief. He had, when
in active service, given the sanction of his
name and influence in the establishment of a
company of colored infantry, attached to
Meigs', afterwards Butler's,
regiment, in the Connecticut line. He
continued to be the nominal captain of that
company until the establishment of peace."
Though the Legislature of Connecticut had
taken up the subject of arming negroes
generally, as early as 1777, and a bill, as
we have seen, was presented to that
Legislature, for their enrollment, the
advocates of the measure, in every attempt
to pass it, had been beaten.
Nevertheless, as appears by the record given
above, Col. Humphrey took
charge and organized a company, with which
he served until the close of the war.
But this company of fifty odd men were not
all that did service in the army from
Connecticut, for in many of her white
regiments, negroes, bond and free, stood in
the ranks with the whites. And,
notwithstanding the unsuccessful attempts
[Pg. 68]
of Col. Laurens and the
advocates of negro soldiery at the South,
the negro was an attache of the Southern
army, and rendered efficient aid during the
struggle, in building breastworks, driving
teams and piloting the army through dense
woods, swamps, and across rivers. Not
a few were spies and drummers. To
select or point out a particular battle or
seige, in which they rendered active service
to the British, would not be a difficult
task, though the information at hand is too
limited for a detailed account of the part
which they bore in these struggles.
The true patriots of the Revolution were not
slow in according to their black compatriots
that meed of praise which was their due. In
almost every locality, either North or
South, after the war, there lived one or two
privileged negroes, who, on great occasions,
days of muster, 4th of July, Washington's
birthday, and the like, were treated with
more than ordinary courtesy by the other
people. That a great and dastardly
wrong was committed upon many, in like
manner in which Simon Lee* was
treated, is true. Many negroes at the
South, who fought for American independence
were re-enslaved, and this is so far beyond
a doubt that no one denies it. The
re-enslaving of these soldiers, not by those
who took part in the conflict, but the
stay-at-home's, was so flagrant an
outrage that the Legislature of Virginia, in
1783, in order to give freedom to those who
had been re-enslaved, and to rebuke the
injustice of the treatment, passed the
following act:
An Act directing
the Emancipation of certain Slaves who had
served as as Soldiers in this State, and for
the Emancipation of the Slave, Aberdeen.
"I. Whereas, it hath been represented to the present
General Assembly, that, during the course of
the war, many persons in this State had
caused their slaves to enlist in certain
regiments or corps, raised within the same,
having tendered such slaves to the officers
appointed to recruit forces within the
State, as substitutes for free persons whose
lot or duty it was to serve in such
regiments or corps, at the same time rep-
-----
* Simon Lee,
the grandfather of William Wells Brown,
on his mother's side, was a slave in
Virginia, and served in the war of the
Revolution. Although honorably
discharged, with the other Virginia troops,
at the close of the war, he was sent back to
his master, where he spent the remainder of
his life toiling on a tobacco plantation. -
Patriotism of Colored Americans.
[Pg. 69] - THE WAR OF 1775 -
resenting to such recruiting officers
that the slaves, so enlisted by their
direction and concurrence, were freemen; and
it appearing further to this Assembly, that
on the expiration of the term of enlistment
of such slaves, that the former owners have
attempted again to force them to return to a
state of servitude, contrary to the
principles of justice, and to their own
solemn promise;
"II. And whereas it appears just and reasonable that
all persons enlisted as aforesaid, who have
faithfully served agreeable to the terms of
their enlistment, and have hereby of course
contributed towards the establishment of
American liberty and independence, should
enjoy the blessings of freedom as a reward
for their toils and labors.
"Be it therefore enacted, That each and every
slave, who, by the appointment and direction
of his owner, hath enlisted in any regiment
or corps raised within this State, either on
Continental or State establishment, and hath
been received as a substitute for any free
person whose duty or lot it was to serve in
such regiment or corps, and hath
served faithfully during the term of such
enlistment, or hath been discharged from
such service by some officer duly authorized
to grant such discharge, shall, from and
after the passing of this act, be fully and
completely emancipated, and shall be held
and deemed free, in as full and ample a
manner as if each and every one of them were
specially named in this act; and the
Attorney-general for the Commonwealth is
hereby required to bring an action, in
forma pauperis, in behalf of any of the
persons above described who shall, after the
passage of this act, be detained in
servitude by any person whatsoever; and if,
upon such prosecution, it shall appear that
the pauper is entitled to his freedom in
consequence of this act, a jury shall be
empaneled to assess the damages for his
detention.
"III. And whereas it has been represented to this
General Assembly, that Aberdeen, a negro man
slave, hath labored a number of years in the
public service at the lead mines, and for
his meritorious services is entitled to
freedom;
"Be it therefore
enacted, That the said slave Aberdeen,
shall be, and he is hereby, emancipated and
declared free in as full and ample a manner
as if he had been born free."
In
1786 an act was passed to emancipate a negro
slave who had acted as a spy for Lafayette.
This practice was not perhaps wholly
confined to the South. Although
Massachusetts abolished slavery in 1783, her
territory was, it seems, still subject to
slave hunts, and her negro soldiers to the
insult of an attempt to re-enslave them.
But Gen. Washington, though
himself a slave-holder, regarded the rights
of those who fought for liberty and national
independence, with too much sacredness and
the
[Pg. 70]
honor of the country with too much esteem,
to permit them to be set aside, merely to
accommodate those who had rendered the
nation's cause no help or assistance. Gen.
Putnam received the following letter,
which needs no explanation: "HEADQUARTERS,
Feb. 2, 1783.
"SIR: - Mr. Hobby having claimed as his property
a negro man now serving in the Massachusetts
Regiment, you will please to order a court
of inquiry, consisting of five as
respectable officers as can be found in your
brigade, to examine the validity of the
claim and the manner in which the person in
question came into service. Having
inquired into the matter, with all the
attending circumstances, they will report to
you their opinion thereon; which you will
report to me as soon as conveniently may be.
"I am, Sir, with great respect, your most obedient
servant,
"GEORGE WASHINGTON.
"P. S. - All concerned should be notified to
attend.
"Brig.-Gen. Putnam."
Not only did some of the negro soldiers who
fought in the American Army receive unjust
treatment at the close of the war, but those
who served under the Royal standard, also
shared a fate quite different from what they
supposed it would be when the proclamations
of Lord Dunmore, Clinton and
Cornwallis, were inviting them to cast
their lot with the British.
The high character of Thomas Jefferson induces
me to reproduce his letter to Dr. Gordon,
or rather that portion of it which refers to
the treatment of the negroes who went with
the Britisharmy. Mr. Jefferson
says:
[Pg. 71] - THE WAR OF 1775 -
question of the American patriots was the
theme. And I find no better eulogy to
pronounce upon them than that Hon.
Charles Pinckney, of South
Carolina, delivered in the United States
House of Representatives in 1820, and that
of Hon Wm. Eustis, of
Massachusetts, during the same debate.
Mr. Pinckney said:
"It is a remarkable
fact, that notwithstanding, in t_e course of
the Revolution, the Southern States were
continually overrun by the British, and that
every negro in them had an opportunity of
leaving their owners, few did; proving
thereby not only a most remarkable
attachment to their owners, but the mildness
of the treatment, from whence their
affection sprang. They then were, as
they still are, as valuable a part of our
population to the union as any other equal
number of inhabitants. They were in
numerous instances the pioneers, and in all
the laborers, of your armies. To their
hands were owing the erection of the
greatest part of the fortifications raised
for the protection of our country; some of
which, particularly Fort Moultrie, gave, at
the early period of the inexperience and
untried valor of our citizens, immortality
to American arms; and, in the Northern
States, numerous bodies of them were
enrolled into, and fought, by the side of
the whites, the battles of the Revolution."
- Annals of Congress.
And
said Mr. Eustis:
"At the
commmencement of the Revolutionary
war, there were found in the middle and
northern States, may blacks and other people
of color, capable of bearing arms; a part of
them free, the greater part slaves.
The freemen entered our ranks with the
whites. The time of those who were
slaves was purchased by the States; and they
were induced to enter the service in
consequences of a law by which, on condition
of their serving in the ranks during the
war, they were made freemen.
"The war over, and peace restored, these men returned
to their respective States; and who could
have said to them, on their return to civil
life, after having shed their blood in
common with the whites in the defence of the
liberties of their country, 'You are not to
participate in the liberty for which you
have been fighting?' Certainly no
white man in Massachusetts."
Such
is the historic story of the negro in the
American Revolution, and it is a sad one as
regards any benefit to his own condition by
his connection with either side. But
it is one of the most memorable of all
history on exhibition of the fidelity of a
race to the cause of the freedom of all men.
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