African American Patriots of the Revolutionary War

SALEM POOR

"A Brave and Gallant Soldier"
Salem Poor earned his place in history. during "the Battle of Charleston"-known today as the Battle of Bunker Hill. In this battle, African Americans suffered more than 1,000 casualties. At the Battle of Bunker Hill, Salem Poor performed so well that fourteen officers sent a petition to the Massachusetts legislature declaring that he behaved like an experienced officer, as well as an excellent soldier and added that "a reward was due to so great and distinguished a character."

In the Massachusetts State Archives is a petition to the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, stating that in the "late Battle at Charlestown. " a man from Colonel Frye's Regiment "behaved like an experienced officer" and that in this man "centers a brave and gallant soldier." This document, dated December of 1775, just six months after the Battle of Bunker Hill, is signed by fourteen officers who were present at the battle, including Colonel William Prescott. Of the 2,400 to 4,000 colonists who participated in the battle, no other man is singled out in this manner.

This hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill is Salem Poor, of Andover, Massachusetts. Although documents show that Poor, along with his regiment and two others, were sent to Bunker Hill to build a fort and other fortifications on the night of June 16, 1775, we have no details about just what Poor did to earn the praise of these officers. The petition simply states "to set forth the particulars of his conduct would be tedious." Perhaps his heroic deeds were too many to mention.

Few details of this hero's life are available to us. Born a slave in the late 1740s, Poor managed to buy his freedom in 1769 for 27 pounds, which represented a year's salary for the typical working man. He married Nancy, a free African American woman, and they had a son. Salem Poor left his wife and child behind in May 1775 and fought for the patriot cause at Bunker Hill,  Saratoga,  and Monmouth.  We can only speculate about the motives for Poor's sacrifice: was it patriotism, a search for new experience, or the prospect of a new and better life? The Battle of Bunker Hill was a daring and provocative act against established authority; all who participated could well have been hanged for treason. Shut out from many opportunities in colonial society, Salem Poor chose to fight for an independent nation. In the words of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the bravery of Poor and other African American soldiers "has a peculiar beauty and merit."

SOURCE: http://www.americanrevolution.com/AfricanAmericansInTheRevolution.htm

Freed slave's story - Revolutionary War hero Salem Poor
Salem Poor was was performing heroically for the patriots at Bunker Hill. For that he was honored in 1975 with his image on a 10-cent postage stamp. Details of Poor's life after the Revolution were unknown until genealogist David Lambert pieced them together over the past decade. "He was one of the first American heroes. I'm glad to have found the final chapter." Poor purchased his freedom in 1769 for 27 pounds, almost $5,600 in today's dollars. He is believed to have killed British Lieutenant Colonel James Abercrombie in Charlestown and fought also at Saratoga and Valley Forge.

 The protomartyr of the Revolutionary war was Crispus Attucks, a Negro, who was the leader in the Boston massacre on that memorable 5th of March, 1770. Attucks led the citizens in the charge, shouting, "The way to get rid of these idlers is to attack the main guard; strike at the root; this is the nest!" These were perhaps his last words, as his men threw a shower of clubs, stones and brickbats at the soldiers, which they returned with a galling fire. Attucks was the first to fall, being conspicuous on account of his height, which was six feet and two inches, and the still more important fact that he was in advance of his men. Two others, Samuel Gray and Jonas Caldwell, were killed, while Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr, an Irishman, were mortally wounded. Attucks and Caldwell were buried from Faneuil Hall, afterwards called the "Cradle of Liberty," the other two from their homes, but all four in one common grave, with the following epitaph on their monument.

"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."

Crispus Attucks was a man of some learning, and sometime before his tragic death indited the following letter to the Tory Governor of Massachusetts:

On March 5, 1770, Crispus Attucks and a noisy group of Boston Patriots were jeering and "pestering" a contingency of British Redcoats who were sent from England to keep the American colonists in check.

The patriots were a mixed group of disgruntled sailors, dock workers, servants, and apprentices. This group was tired of the steady appearance of the British soldiers amongst them. It is said that a group of seven British soldiers came across the Boston Commons facing the Customs House. Attucks took the lead and waved a group of colonists toward the armed soldiers. The British armed soldiers used their bayonets and pushed the congregating colonists aside and forbade them from assembling in groups.

Ideas of Liberty were being amply discussed by most colonists. A tense moment came when Attucks and four other white patriots moved closer toward the British soldiers. "Let us drive out these ribalds. They have no business here." Attucks lunged forward with his "cordwood club" and beckoned the furious crowd to move in and disarm the British soldiers. Attucks was immediately struck twice in the chest by the British and killed. These shots were then followed by a series of others. Historical records listed four others killed: Samuel Gray, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick, and Patrick Carr.

For the colonists, this was an outrage, and it became known as the BOSTON MASSACRE. Crispus Attucks' race was secondary to his exemplary heroism and outspoken call for liberty for the American colonists. Attucks' martyrdom is said to have acted as a catalyst for the American colonists' eventual war for liberty and freedom from British rule. This war became the American Revolutionary War.

Crispus Attucks and his compatriots were buried in a common grave in Boston. In 1888, the city of Boston erected a bronze and granite statue on the Boston Common to recognize Attucks as the "first to die for independence."

Crispus Attucks was one of more than 5,000 Blacks, who fought for independence during the American Revolutionary War up until it ended with British General Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.

Birth: 1723

Death:  Mar. 5, 1770, Boston

BURIED: Granary Burial Ground
Boston
Suffolk County, Massachusetts

PRINCE ESTERBROOKS

African Americans played a role on the battle field from the beginning. At the first battles of the revolution, Lexington and Concord, there were ten African Americans. Prince Esterbrooks was described as "the first to get into the fight." Esterbrooks was wounded during a battle at Lexington. The Salem Gazette or Newberry and Marblehead Advertiser for April 21, 1775 gives the name of Prince Esterbrooks "(Negro man)" as "wounded (Lexington) ."

When the British took control of New York City, where Williams lived, he moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey. His son later wrote about his father: In the Revolutionary War, my father was decidedly an advocate of American Independence, and his life was repeatedly jeopardized in its cause...He was living in the State of [New] Jersey, and Parson Chapman, a champion of American liberty of great influence throughout that part of the country, was sought after by the British troops. My father immediately mounted a horse and rode round his parishioners to notify them of his danger, and to call on them to help in removing him and his goods to a place of safety.

OLIVER CROMWELL

Private, Captain Lowery's Company, Second New Jersey Regiment Oliver Cromwell was born on May 24, 1753, at Black Horse (now Columbus, Burlington County), New Jersey. He lived with the family of John Hutchin and was raised as a farmer. Cromwell had a light complexion and it is believed that he was never a slave. During the Revolutionary War he enlisted in a company commanded by Captain Lowery of the Second New Jersey Regiment, Colonel Isreal Shreve commanding. Cromwell was present at the battle of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Monmouth and Yorktown and at the memorable crossing of the Delaware on December 25, 1776.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Oliver Cromwell was born near Burlington in 1752. Raised a farmer, he served in several companies of the Second New Jersey Regiment between 1777 and 1783. After seeing action at the battles of Trenton and Princeton in 1776 and 1777, Brandywine in 1777, Monmouth in 1778 and Yorktown in 1781, he left the military at war's end. George Washington personally signed Cromwell's discharge papers, and also designed a medal which was awarded to Cromwell.
Some years after the war, Cromwell applied for a veteran's pension. He was well-liked in Burlington, and although he was unable to read or write, local lawyers, judges and politicians came to his aid, and he was granted a pension of $96 a year. He purchased a 100-acre farm outside Burlington, and fathered 14 children, then spent his later years at his home at 114 East Union Street in Burlington. He lived to be 100 years old, outliving 8 of his children, and is buried in the cemetary of the Broad Street Methodist Church. His descendants live in the city to this day.

JORDAN B. NOBLE

Drummer Boy, Seventh Regiment and Principal Musician, First Regiment, Louisiana Volunteers

Jordan B. Noble was born around 1800, in Georgia. Later he moved to Louisiana and, at the age of 13, was serving with the Seventh Regiment of General Andrew Jackson's force during the War of 1812. He beat drums at many famous battles and other events, and on January 8, 1815, played the drums at Reveille and before an important engagement.

It has also been stated that he served in the Seminole War in Florida in 1836. Noble served as a principal musician during the Mexican War (one of the few blacks known to have served in this war) with the First Regiment, Louisiana Volunteers, Colonel Walton commanding.

His name appears in the military service record as follows: "Noble, J.B. Company Field and Staff, First Louisiana Military Volunteers (Mexican, the Delaware on the evening before the battle of Trenton, December 25, 1779, a War). Principal Musician. Enrolled May 9, 1846 at New Orleans, Louisiana, for six months. On roll dated August 1846. Book Mark 970 B 1884, Mexican War."

a list of soldiers identified as "Negro," "Black," or "Mulatto," compiled from recruiting documents in the collection of the Pilgrim Society, by Jeremy D. Bangs, Visiting Curator of Manuscripts, Pilgrim Hall Museum. ( c The Pilgrim Society, 1996)

Silas Accro, age 29, from Plymouth, Col. Theo. Cotton’s regiment
Pero Blakely, age 28, from Bridgewater, Maj. Cary’s regiment
William Blye, age 43, from Rochester, N. Hammond’s company, Col. Sprout’s regiment
Peter Booth, age 17, from Marshfield, Lt. Col. Hall’s regiment
James Bowes, age 17, from Plymouth, Col. Theo. Cotton’s regiment
Calla Brown, age 44, from Scituate, Lt. Col. Hall’s regiment
Primuss Cabuss, age 16, from Bridgewater, Maj. Cary’s regiment (probably identical with Prince Cobus)
Prince Cobus, age 16, from Bridgewater, Maj. Cary’s regiment
Henry Cook, age 38, from Bridgewater, Maj. Cary’s regiment
Solomon Dick, age 18, from Middleborough, Lt. Col. White’s regiment
Joseph Fowler, age 26, from Pembroke, Lt. Col. Hall’s regiment
Asher Freeman, age 23, from Scituate, Lt. Col. Hall’s regiment
Benjamin Gould, age 16, from Wareham, Gibbs’ company, Lt. Col. White’s regiment
Camaramsawde Gould, age 17, from Wareham, Gibbs’ company, Lt. Col. White’s regiment
Jack Hammond, age 26, from Bridgewater, Maj. Cary’s regiment
Peter Haskell, age 33, from Rochester, Briggs’ company, Lt. Col. White’s regiment
Bristol Howard, age 43, from Bridgewater, Maj. Cary’s regiment
Cato Howe, age 25, from Plymouth, Col. Theo. Cotton’s regiment
Jeremiah Jones, age 26, from Bridgewater, J. Allen’s company, Maj. Cary’s regiment
Winsor Little, age 17, from Scituate, Lt. Col. Hall’s regiment
Quash Mathrok, age 24, from Bridgewater, Daniel Packard’s company, Maj. Cary’s regiment
John McCarter, age 22, from Marshfield, Lt. Col. Hall’s regiment
Cuff Mitchell, age 33, from Bridgewater, Washburn’s company, Maj. Cary’s regiment
Prince Newport, age 30, from Plimpton, N. Hammond’s company, Col. Sprout’s regiment
Robert Peagin, age 36, from Bridgewater, Kingman’s company, Maj. Cary’s regiment
William Pittman, age 28, from Bridgewater, Maj. Cary’s regiment
Andrew Pompy, age 33, from Bridgewater, Maj. Cary’s regiment
Quamany Quash, age 17, from Plymouth, Col. Theo. Cotton’s regiment
Jubiter Richards, age 30, from Bridgewater, Kingman’s company, Col. Mitchell’s regiment
Toney Rose, age 18, from Middleborough, Churchill’s company, Lt. Col. White’s regiment
Nehamiah Samson, age 16, from Scituate, Lt. Col. Hall’s regiment
Ceasor Smith, age 24, from Plimpton, Col. Cotton’s regiment
Cesar Steward, age 29, from Pembroke, Lt. Col. Hall’s regiment
Zeba Sutton, age 17 from Scituate, Lt. Col. Hall’s regiment
Toby Tolbert, age 45, from Bridgewater, Nathaniel Packard’s company, Maj. Cary’s regiment
Jack Tomson, age 40, from Kingston, Capt. Rider’s company, Col. Theo. Cotton’s regiment
John Troy, age 21, from Bridgewater, Allden’s company, Maj. Cary’s regiment
Plato Turner, age 28, from Plymouth, Capt. Rider’s company, Col. Theo. Cotton’s regiment
Salmon Washburn, age 23, from Bridgewater, Allen’s company, Maj. Cary’s regiment
John Williams, age 26, from Kingston, Lt. Simmons’ company, Col. Theo. Cotton’s regiment
Uriah Williams, age 29, from Middleborough, Lt. Col. White’s regiment

SOURCE: http://www.pilgrimhall.org/natamdocs.htm#revolutionary%20war

Other historical records recorded other black freedom fighters:
Lemuel Haynes, Primas Black, and Epheram Black who fought as Minutemen at Lexington and Concord, April, 1775.
Peter Salem, Salem Poor, and Jude Hall were soldiers at Bunker Hill, June, 1775.
Prince Whipple and Oliver Cromwell served with General George Washington crossing the Delaware, just before the Battle of Trenton, December 25, 1779.

Other U. S. units included the names:
Charles Davis * Joshua Dunbar * Samuel Dunbar * Prince Easterbrooks * James Forten * Doss Freeman * Tobias Gilmore * Peter Galloway * Primas Hall * Job Hathaway * Ebenezer Hill * Thomas Hollen * Peter Jennings * Abrose Lewis * Titus Minor * Jerimiah Moho * Pomp Peters * Cato Prince * Esek Roberts * Caesar Sankee * Prince Vaughn * Sipeo Watson * Cuff Whitemore * Jesse Wood

African Americans - free, slave, and ex-slave - fought side by side with white colonists seeking independence from British domination. GEORGE WASHINGTON, as Commander of the Continental Army, forbade the enlistment of Blacks - free, slave, or ex-slave - during the early stages of the war. He later learned that the Royal Governor of Virginia, John Murray, Earl of Dunmore, was enlisting slaves and indentured servants into the British army with the promise of "freedom to all slaves who would join the King's army." Dunmore's tactic of lifting the ban on Blacks enlisting in the British army led George Washington to change his mind, and, therefore, Blacks later joined the CONTINENTAL ARMED FORCES.

There were African Americans who served as soldiers and marines. They were on privateers and warships. Today, military records have revealed the names of many early participants who struggled for the establishment of a free America. They were indeed a part of the "SPIRIT OF '76."

Additional names included:
William Appleby * William Balontino * Steven Bond * Charles Bowles * Scipio Brown * George Buley * Seymore Burr * Isaac Carr * Noel Carriere * Samuel Charlton * Caesar Clark * George Cooper * Richard Cozzens * Paul Cuffee * Austin Dabney * John Featherston * Cate Fisk * Jude Hall * Edward Hector * Francis Herd * Agrippa Hull * Jabez Jolly * Jeremy Jonah * Barzillai Lew * Luke Nickelson * Isaac Perkins * Christopher Poynos * Arly Randale * Joseph Ranger * Abram Read * Pomp Reeves * James Robinson * Joel Taburn * John Wheeler * Archelaus White * Cato Wood

Phillis Wheatley was brought to America in 1761 and purchased as a house slave at the age of 8 years by John Wheatley, a wealthy Boston merchant. The beneficence of the Wheatley family helped Phillis Wheatley to cultivate her talents for writing classical poetry. Her poems covered topics on education, virtue, and Christianity. By 1775, she had completed and published a full book of poetry. Some early colonists used Miss Wheatley's talent as an example of what could be achieved by a slave, if given the chance to learn. Phillis Wheatley was granted her freedom in 1773 but lived only to the age of 31 years. Her book of poetry is considered to be one of the first books published by a Black in America.

Author. Phillis Wheatley was the first African-American to publish a book. She was born in Senegambia (now Senegal) in west Africa. As a child Phillis was taken into captivity and shipped to Boston where she was sold into slavery at the age of eight to John and Susanna Wheatley who named her Phillis after the ship she sailed on. After begining to work for the Wheatleys as Susanna's personal maid, Phillis started to show signs of being intellectually gifted. The Wheatley's daughter, Mary, began to instruct her in reading the Bible. After just sixteen months in the New World she could read English and later mastered Latin. Phillis first published poem appeared in a Rhode Island newspaper in 1767. After failed attempts to find subcribers for her proposed volume of her poems, a wealthy philantropist from England agreed to back the project. Phillis's book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773) made her a celebrity throughout England and the colonies. Wheatley eventually attained her independence and continued to write, publishing another volume of poetry in 1784, but struggled to support her three children, and died destitute at 31. Beyond being merely the first African-American to publish, she produced a quality of style and range of themes that inspired generations of black writers after her. (bio by: Curtis Jackson)

Dec. 5, 1784

BURIED: Copp's Hill Burying Ground
Boston
Suffolk County
Massachusetts

Documents like this one for Juba Freeman, as well as Revolutionary War muster rolls, pay and service records, and pension applications and awards demonstrate the active participation of African Americans in the American independence movement. Most African American servicemen in the Continental Army did not serve in segregated units. They usually fought alongside the whites in their communities. African names, pension record information and testimonies in other documents sometimes indicate the race of the soldiers.

Photo: Master/Slave Enlistment Agreement from the Revolutionary War that allows
Connecticut slave "Juba Negro" to join the Continental Army at half pay
- Juba would  gain his freedom as well, as during his service,
he changed his name to "Juba Freeman." (June 2, 1777)

Eight slaves are known to have been granted freedom by the legislature for service in the Revolutionary War.

Among them was James Armistead, who had slipped out of Yorktown before the siege began and returned to Lafayette's service. When Cornwallis paid a courtesy call on the marquis, he was surprised to encounter a black man there he considered to be in his pay.

In October 1784, Lafayette penned a certificate declaring that James Armistead had done "Essential Service" in collecting "Intelligence from the Ennemy's Camp" and was therefore "Entitled to Every Reward His Situation Can Admit of." The document in hand, Armistead hurried to the legislature, where his manumission request came up in December. But more than two years would pass until his emancipation on January 9, 1787.

"At the peril of his life" he had "found means to frequent the British camp" and collect information essential to the American cause. Now he was free, while his master was compensated at the going auction-block figure.

In 1816, he bought 40 acres of land in New Kent County, where he raised his family. In 1819, Virginia granted him $60 relief money and put him on the regular pension roll at $40 a year. In 1824, the marquis and James Lafayette - as he now called himself - met one last time in Richmond, during Lafayette's triumphant tour of the United States.

Haitians fought alongside colonial soldiers in American Revolution

The Haitian American Historical Society is planning a monument in Savannah, Ga., to honor the Haitians who fought alongside colonial soldiers in the siege of Savannah during the War of American Independence. 500 free black men from the French colony, that became Haiti, volunteered with American colonists and French soldiers in October 1779 in a failed attempt to drive the British from Savannah. Their little-known part to America's struggle for independence is a point of national pride in Haiti. After returning home, Haitian veterans of the Revolutionary War led their own rebellion and in 1804 won Haiti's independence from France.

Recognize African Americans Who Fought In Revolutionary War

Slave Jack Arabus thought he was getting a good deal when he signed up to fight with the American army in the Revolutionary War. He agreed to go in place of his master's son in return for being freed after the war.

Like many agreements this one went sour. Arabus won his freedom but had to do a lot more than fight as a soldier to get it. When he came back from the war, his master reneged on the deal and refused to let him go. Arabus ran away. When he was caught, his master sued to get him back. A judge ruled that Arabus had won his freedom when he left to fight in the war.

A slave helped win the war - spy who aided Lafayette Toward the end of the Revolutionary War, slaves were joining the British Army by the thousands, when promised freedom for fighting for the English king.

James, a slave, dreamed of freedom. But he volunteered to serve the only country he had ever known. In mid-1781, James got permission to serve with the Marquis de Lafayette, a French lieutenant-general. Patriot-turned-traitor Benedict Arnold was commander of the British Army in Virginia. Lafayette, with a small force, was determined to stop Arnold, and desperate for information about the British army of Lord Charles Cornwallis. Impressed by James' quickness to learn and memory, Lafayette asked him to be a spy.

"I want to tell you about a real American hero," historian Bruce Harris told.

Peter Salem was a celebrated marksman and leader within his Colonial troop even though he was black. However, the soldier and other black and American Indian Minutemen were rebuffed by General George Washington when he arrived in July 1775 to take command of a "salt and pepper" army. While Washington - who owned 326 slaves - initially dismissed black Colonial soldiers, Salem was later allowed back in the army, where he was lauded by his compatriots for his sharpshooting skills - and given a wool Bounty Coat as an award of distinction.

Black soldier in the "Cavalry" Regiment of Light Dragoons

On June 11, 1823, John Redman applied for a pension, claiming to be a veteran of the Revolutionary War. He testified that he had been in the First Virginia Regiment of Light Dragoons. The Light Dragoons fought mainly on horseback, using sabers, pistols, and light carbines. A few weeks later, he was granted his pension. But his appeal was anything but ordinary: He was the rarest of breeds: a black patriot — both a free Negro in a nation of slaves and a black man who had fought in a white man’s war. Historians estimate that only 5,000 black men served in the Continental Army, whereas tens of thousands fled slavery to join the British.

General George Washington. The Marquis de Lafayette. Hannah Till.

All 3 figures contributed to the American colonies' victory over Britain. But the story of Till, a slave who cooked for Washington and his troops during the grueling winter at Valley Forge, has gone untold, until now.

Every Saturday through Aug. 19, re-enactors will bring the stories of Till and other black colonials to life at the Valley Forge - the site of the Colonials' 1777-78 winter encampment. Severe cold and poor resources led to the death of nearly one-fifth of the men. 5,000 soldiers of African descent served in Washington's army, making it the most integrated US military until Truman desegregated the services after WWII.

Cryus Bustill was born in Burlington in 1732, the son of an English attorney and an African slave. After learning the baker's trade from Thomas Prior, a local baker and member of the Friends Meeting, Bustill gained his freedom at age 36. During the Revolutionary War, he was commended for supplying American troops with baked goods at the Burlington docks, and reportedly given a silver piece by General Washington.

Bustill and his wife, the daughter of an Englishman and a Delaware Indian, later moved to Philadelphia where they and their eight children attended the Arch Street Friends Meeting. Bustill was an early member of Philadelphia's Free African Society, started in 1787. After retiring from baking, he started a school in Philadelphia. He died in 1806. His great-great-grandson, Paul Robeson, was valedictorian of his class at Rutgers University.

There is positive proof that at least two Negroes of Virginia, Israel Titus and Samuel Jenkins, fought under Braddock and Washington in the French and Indian war. The first died at Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1855, about one hundred and ten years of age. A sketch of his life was published in the Springfield Republican of about that date. Samuel Jenkins is thought to have been about one hundred and fifteen years old when he died at Lancaster, Ohio, in 1849. The Lancaster Gazette of that period gave a brief sketch of his life, remarkable in many respects.

There were doubtless others in this war who lived and died unknown to fame, their names and records having been lost.

The protomartyr of the Revolutionary war was Crispus Attucks, a Negro, who was the leader in the Boston massacre on that memorable 5th of March, 1770. Attucks led the citizens in the charge, shouting, "The way to get rid of these idlers is to attack the main guard; strike at the root; this is the nest!" These were perhaps his last words, as his men threw a shower of clubs, stones and brickbats at the soldiers, which they returned with a galling fire. Attucks was the first to fall, being conspicuous on account of his height, which was six feet and two inches, and the still more important fact that he was in advance of his men. Two others, Samuel Gray and Jonas Caldwell, were killed, while Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr, an Irishman, were mortally wounded. Attucks and Caldwell were buried from Faneuil Hall, afterwards called the "Cradle of Liberty," the other two from their homes, but all four in one common grave, with the following epitaph on their monument.

"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."

Crispus Attucks was a man of some learning, and sometime before his tragic death indited the following letter to the Tory Governor of Massachusetts:

Every schoolboy has read of Major Pitcairn, who commanded the British regulars in the fight at Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775, shouting to the militia: "Disperse, you rebels; lay down your arms and disperse!" And when they stood their ground, how he ordered his men to fire, which command they obeyed, killing seven of the patriots, the first martyrs of the Revolution. But it is not as well known that one of those who fell that day was a Negro; and that his death and that of his fellow martyrs was avenged by another Negro, the brave Peter Salem, who killed Major Pitcairn while leading his men in the charge at the battle of Bunker Hill. This Peter Salem was born and lived at Farmington, Massachusetts, and was probably a slave until the beginning of the Revolution. He served faithfully throughout the entire war.

There were quite a number of the sons of Africa fighting side by side with their countrymen of the white race at Bunker Hill, several of whom were conspicuous for their bravery, among them Salem Poor, Titus Coburn, Alexander Ames, Barzilai Lew, and Cato Howe each of whom received a pension. This fact is established by the painting of Colonel Trumbull, who witnessed this battle from Roxbury and reproduced it upon canvas in 1786. He reproduced several Negroes in the front ranks fighting valiantly, with visible results. Indeed, as Henry Wilson stated, "it is hardly too much to say that some of the most heroic deeds of the war of Independence were performed by black men."

The following incident is a case in point. When Major General Prescott commanded the British troops at Newport, Colonel Barton, with a black soldier named Prince, determined to capture him; and considering the fact that he was surrounded by his guard, with a large number of British soldiers quartered near, together with a fleet of ships, it was a remarkably successful stratagem. In company with "Black Prince," several other Negroes, and a detachment of the militia, Colonel Barton one dark night started in boats from a house about five miles above Newport. Muffling the oars, and avoiding the ships, they came on as noiselessly as possible, landing a short distance from the hotel, where he knew General Prescott had established his headquarters. It was arranged that Colonel Barton should take the lead, followed by Prince a short distance behind, while some of the other men brought up the rear.

When the Colonel drew near the hotel, the sentinel presented his gun and challenged him, but he continued to advance, throwing the sentinel off his guard by talking about rebel prisoners, and denouncing the rebels in general. Again the sentinel demanded the password; he replied that he did not have the password, but was loyal to his country. By this time he was near the sentinel, when, suddenly seizing his gun, he struck it to one side and wrenched it from his hand. Prince now seized the soldier in his vice-like grip, and having been bound and gagged he was handed over to the other men who had come up.

The Colonel and Prince now drew their weapons and rushed into the hotel office, where they met the landlord and demanded that he should show them General Prescott's room; he at first refused, but being threatened with instant death, he pointed to the room above. The Colonel and Prince now hurried up to this room, and finding it locked, the brave Negro burst in the door with his head, and seized General Prescott in bed. Seeing that resistance was useless and knowing that the slightest outcry meant death, he surrendered to his captors, was soon in the boat and conveyed within the American lines. He was afterwards exchanged for General Lee, an American officer of equal rank.

George W. Williams, the leading colored historian, estimates from official sources that there were not less than three thousand colored soldiers in the revolution, including Negro soldiers from every Northern colony, scattered throughout the white regiments; while Rhode Island raised a colored regiment commanded by Colonel Christopher Green, and Connecticut raised a black battalion of soldiers commanded in part by Colonel David Humphrey. But, as usual, Little Rhode Island was the most consistent of the thirteen colonies; she first made freemen of her black sons before permitting them to fight for freedom, and indeed it is not surprising that this regiment proved to have as gallant soldiers as any in the Revolution. The Negro troops turned the tide in the battle of Rhode Island, which was pronounced by Lafayelle "the best fought battle of the war."

Arnold, in his history of the above named state, thus referred to it: "It was in repelling these furious onsets that the newly raised black regiment under Colonel Green distinguished itself by deeds of valor. Posted behind a thicket in the valley, they three times drove back the Hessians who charged repeatedly down the hill to dislodge them."

One admirable trait that characterized this black regiment was devotion to their officers. This was nobly demonstrated in the attack made upon the American lines near Croton River, on the thirteenth of May, 1781. Colonel Green, their gallant commander, was cut down and mortally wounded; but the enemy's saber only reached him through the bodies of his faithful guard of blacks, who hovered over him to defend him and fought until every one of them was killed. Leonidas and the Spartans at Thermopylae did no more. Truly did Tristam Burgess say in Congress in 1828, "No braver men met the enemy in battle."

We are indebted to William C. Nell's work on Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, for valuable information, including the following address, which was delivered in 1842, before the Congregational and Presbyterian Anti-Slavery Society, at Francestown, New Hampshire, by Dr. Harris, a Revolutionary veteran. It is of great interest, because it is an eye-witness describing what he had actually seen. Said he, after giving some of his own exploits: "There was a black regiment, yes, a regiment of Negroes, fighting for our liberty and independence -- not a white man among them but the officers -- stationed at what was called a flanking position, that is, upon a place which the enemy must pass in order to come round in our rear, to drive us from the fort. This pass was everything, both to the enemy and us. Had the colored soldiers given way before the enemy or been unfaithful, all would have been lost.

"Three times in succession were they attacked, with most desperate valor and fury, by well disciplined and veteran troops, and three times did they successfully repel the assault, and thus preserved our army from capture. They fought through the war. They were brave, hardy troops. They helped to gain our liberty and independence.

Now, the war is over, our freedom is gained -- what is to be done with these colored soldiers, who have shed their best blood in its defense? Must they be sent off out of the country, because they are black? Or must they be sent back into slavery, now they have risked their lives and shed their blood to secure the freedom of their masters? I ask, what became of these noble colored soldiers? Many of them, I fear, were taken back to the South, and doomed to the fetter and the chain.

And why is it that the colored inhabitants of our nation, born in this country, and entitled to all the rights of freedom, are held in slavery? Why, but because they are black! I have often thought that, should God see fit, by a miracle, to change their color, straighten their hair, and give their features and complexion the appearance of the whites, slavery would not continue a year. No, you would then go and abolish it with the sword, if it were not speedily done without. But is it a suitable cause for making men slaves because God has given them such color, such hair and such features as he saw fit?"

Simon Lee, the grandfather of William Wells Brown, on his mother's side, was a slave in Virginia, and served in 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 in toiling on a tobacco plantation. Such is the injustice toward the colored American, that, after serving in his country's struggle for freedom he is doomed to fill the grave of a slave!

La Fayette, in his letter to Clarkson, said: "I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of America, if I could have conceived that thereby I was founding a land of slavery."

The following incident from Theodore Parker shows that other black veterans of the Revolution were remanded to slavery, and doubtless there were many such cases. A sea-captain of Massachusetts who commanded a small brig, which plied between Carolina and the Gulf States, said to Mr. Parker, "One day at Charleston a man came and brought to me an old Negro slave. He was very old and had fought in the Revolution, and had been much distinguished for bravery and other soldierly qualities. If he had not been a Negro, he would have become a captain at least, perhaps a colonel. But in his old age, his master found no use for him, and said he could not afford to keep him. He asked me to take the Revolutionary soldier and carry him South and sell him. I carried him to Mobile and tried to get as good and kind a master for him as I could, for I didn't like to sell a man who had fought for his country.

"I sold the old Revolutionary veteran for a hundred dollars to a citizen of Mobile, who raised poultry, and he set him to tend a hen coop." Mr. Parker remarked that he supposed the South Carolina master, "a true gentleman," drew the pension till the soldier died. Then turning to the sea captain, whom he knew to be an anti-slavery man, he asked: "How could you do such a thing?" "If I had not done it," he replied, "I never could have received another bale of cotton, nor hogs-head of sugar, nor anything to carry from or to any Southern port."

Theodore Parker also stated that in his day workmen, while excavating for the foundations of the large dry goods stores of New York city, unearthed a large number of human skeletons. On investigation they proved to be the bones of colored American soldiers, who fell in the battle of Long Island in 1776. They were carted off to fill up a chasm, and thrown on the beach to make the foundations of warehouses, like any other rubbish of the city. Had they been white men they would have been buried anew, but as they were only Negroes who had died for their own and their masters' country, this was their fate.

Hon. Calvin Goddard, of Connecticut, states that he was instrumental in securing, under Act of 1818, the pensions of nineteen colored soldiers. "I cannot," he says, "refrain from mentioning one black man, Primus Babcock, who proudly presented to me an honorable discharge from service during the war, dated at the close of it, wholly in the handwriting of George Washington. Nor can Iforget the expression of his feelings when informed, after his discharge had been sent to the War Department, that it could not be returned. At his request it was written for, as he seemed inclined to spurn the pension and reclaim the discharge."

There is a pathetic anecdote told of Baron Steuben, at the time the American army disbanded. "A black soldier with his wounds unhealed, utterly destitute, stood on the wharf just as a vessel bound for his distant home was getting under way. The poor fellow gazed at the vessel with tears in his eyes, and gave himself up to utter despair. The warm-hearted foreigner noticed his emotions, and inquiring into the cause of it, took his last dollar from his purse and gave it to him, while tears of sympathy trickled down his cheeks. Overwhelmed with gratitude, the poor wounded soldier hailed the ship and was received on board. As it moved out of the wharf he cried back to his noble friend on shore, `God Almighty bless you, Master Baron.'"

We have already stated that Connecticut raised a battalion of colored soldiers, who were among the bravest in the American army. Some of them even immortalized their names as heroes "who were not born to die," as the following letter from Parker Pillsbury of New Hampshire, to William C. Nell, clearly indicates: "The names of the two brave men of color who fell with Ledyard at the storming of Fort Griswold, were Lambo Latham and Jordan Freeman. All the names of the slain at that time, are inscribed on a marble tablet, wrought into the monument -- the names of the colored soldiers last, and not only last, but a blank space is left between them and the whites; in genuine keeping with the "Negro Pew distinction -- setting them not only below all the others, but by themselves, even after that. And it is difficult to say why. They were not last in the fight.
"When Major Montgomery, one of the leaders in the expedition against the Americans, was lifted upon the walls of the fort by his soldiers, flourishing his sword and calling on them to follow him, Jordan Freeman received him on the point of a pike, and pinned him dead to the earth (see Historical Collections of Connecticut); and the name of Jordan Freeman stands away down last on the list of heroes -- perhaps the greatest hero of them all." But what of the other black hero who was with him? We will let a nephew of his, William Anderson, of New London, Connecticut, tell the story.

"September 6th, 1781, New London was taken by the British, under the command of that arch traitor, Benedict Arnold. The small band composing the garrison retreated to the fort opposite, in the town of Groton, and there resolved either to gain a victory or die for their country. The latter pledge was faithfully redeemed and by none more gallantly than the two colored men; and if the survivors of that day's carnage tell truly, they fought like tigers and were butchered after the gates were burst open. One of these men was the brother of my grandmother, by the name of Lambert, but called Lambo, since chiseled on the marble monument by the American classic appellation of`Sambo.' The name of the other black man was Jordan Freeman.

Lambert was living with a gentleman in Groton by the name of Latham; so of course he was called Lambert Latham. Mr. Latham and Lambert, on the day of the massacre, were working in a field at a distance from the house. On hearing the alarm upon the approach of the enemy, Mr. Latham started for home, leaving Lambert to drive the oxen up to the house. On arriving at the house, Lambert was told that Mr. Latham had gone up to the fort. Unyoking the oxen from the wagon and making all secure, he started for the point of defense, where he arrived before the British began the attack.

The assault on the part of the British was a deadly one, and manifestly resisted by the Americans, even to the clubbing of their muskets after their ammunition was expended; but finally the little garrison of brave defenders was reduced to a handful, and could hold out no longer.

On the entrance of the enemy, the British officer inquired, `Who commands this fort?' The gallant Ledyard replied, `I once did; you do now,' -- at the same time handing him his sword, which was seized, and immediately run through his body to the hilt by the officer. This was the commencement of an unparalleled slaughter.

Lambert, being near Colonel Ledyard when he was slain, retaliated upon the officer by thrusting his bayonet through his body. Lambert in return received from the enemy thirty-three bayonet wounds, and thus fell, nobly avenging the death of his commander. These facts were given me on the spot, at the time of the laying of the cornerstone, by two veterans who were present at the battle."

We learn from Kent's Commentary that the Legislature of New York passed an Act during the Revolutionary War granting freedom to all slaves who should serve in the army for three years, or until regularly discharged.

The Hartford Review for September, 1839, gives the following account of a colored man by the name of Hamet, living at that time in Middletown, Connecticut, who was formerly owned by Washington: -- "Hamet is, according to his own account, nearly one hundred years old. He draws a pension for his services in the Revolutionary war, and manufactures toy drums for his support. He has a white wife and one child His hair is white with age and hangs matted together in masses over his shoulders. He retains a perfect recollection of his Massa and Missus Washington, and has several mementoes of them. Among these there is a lock of the General's hair, and his service sword. He converses in three or four different languages, -- the French, Spanish and German, besides his native African tongue."

Another black veteran, Oliver Cromwell, served six years and nine months under Washington's immediate command, and received an honorable discharge in Washington's own handwriting, of which he was very proud. He received a pension of ninety-six dollars annually. Was in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Monmouth and Yorktown, at which place he claims to have seen the last man killed. He enlisted in a company
commanded by Captain Lowery, attached to the second New Jersey Regiment, under the command of Colonel Israel Shreve. He brought up seven sons and seven daughters, who reached the age of maturity. He was a man of strong natural ability -- never using tobacco or liquor in any form. He was more than a hundred years of age when he died at his native town, Columbus, New Jersey, January 24, 1853.

Another Revolutionary hero, Charles Bowles, was born in 1761, and at the age of twelve was placed in the family of a Tory. But he was too patriotic to be contented with his home, and two years later found him in the American army a servant to an officer. When sixteen years of age he became a regular soldier, serving faithfully to the end of the war. He then went to New Hampshire and engaged in farming. He obtained a pension, became a Baptist preacher of some prominence, and died in 1843, at the age of eighty two.

Rev. Henry F. Harrington wrote an article on General Washington and Primus Hall, body servant to Colonel Pickering, of Massachusetts, which was published in the June issue of Godey's Lady's Book, 1849. "On one occasion, the General was engaged in earnest conversation with Colonel Pickering in his tent, until after the night had fairly set in. Headquarters were at a considerable distance, and Washington signified his preference to stay with the Colonel over night, provided he had a spare blanket and straw. `O, yes,' said Primus, who was appealed to; `plenty of straw and blankets -- plenty.'

Upon this assurance, Washington continued his conference with the Colonel until it was time to retire to rest. Two humble beds were spread, side by side, in the tent, and the officers laid themselves down, while Primus seemed to be busy with duties that required his attention before he himself could sleep. He worked or appeared to work, until the breathing of the prostrate gentlemen satisfied him that they were sleeping; and then seating himself upon a box or stool, he leaned his head on his hands to obtain such repose as so inconvenient a position would allow. In the middle of the night Washington awoke. He looked about and descried the Negro as he sat. He gazed at him awhile, and then spoke. `Primus,' said he, calling; `Primus!' Primus started up and rubbed his eyes. `What, General?' said he.

Washington rose up in his bed. `Primus,' said he, `what did you mean by saying that you had blankets and straw enough? Here you have given up your blanket and straw to me, that I may sleep comfortably, while you are obliged to sit through the night.' `It's nothing, General,' said Primus. `It's nothing. I am well enough. Don't trouble yourself about me, General, but go to sleep again. No matter about me, I sleep very good.'

`But it is matter -- it is matter,' said Washington, earnestly. `I cannot do it, Primus. If either is to sit up, I will. But I think there is no need of either sitting up. The blanket is wide enough for two. Come and lie down here with me.' `Oh, no!' said Primus, starting, and protesting against the proposition. `No; let me sit here. I'll do very well on the stool.' `I say, come and lie down here!' said Washington authoritatively. `There is room for both, and I insist upon it!' He threw open the blanket as he spoke, and moved to one side of the straw. Primus professed to have been exceedingly shocked at the idea of lying under the same covering with the commander-in-chief, but his tone was so resolute and determined that he could not hesitate. He prepared himself, therefore, and laid himself down by Washington; and on the same straw, and under the same blanket, the General and the Negro servant slept until morning."

Seymour Burr lived in Connecticut; he was a slave to a brother of Colonel Aaron Burr, from whom he received his name. His master treated him kindly, but the slave sighed for freedom and was resolved, if possible, to obtain it. Persuading a number of other slaves to go with him, they seized a boat, intending to join the British army, that by so doing they might become freemen. Nevertheless their owners pursued and overtook them, and being heavily armed the slaves surrendered.

Mr. Burr did not punish Seymour, but asked him why he had left such a kind master. The Negro replied that he wanted his liberty. The master consented that the Negro should join the American army, on condition that the master should receive the bounty money and the slave be free at the close of the war. Accordingly he enlisted in the seventh regiment, commanded by Colonel Brooks of Medford.

He was with his company in the siege of Fort Catskill, where they endured great suffering from cold and starvation, until at last relieved by the arrival of General Washington, who was overjoyed on finding them unexpectedly alive, and holding the fort.

He served faithfully until the close of the war, receiving a pension. He afterwards married an Indian woman and established a home at Canton, Massachusetts. His wife survived him, dying in 1852, having lived more than five score years.

Jeremy Jonah (colored) also served valiantly in the same Regiment, afterwards obtaining a pension. He lived near Seymour Burr, and the two old comrades often made a night of it, after the manner of veterans, fighting their battles over again.

On August 16, 1777, the "Green Mountain Boys," aided by troops from New Hampshire and a few from Massachusetts, commanded by General Stark, captured the left wing of the British army near Bennington. When the prisoners, to the number of between seven and eight hundred, were collected to be tied on either side of a rope, it was found to be too short. The General called for more, but there was none at hand. In this emergency the patriotic wife of Hon. Moses Robinson stepped forward and said: "General, I will take down the last bedstead in the house and present the rope to you on one condition. When the prisoners are all tied to the rope, you shall permit my Negro man to harness up my old mare and hitch the rope to the whiffletree, mount the mare, and conduct the British and Tory prisoners out of town." The General willingly accepted Mrs.
[p. 137]
Robinson's proposition. The Negro mounted the mare, grinning from ear to ear, and thus conducted the left wing of the British army into Massachusetts, on their road to Boston.

The following instance of Negro wit is often told. After Cornwallis surrendered at York-town, an acquaintance of his, a colored soldier, stepped up to him quite elated, and remarked: "You used to be called Cornwallis, but it is Cornwallis no longer; it must now be Cobwallis, for General Washington has shelled off all the corn."

The gallant historian is proud to record the heroic deed of Molly Pitcher, whose husband was killed in the battle of Monmouth, and she took his place at the cannon, until the end of that battle. But here is the record of a black heroine who faithfully discharged all the duties of a soldier for nearly a year and a half.

The following extract is a copy of one of the Resolutions of the General Court of Massachusetts during the session of 1791-2: -- "XXIII. Resolution on the petition of Deborah Gannett, granting her £34 for services rendered in the Continental army.

"On the petition of Deborah Gannett, praying for compensation for services performed in the late army of the United States. Whereas, it appears to this Court that the said Deborah Gannett enlisted under the name of Robert Shurtliff in Captain Webb's company in the 4th Massachusetts Regiment, on May 20th, 1782, and did actually perform the duty of a soldier, in the late army of the United States, to the 23rd day of October, 1783, for which she has received no compensation; and whereas it further appears that the said Deborah Gannett exhibited an extraordinary instance of female heroism, by discharging the duties of a faithful, gallant soldier, and at the same time preserving the virtue and chastity of her sex unsuspected and unblemished, and was discharged from the service with a fair and honorable character therefore, Resolved, That the treasurer of this commonwealth be, and hereby is, directed to issue his note to the said Deborah for the sum of thirty-four pounds, bearing interest from October 23, 1788."

Prince Richards was a pensioned Revolutionary veteran, of East Bridgewater. When a slave he learned to write with a charred stick, thus showing a burning desire for learning, even against the command of his master, and perhaps, the law of the state.

At the close of the war, John Hancock presented the colored company called "The Bucks" with a beautiful and appropriate banner, bearing his initials, as a token of his appreciation of their courage and patriotism during the struggle. "The Bucks," under command of Colonel Middleton, marched through Boston, halting in front of the Hancock mansion on Beach Street, where the Governor and his son united in presenting the banner.

We also read of the brig on which Jack Grove (colored) was steward; while sailing from the West Indies to Portland in 1812, it was captured by a French vessel, whose commander placed a guard on board. Jack urged his commander to make an effort to retake the ship, but the captain saw no hope. Again he urged him, saying: "Captain McLellan, I can take her myself if you will only let me go ahead" But the captain was rather cowardly and checked him, warning him not to hint such a thing, as there was danger in it. But Jack, disappointed and disgusted with him, though not daunted, rallied the men on his own hook. Captain McLellan and the rest, inspired by his example of courage and leadership, joined them, and the attempt resulted in victory. They weighed anchor and took the vessel into Portland. The owner of the brig offered Jack fifty hogsheads of molasses for his brave deed; but Jack demanded one half of the brig, which being denied, he employed two Boston lawyers and brought suit. We were unable to learn how the case terminated.

The artist has vied with the historian in proclaiming the fact that the black men were among the bravest of the brave, with Perry in the squadron fight of Lake Erie, and Jackson at New Orleans. What student of history has not read Jackson's eloquent tribute to his brave colored fellow soldiers, after that glorious victory which they helped him to gain?

In the Chicago Tribune of February 26, 1894, Simon Young said in reply to the proposition of the Knights of Labor to deport the Negroes to Africa: "We are part and parcel of this country. Why, only to-day we buried from No. 3331 Dearborn Street old Captain Jackson, a Mexican war veteran, whose father fought in the war of 1812, and his grandfather worked a musket in the Revolutionary set-to. Our blood and brawn and brain helped to make this country. This is our home, and we're going to stay at home." Rev. Peter Williams of New York said on one occasion: "We are natives of this land; we ask only to be treated as well as foreigners. Not a few of our fathers suffered and bled to purchase its independence; we ask only to be treated as well as those who fought against it. We have toiled to cultivate it, and raise it to its present prosperous condition we ask only to share equal privileges with those who come from distant lands to enjoy the fruits of our labor."

Adam Armstrong was a Revolutionary War soldier from Henrico County [Jackson, Virginia Negro Soldiers, 29].

Burwell Artis was a free man of color from Southampton County who was listed in the size roll of troops who enlisted at Chesterfield Court House [The Chesterfield Supplement cited by NSDAR, African American Patriots, 147; Jackson, Virginia Negro Soldiers, 29].

James Ash was a "Mulatto" head of a Nansemond County household in Buxton's list for 1784 [VA:74]. In 1784 he was called James Ash of Isle of Wight County when he petitioned the Virginia Legislature for payment due him for eighteen months service as a Continental soldier in one of the Isle of Wight County divisions [Virginia State Library Legislative Petitions, 23 November 1784].

John Ashby, a "free Mulatto," died before 21 October 1776 when the York County court ordered the churchwardens of Bruton Parish to bind out his unnamed orphans and also (his son) Matt Ashby. On 15 June 1778 the court allowed (his widow) Sally Ashby, "wife of ___ Ashby" 12 pounds for the subsistence allowed wives, children and aged parents of poor soldiers serving in the Revolution. She was called the mother of a soldier when she received an allowance on 21 June 1779 and 17 July 1780 [Orders 1774-84, 127, 163, 219, 273].

Humphrey Baine was a soldier from Henrico County who served in the Revolution [Jackson, Virginia Negro Soldiers, 29].

John Banks enlisted in Goochland County about 1779, served for two years, and was discharged at the barracks in Albemarle County. On 22 May 1822 when he applied for a pension, his family consisted of his wife Sally, his thirteen-year-old niece Mary Banks and his twelve-year-old nephew John Brown. He died before 19 August 1845 when his wife applied for and was granted a widow's pension. She stated that she was born about 1756 and that they were married about the spring of 1772 by Parson McLaerin in the Episcopal Church of Cumberland County, Virginia. On 6 February 1846 Walter D. Leake of Henrico County testified that Sally had a daughter living who was at least seventy years old [National Archives Pension File W.5763; Dorman, Virginia Revolutionary Pension Applications, IV:51].

Jacob Banks was living in Goochland County on 17 September 1832 when he made a declaration to obtain a pension for his Revolutionary War services. He was a "free man of Color" who served eighteen months as a wagoner [Dorman, Virginia Revolutionary Pension Applications, IV:51].

Charles Barnett was a "mulatto" who enlisted in Charlottesville in the 7th Virginia Regiment. Sharod Going testified that he was with him at Chesterfield Courthouse. In 1800 he moved to Carter County, Tennessee, then to Georgia, and to Granville County, North Carolina, about 1808 [Dorman, Virginia Revolutionary Pension Applications, IV:87]. He obtained a certificate of freedom in Albemarle County on 2 August 1796: a Dark mullatto man aged about thirty years, of a yellow complexion, five feet seven and three quarter inches high, having proved to the satisfaction of this Court that he was born a free man within this County [Orders 1795-8, 137].

James Bass of Norfolk County moved to Bedford County, Tennessee about 1819 and received a pension for his services as a private in the Virginia Militia [National Archives file S1745].

Shadrack Battles was "a man of colour" who was about seventy-four years old on 11 October 1820 when he appeared in Albemarle County court to apply for a pension for his services in the Revolution. He testified that he enlisted while resident in Amherst County in 1777 and served for three years. He was a carpenter but was no longer able to support himself and his sixty-year-old wife. He owned 200 acres on the Hardware River in Amherst County which he sold in 1775 [M805-63, frames 183-9].

Solomon Beckett, a "Mulatto" taxable in Northampton County from 1782 to 1789 [PPTL, 1782-1823, frames 3, 73, 94], served in the Revolution from Northampton County [NSDAR, African American Patriots, 147].

James Berry was one of the members of Captain Joseph Spencer's 7th Virginia Regiment who did not return from furlough in Gloucester Town. Spencer advertised a reward for their return in the 8 August 1777 issue of the Virginia Gazette, describing James as "a mulatto fellow, about 30 years old, 5 feet 8 or 9 inches high; enlisted in Fredericksburg but served his time with Mr. Thomas Bell of Orange County" [Virginia Gazette, Purdie edition, p.4, col. 3].

Sylvester Beverly was a Revolutionary War soldier from Franklin County, Virginia, who enlisted in 1776 and served until the end of the War. He was eighty years old in 1822 when he petitioned the Legislature for a state pension [Jackson, Virginia Negro Soldiers, 30].

Humphrey Bine was a soldier from Henrico County [Jackson, Virginia Negro Soldiers, 29].

Jacob Boon was a "yellow" complexioned soldier from Isle of Wight County listed in the size roll of troops who enlisted at Chesterfield Courthouse [The Chesterfield Supplement cited by NSDAR, African American Patriots, 147].

Stephen Bowles served in the Revolution from Albemarle County [Jackson, Virginia Negro Soldiers, 31].

Zachariah Bowles, head of an Albemarle County household of 2 "other free" in 1810 [VA:185], was sixty-five years old on 30 March 1819 when he appeared in Henrico County court to apply for a pension for his services in the Revolution. He stated that he enlisted on 19 January 1777 in Hanover County. He was a rough carpenter with a large family, 45 acres of very poor land, a work horse, cow and a few hogs and household furniture. His wife was fifty years old and they had three unnamed sons residing with them: twenty-four years old, twenty-two years old, and seventeen years old. He was placed on the Virginia Roll on 26 February 1819 [M850-109, frames 460-3].

James Bowman was a soldier in the Virginia Line who died before 6 October 1783 when an affidavit by Betty Morris, a "free Mulatto woman," that William Bowman was his brother and only surviving heir was certified by the Henrico County court [Orders 1781-4, 439].

James Bowser was a "free Mulatto" taxable in Isle of Wight County from 1782 to 1798 [PPTL 1782-1810, frames 4, 61, 89, 135, 181, 241, 331, 346, 418, 428, 491]. He was a "yellow" complexioned soldier born in Charles City County who was living in Nansemond County when he was listed in the size roll of troops who enlisted at Chesterfield Courthouse [The Chesterfield Supplement cited by NSDAR, African American Patriots, 148]. He made a nuncupative Isle of Wight County will on 5 September 1800 leaving his whole estate to his wife Bridget Bowzer [WB 11:284]. Bridget was a "F.N." taxable in Isle of Wight County from 1801 to 1813 [PPTL 1782-1810, frames 523, 577, 595, 652, 673, 715, 791]. Nathaniel and Thomas Bowser testified on 17 October 1833 that Nathaniel Bowser, Thomas Bowser, and Betsy Bowser, Moses Ash, Caroline Ash, Lydia Ash, Thomas Ash, and Curtis Ash were the only heirs of James Bowser who had served in the Revolution in 1782. In 1835 they received bounty land scrip for his service [M804-306, frame 0123].

Augustine Boyd was among a group of Revolutionary seamen who deserted and for whom a reward was offered in the 11 September 1779 issue of the Virginia Gazette [Jackson, Virginia Negro Soldiers, 31]. He was a "free mulatto" head of a Northumberland County household of 7 "other free" in 1810 [VA:973].

Thomas Brandon/ Brandom, head of a Mecklenburg County household of 6 "free colored" in 1820, was living in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, on 15 June 1833 when he applied for a pension for his services in the Revolution, stating that he was born in Hanover County and was about eighty-seven years old. On 19 October 1840 his widow Margaret Walden Brandom made a deposition in order to obtain a survivor's pension for his services. She testified that they were married on 3 January 1771 and he died 17 December 1834. Her application included a copy of a book containing the family register which was provided by William J.B. Bedford of the Charlotte County courthouse [Dorman, Virginia Revolutionary Pension Applications, 9:74-75].

Abraham Brown was head of a Charles City County household of 10 "other free" and 3 slaves in 1810 [VA:957] and 9 "free colored" in 1820 [VA:3]. He was a man of color from Charles City County who served in the Revolution [Charles City County Historical Society Newsletter 6:10-14 cited by NSDAR, African American Patriots, 148].

Edward Brown, head of a Charles City County household of 8 "other free" in 1810 [VA:957], was a man of color from Charles City County who served in the Revolution [Charles City County historical Society Newsletter 6:10-14 cited by NSDAR, African American Patriots, 148].

Freeman Brown, head of a Charles City County household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [VA:959], was a man of color from Charles City County who served in the Revolution [Charles City County historical Society Newsletter 6:10-14 cited by NSDAR, African American Patriots, 148].

George Brumagam, a taxable in Frederick County, Virginia, in 1787, enlisted as a soldier in the Revolution from Virginia: George Brumma, yellow complexioned, born in Australia [NSDAR, African American Patriots, 148].

Francis Bunday, a "Free Negro" head of a Culpeper County household of 5 "other free" in 1810 [VA:7], was a sixty-year-old resident of Culpeper County on 21 April 1818