African Americans fought on both sides the American Revolution, the Patriot cause for independence as well as the Loyalist cause of stable government.Gilbert, Alan. Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence. Chicago: University of Chicago Press 2012 It is estimated that 20,000 African Americans joined the British cause, which promised freedom to enslaved people, as Black Loyalists. About half that number, an estimated 9,000 African Americans, became Black Patriots.Nash, "The African Americans' Revolution," at p. 254
Between 220,000 and 250,000 soldiers and militia served the American cause in total, suggesting that Black soldiers made up approximately four percent of the Patriots' numbers. Of the 9,000 Black soldiers, 5,000 were combat-dedicated troops.Lanning, Michael Lee. "African Americans in the Revolutionary War." p. 177. The average length of time in service for an African American soldier during the war was four and a half years (due to many serving for the whole eight-year duration), which was eight times longer than the average period for white soldiers. Meaning that while they were only four percent of the manpower base, they comprised around a quarter of the Patriots' strength in terms of man-hours, though this includes supportive roles.Michael Lee Lanning. "African Americans in the Revolutionary War." p. 178.
About 20,000 people escaped slavery, joined, and fought for the British army. Much of this number was seen after Dunmore's Proclamation, and subsequently the Philipsburg Proclamation issued by Sir Henry Clinton.Carnahan, Burrus M. (2007). Act of Justice: Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Law of War. University Press of Kentucky. p. 18. Though between only 800–2,000 people who were enslaved reached Dunmore himself, the publication of both proclamations provided incentive for nearly 100,000 enslaved people across the American Colonies to escape, lured by the promise of freedom.Bristow, Peggy (1994). We're Rooted Here and They Can't Pull Us Up: Essays in African Canadian Women's History. University of Toronto Press. p. 19. .
In March 1770, Black Bostonian Crispus Attucks was part of the large crowd taunting British soldiers and was one of the number they shot in the incident Patriots called the Boston Massacre. He is considered an iconic martyr of Patriots.
African American Patriots
Prior to the revolution, many free African Americans supported the anti-British cause, most famously Crispus Attucks, believed to be the first person killed at the Boston Massacre. At the time of the American Revolution, some Black men had already enlisted as minutemen. Both free and enslaved Africans had served in private militias, especially in the North, defending their villages against attacks by Native Americans. In March 1775, the Continental Congress assigned units of the Massachusetts militia as Minutemen. They were under orders to become activated if the British troops in Boston took the offensive. Peter Salem, who had been freed by his owner to join the Framingham militia, was one of the Black men in the military. He served for nearly five years.Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War. Vol. 13, pp. 743–744. In the Revolutionary War, slave owners often let the people they enslaved to enlist in the war with promises of freedom, but many were put back into slavery after the conclusion of the war.
Some slaves served as a substitute soldier for their master. One such African American soldier was Ishmael Titus from Rowan County, North Carolina, who fought in the battles of Kings Mountain and Guilford Court House. He was granted his freedom after the war and died at the age of 110.
In April 1775, at Lexington and Concord, Black men responded to the call and fought with Patriot forces. Prince Estabrook was wounded some time during the fighting on 19 April, probably at Lexington. The Battle of Bunker Hill also had African-American soldiers fighting along with white Patriots, such as Peter Salem; Salem Poor, Barzillai Lew, Blaney Grusha, Titus Coburn, Alexander Ames, Cato Howe, and Seymour Burr. Many African Americans, both enslaved and free, wanted to join with the Patriots. They believed that they would achieve freedom or expand their civil rights.Foner, 43. In addition to the role of soldier, Black men also served as guides, messengers, and spies.
On April 26, 1777, during Tyron's raid on Danbury Connecticut, a slave named Adams, in an act of reckless daring, was killed when firing upon the British.
American states had to meet quotas of troops for the new Continental Army, and New England regiments recruited Black enslaved people by promising freedom to those who served in the Continental Army. During the course of the war, about one-fifth of the men in the northern army were Black.Liberty! The American Revolution (Documentary) Episode II:Blows Must Decide: 1774–1776. ©1997 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. At the Siege of Yorktown in 1781, Baron Closen, a German officer in the French Royal Deux-Ponts Regiment, estimated about one-quarter of the American army to be Black men."The Revolution's Black Soldiers" by Robert A. Selig, Ph.D., American Revolution website, 2013–2014
Another famous Black patriot was Jack Peterson of Westchester whose quick thinking helped repel British forces in Croton, New York. Peterson's actions threw Benedict Arnold's treasonous plans into disarray and led to the capture of Major Andre.
African American Loyalists Though not counted as "Soldiers," thousands of African American slaves proved to be a great service to the continental army. The majority served as laborers who contributed in shaping military operations.
African American sailors Because of manpower shortages at sea, both the Continental Navy and Royal Navy signed African Americans into their navies. Even southern colonies, which worried about putting guns into the hands of enslaved people for the army, had no qualms about using Black men to pilot vessels and to handle the ammunition on ships. In state navies, some African Americans served as captains: South Carolina had significant numbers of Black captains.Foner, 70. Some African Americans had been captured from the Royal Navy and used by the Patriots on their vessels.
African American Spies African Americans served an underlying importance throughout the American Revolution. Though rare, some acted as spies, messengers, or guides for the continental army. Most famous of these is James Armistead Lafayette an enslaved man from New Kent County, Virginia. With his masters permission, he served with the mission to relieve Virginians of the constant harassment they faced by the British. Lafayette hovered around various British camps to receive information that he would give to the continental army.
Patriot resistance to using African Americans Some revolutionary leaders began to be fearful of using Black men in the armed forces. They were afraid that enslaved people who were armed would cause slave rebellions. Slave owners became concerned that military service would eventually free their people.
In May 1775, the Massachusetts Committee of Safety enrolled enslaved people in the armies of the colony. The action was adopted by the Continental Congress when they took over the Patriot Army. But Horatio Gates in July 1775 issued an order to recruiters, ordering them not to enroll "any deserter from the Ministerial army, nor any stroller, negro or vagabond. . ." in the Continental Army. Most Black men were integrated into existing military units, but some segregated units were formed.
In 1779, American Major General Philip Schuyler complained to fellow major general William Heath about the quality of the reinforcements sent to him during the Saratoga campaign, writing that "one third of the few that have been sent are boys, aged men and negroes, who disgrace our arms... Is it consistent with the Sons of Freedom to trust their all to be defended by slaves?"
African American Loyalists in British military service
In 1779, Sir Henry Clinton issued the Philipsburg Proclamation, which stipulated that all enslaved people, regardless of age or gender owned by Patriots would be accepted at British lines. This greatly increased the number of enslaved African Americans who fled to British lines, and many regiments were formed during this period. The largest regiment made up of escaped African Americas was the Black Company of Pioneers, a pioneer unit. This regiment was placed in a support role, with orders to "attend the scavangers, assist in cleaning the streets & removing all newsiances being thrown into the streets" when they were stationed in Philadelphia. A smaller unit of 24 escaped slaves fought under the command of Colonel Tye, raiding Patriot settlements in New Jersey.Lanning, 145.Jonathan D. Sutherland, African Americans at War, ABC-CLIO, 2003, pp. 420–421, accessed 4 May 2010
In Savannah, Augusta, and Charleston, when threatened by Patriot forces, the British filled gaps in their troops with African Americans. In October 1779, about 200 Black Loyalist soldiers assisted the British in successfully defending Savannah against a joint French and American Patriot attack.Lanning, 148.
In total, historians estimate that approximately 20,000 African Americans joined the British during the Revolutionary War, while only 5,000 African-Americans served in the Continental Army.
Somerset vs. Stewart
Despite Britain's utilization of African American slaves in the Revolutionary War, a monumental court decision would quickly put in motion efforts to end slavery in Britain itself, though Britain did not ban the international slave trade in its Empire until 1807, the same year that then-President Thomas Jefferson and the U.S. Congress passed a law banning the international slave trade in the U.S. A slave trader named Charles Stewart purchased James Somerset, a slave who had been brought to America during the middle passage. Somerset ran away from Stewart's home on October 1, 1771, but was caught on November 26, would face trial on December 9, and the case would finally be decided on June 22, 1772. Somerset's defense exposed the fact that the laws of England do not affirm the right to possess slaves as property. At the end of the case, Lord Mansfield, the overseeing judge, ordered Somerset be set free. This landmark case would release some 14,000 British slaves from slavery. This decision immediately led to a massive rise in anti-slavery activism in Britain, and was a catalyst to the end of slave practices in Britain and among the British colonists. This in-turn provoked some slaveholders among the colonists, and was a contributor to the increasing tensions between these colonists and the British. The fear of losing the ability to own slaves was a minor motivator behind the revolt for the colonists since the Somerset decision threatened the slave practices in the colonies because they were bound by British law. The Somerset decision is also a major precursor to Dunmore's proclamation. Dunmore offered freedom to African American slaves in exchange for service in the British army during the revolution as the Somerset decision had begun to normalize the freedom of African slaves in Britain.
Dunmore's Proclamation Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia, was determined to maintain British rule in the colonies and promised to free those enslaved men of rebel owners who fought for him. On November 7, 1775, he issued Dunmore's Proclamation: "I do hereby further declare all indented servants, Negroes, or others, (appertaining to Rebels,) free, that are able and willing to bear arms, they joining His Majesty's Troops." By December 1775 the British army had 300 enslaved men wearing a military uniform. Sewn-on the breast of the uniform was the inscription "Liberty to Slaves". These enslaved men were designated as "Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment."