(U.S. Department of Defense, Washington DC, 1990)
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[The following excerpt is the first section, without the illustrations.]
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The American Revolution (1775-1783)
Figures show that 500,000 blacks were counted among the 2,500,000 colonists by the time of the beginning of the American Revolution. As insignificant as their roles might have seemed during the French and Indian War and the many encounters with the Indians, blacks had proven themselves to be capable fighters. This had little or no value since they were not wanted in the Continental Army. Even their performance at Lexington and Concord at the outset of that war where they fought with the "minute men" had done nothing to enhance their quest to become involved in the young Revolutionary War. Thus, they were denied an opportunity to become a part of the newly formed "regular Army." It would appear that since the blacks realized that this war was for concepts of freedom, liberty and equality, nothing was going to diminish their fervor to join the ranks of those whites who were prone to pursue the causes espoused in that war. A review of the black Americans' action during that war shows without a doubt that they wanted to play a role. The black American's role in the Revolutionary War actually started five years before the war began. On March 5, 1770, a crowd of angry Boston citizens confronted a group of British soldiers, protesting the manner of taxation and other actions which the British had put into practice. As the apparently leaderless crowd vented its rage against the British soldiers who were charged with seeing to it that the laws of England were obeyed by the colonists, an escaped slave by the name of Crispus took control of the protest action and confronted the British soldiers directly. Private Hugh Montgomery of the British Regulars raised his weapon and fired upon the angry crowd. The black slave Crispus was struck by the first volley and he fell dead at the feet of the British soldiers. Crispus Attucks thus became the first American to die in what became the cause of the American Revolution. Four whites were also killed in the encounter. These five men were buried in an integrated grave in the Boston Commons. The Crispus Attucks Statue and Monument are visited by thousands of people annually as a Boston attraction. When the war began on April 18, 1775, blacks did participate in the first skirmish and in other battles throughout the war. The fear that armed blacks might be tempted to either revolt against their masters or that they might join the ranks of the British was a factor of great concern among the colonists. The expected revolt did not occur, but many blacks did join the British ranks. This was especially true when the British promised them their freedom if they joined them. On September 24, 1775, John Adams wrote in his diary: "They say if one thousand regular (British) troops should land in Georgia and their commander provided them with arms and clothes enough, and would proclaim freedom for all Negroes who would join his camp, 20,000 Negroes would join it from the two provinces (Georgia and South Carolina) in a fortnight... so that all the slaves of the Tories would be lost as well as those of the Whigs." (Charles Francis Adams, THE WORKS OF JOHN ADAMS, Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1856, Vol II, page 428). Many colonists had feelings such as those expressed by Adams, but that did not change their attitudes about blacks being armed and fighting in the American Revolution. In May of 1775, barely one month after blacks had fought at Lexington and Concord, the Committee for Safety of the Massachusetts Legislature presented a legislative resolution that read: "Resolved, that it is the opinion of this Committee, 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 only such as are freemen, will be inconsistent with the principles that are to be supported, and reflect dishonor on the colony, and that no slaves be admitted into this army, upon any consideration whatever." That position, however, was not shared by the British, who were suffering from severe manpower shortages. On November 7, 1775, John Murray, the Earl of Dunmore, issued a proclamation which stated: "...and I do hereby further declare all intented (sic) servants, Negroes and others, (appertaining to Rebels) free, and that are able and willing to bear arms, they joining His Majesty's Troops, as soon as may be, for the more speedily reducing of the colony to a proper sence (sic) of their duty, to His Majesty's crown and dignity." One month later, almost three hundred blacks, with "Liberty to Slaves" inscribed on their uniforms, were members of Lord Dunmore's "Ethiopian Regiment." In that same month, George Washington authorized recruiting officers to sign up free Negroes "desirous of enlisting." Slave participation, however, was prohibited at this time, and it was reinforced by Washington's General Orders of February 21, 1776. The British promise to give freedom to any blacks who joined them began to pay dividends. The colonists responded by allowing black slaves to serve as "substitute soldiers" for their masters. In another response the colonists issued a bold threat to those blacks who chose to join the British. The threat stated: "Should there be any among the Negroes weak enough to believe that Lord Dunmore intends to do them a kindness and wicked enough to provoke the fury of the Americans against their defenseless fathers and mothers, their wives, their women and their children, let them only consider the difficulty of effecting their escape and what they must expect to suffer if they fall into the hands of the Americans." (Laura Wilkins, THE NEGRO SOLDIER; A SELECTED COMPILATION, p. 45) Nevertheless, the Colonial position and the British gesture played right into the hands of the British as the number of blacks willing to take that chance continued to increase. It is estimated that some 1,000 black slaves received their freedom upon escaping and serving behind the British lines. Although it was becoming obvious that the increasing colonial need for manpower was a problem for the Continental legislature, the colonial position was not making many changes with regard to the free black, and certainly the black slave. On December 30, 1775, Washington wrote: "As the general is informed, that a number of free Negroes are desirous of enlisting." On January 16, 1776, Congress resolved that "free Negroes who have served faithfully in the Army at Cambridge may be reenlisted therein..." (John C. Fitzpatrick, WRITINGS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, Volume IV, Government Printing Office, 1944, page 194). Washington's initial feeling that only "free whites" should serve in the Continental Army was slowly undergoing some changes. This was occasioned more by circumstances and need rather than a change of heart. Alexander Hamilton had suggested that "Negroes will make very excellent soldiers with proper management." He added, "Extraordinary exigencies demand extraordinary means." (Alexander Hamilton, Ibid). In that same year (1779) six hundred slaves and free blacks from the French West Indies joined in the siege of British Forces on the French Garrison of Savannah, Georgia. Also in that same year, half of the force that drove the British from Louisiana was black. The issue of using blacks as soldiers had been resolved after Valley Forge when Washington's troop strength was dangerously low. Not only did he welcome free blacks, but slaves were also utilized without complaint during the latter stages of the war. The story of the black American's participation in the War for Independence, as some called it, shows with unmistakable clarity that blacks were in the war from the beginning through its end. For example:
Maurice Barboza, a strong advocate of recognition of black heroes in the Americal Revolution, has led a long and difficult fight to a successful determination for a monument in the nation's Capital in honor of the 5,000 black patriots who served this country in that war. Mr. Barboza has been instrumental in getting support from almost all quarters of the spectrum of American life in this endeavor. It is significant to note that The Sons of the American Revolution emerged as one of his strongest support groups. |
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