THE COLONY OF GEORGIA.
1732-1775.
GEORGIA ONCE INCLUDED IN THE TERRITORY OF CAROLINA.--THE
THIRTEENTH COLONY PLANTED IN NORTH AMERICA BY THE ENGLISH
GOVERNMENT.--SLAVES RULED OUT ALTOGETHER BY THE
TRUSTEES.--THE OPINION OF GEN. OGLETHORPE CONCERNING
SLAVERY.--LONG AND BITTER DISCUSSION IN REGARD TO THE
ADMISSION OF SLAVERY INTO THE COLONY.--SLAVERY
INTRODUCED.--HISTORY OF SLAVERY IN GEORGIA.
Georgia was once included in the territory of Carolina, and extended
from the Savannah to the St. John's River. A corporate body, under the
title of "The Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia," was
created by charter, bearing date of June 9, 1732. The life of their
trust was for the space of twenty-one years. The rules by which the
trustees sought to manage the infant were rather novel; but as a
discussion of them would be irrelevant, mention can be made only of
that part which related to slavery. Georgia was the last colony--the
thirteenth--planted in North America by the English government.
Special interest centred in it for several reasons, that will be
explained farther on.
The trustees ruled out slavery altogether. Gen. John Oglethorpe, a
brilliant young English officer of gentle blood, the first governor of
the colony, was identified with "the Royal African Company, which
alone had the right of planting forts and trading on the coast of
Africa." He said that "slavery is against the gospel, as well as the
fundamental law of England. We refused, as trustees, to make a law
permitting such a horrid crime." Another of the trustees, in a sermon
preached on Sunday, Feb. 17, 1734, at St. George's Church, Hanover
Square, London, declared, "Slavery, the misfortune, if not the
dishonor, of other plantations, is absolutely proscribed. Let avarice
defend it as it will, there is an honest reluctance in humanity
against buying and selling, and regarding those of our own species as
our wealth and possessions." Beautiful sentiments! Eloquent testimony
against the crime of the ages! At first blush the student of history
is apt to praise the sublime motives of the "trustees," in placing a
restriction against the slave-trade. But the declaration of principles
quoted above is not borne out by the facts of history. On this point
Dr. Stevens, the historian of Georgia, observes, "Yet in the official
publications of that body [the trustees], its inhibition is based only
on political and prudential, and not on humane and liberal grounds,
and even Oglethorpe owned a plantation and negroes near Parachucla in
South Carolina, about forty miles above Savannah."[514] To this
reliable opinion is added:--
"The introduction of slaves was prohibited to the colony of
Georgia for some years, not from motives of humanity, but
for the reason it was encouraged elsewhere, to wit: the
interest of the mother country. It was a favorite idea with
the 'mother country,' to make _Georgia_ a protecting blanket
for the Carolinas, against the Spanish settlements south of
her, and the principal Indian tribes to the west; to do
this, a strong settlement of white men was sought to be
built up, whose arms and interests would defend her northern
plantations. The introduction of slaves was held to be
unfavorable to this scheme, and hence its prohibition.
During the time of the prohibition, Oglethorpe himself was a
slave holder in Carolina."[515]
The reasons that led the trustees to prohibit slavery in the colony
are put thus tersely.--
"1st. Its expense: which the poor emigrant would be entirely
unable to sustain, either in the first cost of a negro, or
his subsequent keeping. 2d. Because it would induce idleness
and render labour degrading. 3d. Because the settlers, being
freeholders of only fifty-acre lots, requiring but one or
two extra hands for their cultivation, the German servants
would be a third more profitable than the blacks. Upon the
last original design I have mentioned, in planting this
colony, they also based an argument against their admission,
viz., that the cultivation of silk and wine, demanding skill
and nicety, rather than strength and endurance of fatigue,
the whites were better calculated for such labour than the
negroes. These were the prominent arguments, drawn from the
various considerations of internal and external policy,
which influenced the Trustees in making this prohibition.
Many of them, however, had but a temporary bearing, none
stood the test of experience."[516]
It is clear, then, that the founders of the colony of Georgia were not
moved by the noblest impulses to prohibit slavery within their
jurisdiction. In the chapter on South Carolina, attention was called
to the influence of the Spanish troops in Florida on the recalcitrant
Negroes in the Carolinas, the Negro regiment with subalterns from
their own class, and the work of Spanish emissaries among the slaves.
The home government thought it wise to build up Georgia out of white
men, who could develop its resources, and bear arms in defence of
British possessions along an extensive border exposed to a pestiferous
foe. But the Board of Trade soon found this an impracticable scheme,
and the colonists themselves began to clamor "for the use of
negroes."[517] The first petition for the introduction and use of
Negro slaves was offered to the trustees in 1735. This prayer was
promptly and positively denied, and for fifteen years they refused to
grant all requests for the use of Negroes. They adhered to their
prohibition in letter and spirit. Whenever and wherever Negroes were
found in the colony, they were sold back into Carolina. In the month
of December, 1738, a petition, addressed to the trustees, including
nearly all the names of the foremost colonists, set forth the
distressing condition into which affairs had drifted under the
enforcement of the prohibition, and declared that "the use of negroes,
with proper limitations, which, if granted, would both occasion great
numbers of white people to come here, and also to render us capable to
subsist ourselves, by raising provisions upon our lands, until we
could make some produce fit for export, in some measure to balance our
importations." But instead of securing a favorable hearing, the
petition drew the fire of the friends of the prohibition against the
use of Negroes. On the 3d of January, 1739, a petition to the trustees
combating the arguments of the above-mentioned petition, and urging
them to remain firm, was issued at Darien. This was followed by
another one, issued from Ebenezer on the 13th of March, in favor of
the position occupied by the trustees. A great many Scotch and German
people had settled in the colony; and, familiar with the arts of
husbandry, they became the ardent supporters of the trustees. James
Habersham, the "_dear fellow-traveller_," of Whitefield, exclaimed,--
"I once thought, it was unlawful to keep negro slaves, but I
am now induced to think God may have a higher end in
permitting them to be brought to this Christian country,
than merely to support their masters. Many of the poor
slaves in America have already been made freemen of the
heavenly Jerusalem, and possibly a time may come when many
thousands may embrace the gospel, and thereby be brought
into the glorious liberty of the children of God. These, and
other considerations, appear to plead strongly for a limited
use of negroes; for, while we can buy provisions in Carolina
cheaper than we can here, no one will be induced to plant
much."
But the trustees stood firm against the subtle cunning of the
politicians, and the eloquent pleadings of avarice.
On the 7th October, 1741, a large meeting was held at Savannah, and a
petition drawn, in which the land-holders and settlers presented their
grievances to the English authorities in London. On the 26th of March,
1742, Mr. Thomas Stephens, armed with the memorial, as the agent of
the memorialists, sailed for London. While the document ostensibly set
forth their wish for a definition of "the tenure of the lands," really
the burden of the prayer was for "_Negroes_." He presented the
memorial to the king, and his Majesty referred it to a committee of
the "Lords of Council for Plantation Affairs." This committee
transferred a copy of the memorial to the trustees, with a request for
their answer. About this time Stephens presented a petition to
Parliament, in which he charged the trustees with direliction of duty,
improper use of the public funds, abuse of their authority, and
numerous other sins against the public welfare. It created a genuine
sensation. The House resolved to go into a "committee of the whole,"
to consider the petitions and the answer of the trustees. The answer
of the trustees was drawn by the able pen of the Earl of Egmont, and
by them warmly approved on the 3d of May, and three days later was
read to the House of Commons. A motion prevailed "that the petitions
do lie upon the table," for the perusal of the members, for the space
of one week. At the expiration of the time fixed, Stephens appeared,
and all the petitions of the people of Georgia to the trustees in
reference to "the tenure of lands," and for "the use of negroes," were
laid before the honorable body. In the committee of the whole the
affairs of the colony were thoroughly investigated; and, after a few
days session, Mr. Carew reported a set of resolutions, being the sense
of the committee after due deliberation upon the matters before
them:--
"That the province of Georgia, in America, by reason of its
situation, may be an useful barrier to the British provinces
on the continent of America against the French and
Spaniards, and Indian nations in their interests; that the
ports and harbors within the said province may be a good
security to the trade and navigation of this kingdom, that
the said province, by reason of the fertility of the soil,
the healthfulness of the climate, and the convenience of the
rivers, is a proper place for establishing a settlement, and
may contribute greatly to the increasing trade of this
kingdom; that it is very necessary and advantageous to this
nation that the colony of Georgia should be preserved and
supported; that it will be an advantage to the colony of
Georgia to permit the importation of rum into the said
colony from any of the British colonies; that the petition
of Thomas Stephens contains false, scandalous and malicious
charges, tending to asperse the characters of the Trustees
for Establishing the Colony of Georgia, in America."
When the resolution making the importation of rum lawful reached a
vote, it was amended by adding, "As also the use of negroes, who may
be employed there with advantage to the colony, under proper
regulations and restrictions." It was lost by a majority of nine
votes. A resolution prevailed calling Thomas Stephens to the bar of
the House, "to be reprimanded on his knees by Mr. Speaker," for his
offence against the trustees.
On the next day Stephens, upon his bended knees at the bar of the
House of Commons, before the assembled statesmen of Great Britain, was
publicly reprimanded by the speaker, and discharged after paying his
fees. Thus ended the attempt of the people of the colony of Georgia to
secure permission, over the heads of the trustees, to introduce slaves
into their service.
The dark tide of slavery influence was dashing against the borders of
the colony. The people were discouraged. Business was stagnated.
Internal dissatisfaction and factional strife wore hard upon the
spirit of a people trying to build up and develop a new country. Then
the predatory incursions of the Spaniards, and the threatening
attitude of the Indians, unnerved the entire Province. In this state
of affairs white servants grew insolent and insubordinate. Those whose
term of service expired refused to work. In this dilemma many persons
boldly put the rule of the trustees under foot, and hired Negroes from
the Carolinas. At length the trustees became aware of the clandestine
importation of Negroes into the colony, and thereupon gave the
magistrates a severe reproval. On the 2d of October, 1747, they
received the following reply:--
"We are afraid, sir, from what you have wrote in relation to
negroes, that he Honourable Trustees have been misinformed
as to our conduct relating thereto; for we can with great
assurance assert, that this Board has always acted an
uniform part in discouraging the use of negroes in this
colony, well knowing it to be disagreeable to the Trustees,
as well as contrary to an act existing for the prohibition
of them, and always give it in charge to those whom we had
put in possession of lands, not to attempt the introduction
or use of negroes. But notwithstanding our great caution,
some people from Carolina, soon after settling lands on the
Little Ogeechee, found means of bringing and employing a few
negroes on the said lands, some time before it was
discovered to us, upon which they thought it high time to
withdraw them, for fear of being seized, and soon after
withdrew themselves and families out of the colony, which
appeals to us at present to be the resolution of divers
others."[518]
It was charged that the law-officers knew of the presence of Negroes
in Georgia; that their standing and constant toast was, "_the
one thing needful_" (Negroes); and that they themselves had
surreptitiously aided in the procurement of Negroes for the colony.
The supporters of the colonists grew less powerful as the struggle
went forward. The most active grew taciturn and conservative. The
advocates of Negro labor became bolder, and more acrimonious in
debate; and at length the champions of exclusive white labor shrank
into silence, appalled at the desperation of then opponents. The Rev.
Martin Bolzius, one of the most active supporters of the trustees,
wrote those gentlemen on May 3, 1748:--
"Things being now in such a melancholy state, I must humbly
beseech your honors, not to regard any more our of our
friend's petitions against negroes."
The Rev. George Whitefield and James Habersham used their utmost
influence upon the trustees to obtain a modification of the
prohibition against "the use of negroes." On the 6th of December,
1748, Rev. Whitefield, speaking of a plantation and Negroes he had
purchased, wrote the trustees:--
"Upwards of five thousand pounds have been expended in that
undertaking, and yet very little proficiency made in the
cultivation of my tract of land, and that entirely owing to
the necessity I lay under of making use of white hands. Had
a negro been allowed, I should now have had a sufficiency to
support a great many orphans, without expending above half
the sum which has been laid out. An unwillingness to let so
good a design drop, and having a rational conviction that it
must necessarily, if some other method was not fixed upon to
prevent it--these two considerations, honoured gentlemen,
prevailed on me about two years ago, through the bounty of
my good friends, to purchase a plantation in South Carolina,
where negroes are allowed. Blessed be God, this plantation
has succeeded; and though at present I have only eight
working hands, yet in all probability there will be more
raised in one year, and with a quarter the expense, than has
been produced at Bethesda for several years last past. This
confirms me in the opinion I have entertained for a long
time, that _Georgia never can or will be a flourishing
province without negroes are allowed_."[519]
The sentiment in favor of the importation of Negro slaves had become
well-nigh unanimous. The trustees began to waver. On the 10th of
January, 1749, another petition was presented to the trustees. It was
carefully drawn, and set forth the restrictions under which slaves
should be introduced. On the 16th of May following, it was read to the
trustees; and they resolved to have it "presented to His Majesty in
council." They also asked that the prohibition against the
introduction of Negroes, passed in "1735, be repealed." The Earl of
Shaftesbury, at the head of a special committee, draughted a bill
repealing the prohibition. On the 26th of October, 1749, a large and
influential committee of twenty-seven drew up and signed a petition
urging the immediate introduction of slavery, with certain
limitations. The paper was duly attested, and returned to the
trustees. The opposition to the introduction of slavery into the
colony of Georgia had been conquered; and, after a long and bitter
struggle, slavery was firmly and legally established in this the last
Province of the English in the Western world. The colonists were
jubilant.
The charter under which the trustees acted expired by limitation in
1752, and a new form of government was established under the Board of
Trade. The royal commission appointed a governor and council. One of
the first ordinances enacted by them was one whereby "all offences
committed by slaves were to be tried by a single justice, without a
jury, who was to award execution, and, in capital cases, to set a
value on the slave, to be paid out of the public treasury." At the
first session of the Assembly in 1755, a law was passed "_for the
regulation and government of slaves_." In 1765 an Act was passed
establishing a pass system, and the rest of the legislation in respect
to slaves was a copy of the laws of South Carolina.
The history of slavery in Georgia during this period is unparalleled
and incomparably interesting. It illustrates the power of the
institution, and shows that there was no Province sufficiently
independent of its influence so as to expel it from its jurisdiction.
Like the Angel of Death that passed through Egypt, there was no colony
that it did not smite with its dark and destroying pinions. The
dearest, the sublimest, interests of humanity were prostrated by its
defiling touch. It shut out the sunlight of human kindness; it paled
the fires of hope; it arrested the development of the branches of
men's better natures, and peopled their lower being with base and
consuming desires; it placed the "_Golden Rule_" under the unholy heel
of time-servers and self-seekers; it made the Church as secular as the
Change, and the latter as pious as the former: it was a gigantic
system, at war with the civilization of the Roundheads and Puritans,
and an intolerable burden to a people who desired to build a new
nation in this New World in the West.
FOOTNOTES:
[514] Stephens's Journal, vol. iii. p. 281.
[515] Freedom and Bondage, vol. i. p. 310, note.
[516] Stevens's Hist. of Georgia, vol. i. p. 289.
[517] Bancroft, vol. iii. 12th ed. p. 427.
[518] Stevens's Hist. of Georgia, vol. i. p. 307.
[519] Whitefield's Works, vol. ii. pp. 90, 105, 208.
Part III.
_THE NEGRO DURING THE REVOLUTION._
CHAPTER XXVI.
MILITARY EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES.
1775-1780.
"Many black soldiers were in the service during all stages
of the war."--SPARKS.
THE COLONIAL STATES IN 1715.--RATIFICATION OF THE
NON-IMPORTATION ACT BY THE SOUTHERN COLONIES.--GEORGE
WASHINGTON PRESENTS RESOLUTIONS AGAINST SLAVERY, IN A
MEETING AT FAIRFAX COURT-HOUSE, VA.--LETTER WRITTEN BY
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TO DEAN WOODWARD, PERTAINING TO
SLAVERY.--LETTER TO THE FREEMEN OF VIRGINIA FROM A
COMMITTEE, CONCERNING THE SLAVES BROUGHT FROM
JAMAICA.--SEVERE TREATMENT OF SLAVES IN THE COLONIES
MODIFIED.--ADVERTISEMENT IN "THE BOSTON GAZETTE" OF THE
RUNAWAY SLAVE CRISPUS ATTUCKS.--THE BOSTON MASSACRE.--ITS
RESULTS.--CRISPUS ATTUCKS SHOWS HIS LOYALTY.--HIS SPIRITED
LETTER TO THE TORY GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE.--SLAVES
ADMITTED INTO THE ARMY.--THE CONDITION OF THE CONTINENTAL
ARMY.--SPIRITED DEBATE IN THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, OVER THE
DRAUGHT OF A LETTER TO GEN. WASHINGTON.--INSTRUCTIONS TO
DISCHARGE ALL SLAVES AND FREE NEGROES IN HIS ARMY.--MINUTES
OF THE MEETING HELD AT CAMBRIDGE.--LORD DUNMORE'S
PROCLAMATION.--PREJUDICE THE SOUTHERN COLONIES.--NEGROES IN
VIRGINIA FLOCK TO THE BRITISH ARMY.--CAUTION TO THE NEGROES
PRINTED IN A WILLIAMSBURG PAPER.--THE VIRGINIA CONVENTION
ANSWERS THE PROCLAMATION OF LORD DUNMORE.--GEN. GREENE, IN A
LETTER TO GEN. WASHINGTON, CALLS ATTENTION TO THE RAISING OF
A NEGRO REGIMENT ON STATEN ISLAND.--LETTER FROM A HESSIAN
OFFICER.--CONNECTICUT LEGISLATURE ON THE SUBJECT OF
EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES AS SOLDIERS.--GEN. VARNUM'S LETTER TO
GEN. WASHINGTON, SUGGESTING THE EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES, SENT
TO GOV. COOKE.--THE GOVERNOR REFERS VARNUM'S LETTER TO THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY.--MINORITY PROTEST AGAINST ENLISTING SLAVES
TO SERVE IN THE ARMY.--MASSACHUSETTS TRIES TO SECURE LEGAL
ENLISTMENTS OF NEGRO TROOPS.--LETTER OF THOMAS KENCH TO THE
COUNCIL AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, BOSTON, MASS.--NEGROES
SERVE IN WHITE ORGANIZATIONS UNTIL THE CLOSE OF THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION.--NEGRO SOLDIERS SERVE IN VIRGINIA.--MARYLAND
EMPLOY NEGROES.--NEW YORK PASSES AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE
RAISING OF TWO COLORED REGIMENTS.--WAR IN THE MIDDLE AND
SOUTHERN COLONIES.--HAMILTON'S LETTER TO JOHN JAY.--COL.
LAURENS'S EFFORTS TO RAISE NEGRO TROOPS IN SOUTH
CAROLINA.--PROCLAMATION OF SIR HENRY CLINTON INDUCING
NEGROES TO DESERT THE REBEL ARMY.--LORD CORNWALLIS ISSUES A
PROCLAMATION OFFERING PROTECTION TO ALL NEGROES SEEKING HIS
COMMAND.--COL. LAURENS IS CALLED TO FRANCE ON IMPORTANT
BUSINESS.--HIS PLAN FOR SECURING BLACK LEVIES FOR THE SOUTH
UPON HIS RETURN.--HIS LETTERS TO GEN. WASHINGTON IN REGARD
TO HIS FRUITLESS PLANS.--CAPT. DAVID HUMPHREYS RECRUITS A
COMPANY OF COLORED INFANTRY IN CONNECTICUT.--RETURN OF
NEGROES IN THE ARMY IN 1778.
The policy of arming the Negroes early claimed the anxious
consideration of the leaders of the colonial army during the American
Revolution. England had been crowding her American plantations with
slaves at a fearful rate; and, when hostilities actually began, it
was difficult to tell whether the American army or the ministerial
army would be able to secure the Negroes as allies. In 1715 the royal
governors of the colonies gave the Board of Trade the number of the
Negroes in their respective colonies. The slave population was as
follows:--
NEGROES. | NEGROES.
New Hampshire 150 |Maryland 9,500
Massachusetts 2,000 |Virginia 23,000
Rhode Island 500 |North Carolina 3,700
Connecticut 1,500 |South Carolina 10,500
New York 4,000 | ------
New Jersey 1,500 | Total 58,850
Pennsylvania and Delaware 2,500 |
Sixty years afterwards, when the Revolution had begun, the slave
population of the thirteen colonies was as follows:--
NEGROES. | NEGROES.
Massachusetts 3,500 |Maryland 80,000
Rhode Island 4,373 |Virginia 165,000
Connecticut 5,000 |North Carolina 75,000
New Hampshire 629 |South Carolina 110,000
New York 15,000 |Georgia 16,000
New Jersey 7,600 | -------
Pennsylvania 10,000 | Total 501,102
Delaware 9,000 |
Such a host of beings was not to be despised in a great military
struggle. Regarded as a neutral element that could be used simply to
feed an army, to perform fatigue duty, and build fortifications, the
Negro population was the object of fawning favors of the white
colonists. In the NON-IMPORTATION COVENANT, passed by the Continental
Congress at Philadelphia, on the 24th of October, 1774, the second
resolve indicated the feeling of the representatives of the people on
the question of the slave-trade:--
"2. We will neither import nor purchase, any slave imported
after the first day of December next; after which time, 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 manufactures to those who are
concerned in it."[520]
It, with the entire covenant, received the signatures of all the
delegates from the twelve colonies.[521] The delegates from the
Southern colonies were greatly distressed concerning the probable
attitude of the slave element. They knew that if that ignorant mass of
humanity were inflamed by some act of strategy of the enemy, they
might sweep their homes and families from the face of the earth. The
cruelties of the slave-code, the harsh treatment of Negro slaves, the
lack of confidence in the whites everywhere manifested among the
blacks,--as so many horrid dreams, harassed the minds of slaveholders
by day and by night. They did not even possess the courage to ask the
slaves to remain silent and passive during the struggle between
England and themselves. The sentiment that adorned the speeches of
orators, and graced the writings of the colonists, during this period,
was "the equality of the rights of all men." And yet the slaves who
bore their chains under their eyes, who were denied the commonest
rights of humanity, who were rated as chattels and real property, were
living witnesses to the insincerity and inconsistency of this
declaration. But it is a remarkable fact, that all the Southern
colonies, in addition to the action of their delegates, ratified the
Non-Importation Covenant. The Maryland Convention on the 8th of
December, 1774; South Carolina Provincial Congress on the 11th
January, 1775; Virginia Convention on the 22d March, 1775; North
Carolina Provincial Congress on the 23d of August, 1775; Delaware
Assembly on the 25th of March, 1775 (refused by Gov. John Penn); and
Georgia,--passed the following resolves thereabouts:--
"1. _Resolved_, That this Congress will adopt, and carry
into execution, all and singular the measures and
recommendations of the late Continental Congress.
"4. _Resolved_, That we will neither import or [nor]
purchase any slave imported from Africa or elsewhere after
this date."
Meetings were numerous and spirited throughout the colonies, in which,
by resolutions, the people expressed their sentiments in reference to
the mother country. On the 18th of July, 1774, at a meeting held in
Fairfax Court-House, Virginia, a series of twenty-four resolutions
was presented by George Washington, chairman of the committee on
resolutions, three of which were directed against slavery.
"17 _Resolved_. That it is the opinion of this meeting,
that, during our present difficulties and distress, no
slaves ought to be imported into any of the British colonies
on this continent; and we take this opportunity of declaring
our most earnest wishes to see an entire stop for ever put
to such a wicked, cruel, and unnatural trade....
"21. _Resolved_, That it is the opinion of this meeting,
that this and the other associating colonies should break
off all trade, intercourse, and dealings with that colony,
province, or town, which shall decline, or refuse to agree
to, the plan which shall be adopted by the General
Congress....
"24. _Resolved_, That George Washington and Charles
Broadwater, lately elected our representatives to serve in
the General Assembly, be appointed to attend the Convention
at Williamsburg on the first day of August next, and present
these resolves, as the sense of the people of this county
upon the measures proper to be taken in the present alarming
and dangerous situation of America."
Mr. Sparks comments upon the resolutions as follows:--
"The draught, from which the resolves are printed, I find
among Washington's papers, in the handwriting of George
Mason, by whom they were probably drawn up; yet, as they
were adopted by the Committee of which Washington was
chairman, and reported by him as moderator of the meeting,
they may be presumed to express his opinions, formed on a
perfect knowledge of the subject, and after cool
deliberation. This may indeed be inferred from his letter to
Mr. Bryan Fairfax, in which he intimates a doubt only as to
the article favoring the idea of a further petition to the
king. He was opposed to such a step, believing enough had
been done in this way already; but he yielded the point in
tenderness to the more wavering resolution of his
associates.
"These resolves are framed with much care and ability, and
exhibit the question then at issue, and the state of public
feeling, in a manner so clear and forcible as to give them a
special claim to a place in the present work, in addition to
the circumstance of their being the matured views of
Washington at the outset of the great Revolutionary struggle
in which he was to act so conspicuous a part....
"Such were the opinions of Washington, and his associates in
Virginia, at the beginning of the Revolutionary contest. The
seventeenth resolve merits attention, from the pointed
manner in which it condemns the slave trade."[522]
Dr. Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Dean Woodward, dated April 10,
1773, says,--
"I have since had the satisfaction to learn that a
disposition to abolish slavery prevails in North America,
that many of the Pennsylvanians have set their slaves at
liberty; and that even the Virginia Assembly have petitioned
the king for permission to make a law for preventing the
importation of more into that Colony. This request, however,
will probably not be granted as their former laws of that
kind have always been repealed, and as the interest of a few
merchants here has more weight with Government than that of
thousands at a distance."[523]
Virginia gave early and positive proof that she was in earnest on the
question of non-importation. One John Brown, a merchant of Norfolk,
broke the rules of the colony by purchasing imported slaves, and was
severely rebuked in the following article:--
"'TO THE FREEMEN OF VIRGINIA:
"'COMMITTEE CHAMBER, NORFOLK, March 6, 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 2d 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 that article.
"'From the whole of this transaction, therefore, we, the
committee for Norfolk Borough, do give it as our unanimous
opinion, that the 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.'"
And the first delegation from Virginia to Congress in August, 1774,
had instructions as follows, drawn by Thomas Jefferson:--
"For the most trifling reasons, and sometimes for no
conceivable reason at all, his Majesty has rejected laws of
the most salutary tendency. _The abolition of domestic
slavery is the great object of desire in those Colonies,
where it was, unhappily, introduced in their infant state.
But, previous to the enfranchisement of the slaves we have,
it is necessary to exclude all further importations from
Africa._ Yet our repeated attempts to effect this by
prohibitions, and by imposing duties which might amount to a
prohibition, have been hitherto defeated by his Majesty's
negative; thus preferring the immediate advantages of a few
British corsairs to the lasting interests of the American
States, and to the rights of human nature, deeply wounded by
this infamous practice."[524]
It is scarcely necessary to mention the fact, that there were several
very cogent passages in the first draught of the Declaration of
Independence that were finally omitted. The one most pertinent to this
history is here given:--
"He has waged cruel war against human nature itself,
violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the
persons of a distant people who never offended him;
captivating and carrying them into slavery in another
hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their
transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the
opprobrium of _Infidel_ powers, is the warfare of the
_Christian_ king of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a
market where _men_ should be bought and sold, he has
prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative
attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce.
And, that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of
distinguished die, he is now exciting those very people to
rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which
he has deprived them, by murdering the people on whom he
also obtruded them; thus paying off former crimes committed
against the _liberties_ of one people with crimes which he
urges them to commit against the _lives_ of another.[525]
The solicitude concerning the slavery question was not so great in the
Northern colonies. The slaves were not so numerous as in the Carolinas
and other Southern colonies. The severe treatment of slaves had been
greatly modified, the spirit of masters toward them more gentle and
conciliatory, and the public sentiment concerning them more humane.
Public discussion of the Negro question, however, was cautiously
avoided. The failure of attempted legislation friendly to the slaves
had discouraged their friends, while the critical situation of public
affairs made the supporters of slavery less aggressive. On the 25th of
October, 1774, an effort was made in the Provincial Congress of
Massachusetts to re-open the discussion, but it failed. The record of
the attempt is as follows:--
"Mr. Wheeler brought into Congress a letter directed to
Doct. Appleton, purporting the propriety, that while we are
attempting to free ourselves from our present
embarrassments, and preserve ourselves from slavery, that we
also take into consideration the state and circumstances of
the negro slaves in this province. The same was read, and it
was moved that a committee be appointed to take the same
into consideration. After some debate thereon, the question
was put, whether the matter now subside, and it passed in
the affirmative."[526]
Thus ended the attempt to call the attention of the people's
representatives to the inconsistency of their doctrine and practice on
the question of the equality of human rights. Further agitation of the
question, followed by the defeat of just measures in the interest of
the slaves, was deemed by many as dangerous to the colony. The
discussions were watched by the Negroes with a lively interest; and
failure led them to regard the colonists as their enemies, and greatly
embittered them. Then it was difficult to determine just what would be
wisest to do for the enslaved in this colony. The situation was
critical: a bold, clear-headed, loyal-hearted man was needed.
On Tuesday, Oct. 2, 1750, "The Boston Gazette, or Weekly Journal,"
contained the following advertisement:--
"Ran-away from his master _William Brown_ of _Framingham_,
on the 30th of _Sept_. last, a Molatto Fellow, about 27
Years of Age, named _Crispas_, 5 Feet 2 Inches high, short
curl'd Hair, his Knees nearer together than common; had on a
light colour'd Bear-skin Coat, plain brown Fustian Jacket,
or brown all-Wool one, new Buckskin Breeches, blue Yarn
Stockings, and a checked woolen Shirt.
"Whoever shall take up said Run-away, 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_."
During the month of November,--the 13th and 20th,--a similar
advertisement appeared in the same paper; showing that the "Molatto
Fellow" had not returned to his master.
Twenty years later "Crispas's" name once more appeared in the journals
of Boston. This time he was not advertised as a runaway slave, nor was
there reward offered for his apprehension. His soul and body were
beyond the cruel touch of master; the press had paused to announce his
apotheosis, and to write the name of the Negro patriot, soldier, and
martyr to the ripening cause of the American Revolution, in fadeless
letters of gold,--CRISPUS ATTUCKS!
On March 5, 1770, occurred the Boston Massacre; and, while it was not
the real commencement of the Revolutionary struggle, it was the bloody
drama that opened the most eventful and thrilling chapter in American
history. The colonists had endured, with obsequious humility, the
oppressive acts of Britain, the swaggering insolence of the
ministerial troops, and the sneers of her hired minions. The
aggressive and daring men had found themselves hampered by the
conservative views of a large class of colonists, who feared lest some
one should take a step not exactly according to the law. But while the
"wise and prudent" were deliberating upon a legal method of action,
there were those, who, "made of sterner stuff," reasoned right to the
conclusion, that they had rights as colonists that ought to be
respected. That there was cause for just indignation on the part of
the people towards the British soldiers, there is no doubt. But there
is reason to question the time and manner of the assault made by the
citizens. Doubtless they had "a zeal, but not according to knowledge."
There is no record to controvert the fact of the leadership of Crispus
Attucks. A manly-looking fellow, six feet two inches in height, he was
a commanding figure among the irate colonists. His enthusiasm for the
threatened interests of the Province, his loyalty to the teachings of
Otis, and his willingness to sacrifice for the cause of equal rights,
endowed him with a courage, which, if tempered with better judgment,
would have made him a military hero in his day. But consumed by the
sacred fires of patriotism, that lighted his path to glory, his career
of usefulness ended at the beginning. John Adams, as the counsel for
the soldiers, thought that the patriots Crispus Attucks led were a
"rabble of saucy boys, negroes, mulattoes, &c.," who could not
restrain their emotion. Attucks led the charge with the shout, "The
way to get rid of these soldiers is to attack the main-guard; strike
at the root: this is the nest." A shower of missiles was answered by
the discharge of the guns of Capt. Preston's company. The exposed and
commanding person of the intrepid Attucks went down before the
murderous fire. Samuel Gray and Jonas Caldwell were also killed, while
Patrick Carr and Samuel Maverick were mortally wounded.
The scene that followed beggared description. The people ran from
their homes and places of business into the streets, white with rage.
The bells rang out the alarm of danger. The bodies of Attucks and
Caldwell were carried into Faneuil Hall, where their strange faces
were viewed by the largest gathering of people ever before witnessed.
Maverick was buried from his mother's house in Union Street, and Gray
from his brother's residence in Royal Exchange Lane. But Attucks and
Caldwell, strangers in the city, without relatives, were buried from
Faneuil Hall, so justly called "_the Cradle of Liberty_." The four
hearses formed a junction in King Street; and from thence the
procession moved in columns six deep, with a long line of coaches
containing the first citizens of Boston. The obsequies were witnessed
by a very large and respectful concourse of people. The bodies were
deposited in one grave, over which a stone was placed bearing this
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."
Who was Crispus Attucks? A Negro whose soul, galling under the
destroying influence of slavery, went forth a freeman, went forth not
only to fight for _his_ liberty, but to give his life as an offering
upon the altar of _American liberty_. He was not a madcap, as some
would have the world believe. He was not ignorant of the issues
between the American colonies and the English government, between the
freemen of the colony and the dictatorial governors. Where he was
during the twenty years from 1750 to 1770, is not known; but doubtless
in Boston, where he had heard the fiery eloquence of Otis, the
convincing arguments of Sewall, and the tender pleadings of Belknap.
He had learned to spell out the fundamental principles that should
govern well-regulated communities and states; and, having come to the
rapturous consciousness of his freedom in fee simple, the brightest
crown God places upon mortal man, he felt himself neighbor and friend.
His patriotism was not a mere spasm produced by sudden and exciting
circumstances. It was an education; and knowledge comes from
experience; and the experience of this black hero was not of a single
day. Some time before the memorable 5th of March, Crispus addressed
the following spirited letter to the Tory governor of the Province:--
"TO THOMAS HUTCHINSON: _Sir_,--You will hear from us with
astonishment. You ought to hear from us with horror. You are
chargeable before God and man, with our blood. The soldiers
were but passive instruments, mere machines; neither moral
nor voluntary agents in our destruction, more than the
leaden pellets with which we were wounded. You was a free
agent. You acted, coolly, deliberately, with all that
premeditated malice, not against us in particular, but
against the people in general, which, in the sight of the
law, is an ingredient in the composition of murder. You will
hear further from us hereafter. Crispus Attucks."[527]
This was the declaration of war. It was fulfilled. The world has heard
from him; and, more, the English-speaking world will never forget the
noble daring and excusable rashness of Attucks in the holy cause of
liberty! Eighteen centuries before he was saluted by death and kissed
by immortality, another Negro bore the cross of Christ to Calvary for
him. And when the colonists were staggering wearily under their cross
of woe, a Negro came to the front, and bore that cross to the victory
of glorious martyrdom!
And the people did not agree with John Adams that Attucks led "a
motley rabble," but a band of patriots. Their evidence of the belief
they entertained was to be found in the annual commemoration of the
"5th of March," when orators, in measured sentences and impassioned
eloquence, praised the hero-dead. In March, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren,
who a few months later, as Gen. Warren, made Bunker Hill the shrine of
New-England patriotism, was the orator. On the question of human
liberty, he said,--
"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."
These noble sentiments were sealed by his blood at Bunker Hill, on the
17th of June, 1775, and are the amulet that will protect his fame from
the corroding touch of centuries of time
The free Negroes of the Northern colonies responded to the call "_to
arms_" that rang from the placid waters of Massachusetts Bay to the
verdant hills of Berkshire, and from Lake Champlain to the upper
waters of the Hudson. Every Northern colony had its Negro troops, not
as separate organizations,--save the black regiment of Rhode
Island,--but scattered throughout all of the white organizations of
the army. At the first none but free Negroes were received into the
army; but before peace came Negroes were not only admitted, they were
purchased, and sent into the war, with an offer of freedom and fifty
dollars bounty at the close of their service. On the 29th of May,
1775, the "_Committee of Safety_" for the Province of Massachusetts
passed the following resolve against the enlistment of Negro slaves
as soldiers:--
"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
this colony, and that no slaves be admitted into this army
upon any consideration whatever."[528]
On Tuesday, the 6th of June, 1775, "A resolve of the committee of
safety, relative to the [admission] of slaves into the army was read,
and ordered to lie on the table for further consideration."[529] But
this was but another evidence of the cold, conservative spirit of
Massachusetts on the question of other people's rights.
The Continental army was in bad shape. Its arms and clothing, its
discipline and efficiency, were at such a low state as to create the
gravest apprehensions and deepest solicitude. Gen. George Washington
took command of the army in and around Boston, on the 3d of July,
1775, and threw his energies into the work of organization. On the
10th of July he issued instructions to the recruiting-officers of
Massachusetts Bay, in which he forbade the enlistment of any "negro,"
or "any Person who is not an American born, unless such Person has a
Wife and Family and is a settled resident in this Country."[530] But,
nevertheless, it is a curious fact, as Mr. Bancroft says, "the roll of
the army at Cambridge had from its first formation borne the names of
men of color." "Free negroes stood in the ranks by the side of white
men. In the beginning of the war they had entered the provincial army;
the first general order which was issued by Ward, had required a
return, among other things, of the 'complexion' of the soldiers; and
black men like others were retained in the service after the troops
were adopted by the continent." There is no room to doubt. Negroes
were in the army from first to last, but were there in contravention
of law and positive prohibition.[531]
On the 29th of September, 1775, a spirited debate occurred in the
Continental Congress, over the draught of a letter to Gen. Washington,
reported by Lynch, Lee, and Adams. Mr. Rutledge of South Carolina
moved that the commander-in-chief be instructed to discharge all
slaves and free Negroes in his army. The Southern delegates supported
him earnestly, but his motion was defeated. Public attention was
called to the question, and at length the officers of the army debated
it. The following minute of a meeting held at Cambridge preserves and
reveals the sentiment of the general officers of the army on the
subject:--
"At a council of war, held at head-quarters, October 8th,
1775, present: His Excellency, General Washington;
Major-Generals Ward, Lee, and Putnam Brigadier-Generals
Thomas, Spencer, Heath, Sullivan, Greene, and Gates--the
question was proposed:
"'Whether it will be advisable to enlist any negroes in the
new army? or whether there be a distinction between such as
are slaves and those who are free?'
"It was agreed unanimously to reject all slaves; and, by a
great majority, to reject negroes altogether."
Ten days later, Oct. 18, 1775, a committee of conference met at
Cambridge, consisting of Dr. Franklin, Benjamin Harrison, and Thomas
Lynch, who conferred with Gen. Washington, the deputy-governors of
Connecticut and Rhode Island, and the Committee of the Council of
Massachusetts Bay. The object of the conference was the renovation and
improvement of the army. On the 23d of October, the employment of
Negroes as soldiers came before the conference for action, as
follows:--
"Ought not negroes to be excluded from the new enlistment,
especially such as are slaves? all were thought improper by
the council of officers."
"_Agreed_ that they be rejected altogether"
In his General Orders, issued from headquarters on the 12th of
November, 1775, Washington said,--
"Neither negroes, boys unable to bear arms, nor old men
unfit to endure the fatigues of the campaign, are to be
enlisted."[532]
But the general repaired this mistake the following month. Lord
Dunmore had issued a proclamation declaring "all indented servants,
negroes, or others (appertaining to rebels) free." Fearing lest many
Negroes should join the ministerial army, in General Orders, 30th
December, Washington wrote:--
"As the General is informed that numbers of free negroes are
desirous of enlisting he gives leave to the recruiting
officers to entertain them, and promises to lay the matter
before the Congress, who, he doubts not, will approve of
it."
Lord Dunmore's proclamation is here given:--
"_By his Excellency the Right Honorable_ JOHN, _Earl of_
DUNMORE, _his Majesty's Lieutenant and Governor-General of
the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, and Vice-Admiral of the
same_,--
"A PROCLAMATION.
"As I have ever entertained hopes that an accommodation
might have taken place between _Great Britain_ and this
Colony, without being compelled by my duty to this most
disagreeable but now absolutely necessary step, rendered so
by a body of armed men, unlawfully assembled, firing on his
Majesty's tenders; and the formation of an army, and that
army now on their march to attack his Majesty's troops, and
destroy the well-disposed subject of this Colony: To defeat
such treasonable purposes, and that all such traitors and
their abettors may be brought to justice, and that the peace
and good order of this Colony may be again restored, which
the ordinary course of the civil law is unable to effect, I
have thought fit to issue this my Proclamation; hereby
declaring, that until the aforesaid good purposes can be
obtained, I do, in virtue of the power and authority to me
given by his Majesty, determine to execute martial law, and
cause the same to be executed, throughout this Colony. And,
to the end that peace and good order may the sooner be
restored, I do require every person capable of bearing arms
to resort to his Majesty's standard, or be looked upon as
traitors to his Majesty's Crown and Government, and thereby
become liable to the penalty the law inflicts upon such
offences,--such as forfeiture of life, confiscation of
lands, &c., &c. And 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, as soon as may be, for the more speedily
reducing this Colony to a proper sense of their duty to his
Majesty's crown and dignity. I do further order and require
all his Majesty's liege subjects to retain their quit-rents,
or any other taxes due, or that may become due, in their own
custody, till such time as peace may be again restored to
this at present most unhappy country, or demanded of them,
for their former salutary purposes, by officers properly
authorized to receive the same.
"Given under my hand, on board the Ship _William_, off
_Norfolk_, the seventh day of November, in the sixteenth
year of his Majesty's reign.
"DUNMORE.
"_God save the King!_"[533]
On account of this, on the 31st of December, Gen. Washington wrote the
President of Congress as follows:--
"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 employ 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 of
by Congress, I will put a stop to it."[534]
This letter was referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Wythe,
Adams, and Wilson. On the 16th of January, 1776, they made the
following report:--
"That the free negroes who have served faithfully in the
army at Cambridge may be re-enlist--therein, but no
others."[535]
This action on the part of Congress had reference to the army around
Boston, but it called forth loud and bitter criticism from the
officers of the army at the South. In a letter to John Adams, dated
Oct. 24, 1775, Gen. Thomas indicated that there was some feeling even
before the action of Congress was secured. 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 the insinuations you mention are
injurious, if we consider with what precipitation we were
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
fifers are many of them boys. We have some negroes; but I
look on them, in general, equally serviceable with other men
for fatigue; and, in action, many of them have proved
themselves brave.
"I would avoid all reflection, or any thing that may tend to
give umbrage; but there is in this army from the southward a
number called riflemen, who are as indifferent men as 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 without as with them. But to do justice to their
officers, they are, some of them, likely men."
The Dunmore proclamation was working great mischief in the Southern
colonies. The Southern colonists were largely engaged in planting,
and, as they were Tories, did not rush to arms with the celerity that
characterized the Northern colonists. At an early moment in the
struggle, the famous Rev. Dr. Hopkins of Rhode Island wrote the
following pertinent extract:--
"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 out 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
opposers, 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."[536]
On Sunday, the 24th of September, 1775, John Adams recorded the
following conversation, that goes to show that Lord Dunmore's policy
was well matured:--
"In the evening, Mr. Bullock and Mr. Houston, two gentlemen
from Georgia, came into our room, and smoked and chatted the
whole evening. Houston and Adams disputed the whole time in
good humor. They are both dabs at disputation, I think.
Houston, a lawyer by trade, is one of course, and Adams is
not a whit less addicted to it than the lawyers. The
question was, whether all America was not in a state of war,
and whether we ought to confine ourselves to act upon the
defensive only? He was for acting offensively, next spring
or this fall, if the petition was rejected or neglected. If
it was not answered, and favorably answered, he would be for
acting against Britain and Britons, as, in open war, against
French and Frenchmen; fit privateers, and take their ships
anywhere. These gentlemen give a melancholy account of the
State of Georgia and South Carolina. They say that if one
thousand regular troops should land in Georgia, and their
commander be provided with arms and clothes enough, and
proclaim freedom to all the negroes who would join his camp,
twenty thousand negroes would join it from the two Provinces
in a fortnight. The negroes have a wonderful art of
communicating intelligence among themselves; it will run
several hundreds of miles in a week or fortnight. They say,
their only security is this; that all the king's friends,
and tools of government, have large plantations, and
property in negroes; so that the slaves of the Tories would
be lost, as well as those of the Whigs."[537]
The Negroes in Virginia sought the standards of the ministerial army,
and the greatest consternation prevailed among the planters. On the
27th of November, 1775, Edmund Pendleton wrote to Richard Lee that the
slaves were daily flocking to the British army.
"The Governour, hearing of this, 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 proceeded to
intercept Hutchings and his party, upon whom he came by
surprise, but received, it seems, so warm a fire, that the
ragamuffins gave way. They were, however, rallied on
discovering that two companies of our militia gave way; 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. Hutchings's own, with
another, found him. On their approach, he discharged his
pistol at his slave, but missed him; and was taken by them,
after receiving a wound in his face with a sword. The number
taken or killed, on either side, is not ascertained. It is
said the Governour went to Dr. Reid's shop, and, after
taking the medicines and dressings 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."[538]
But the dark stream of Negroes that had set in toward the English
troops, where they were promised the privilege of bearing arms and
their freedom, could not easily be stayed. The proclamation of Dunmore
received the criticism of the press, and the Negroes were appealed to
and urged to stand by their "true friends." A Williamsburg paper,
printed on the 23d of November, 1775, contained the following
well-written plea:--
"CAUTION TO THE NEGROES.
"The second class of people for whose sake a few remarks
upon this proclamation seem necessary is the Negroes. They
have been flattered with their freedom, if they be able to
bear arms, and will speedily join Lord Dunmore's troops. To
none, then, is freedom promised, but to such as are able to
do Lord Dunmore service. The aged, the infirm, the women and
children, are still to remain the property of their
masters,--of masters who will be provoked to severity,
should part of their slaves desert them. Lord Dunmore's
declaration, therefore, is a cruel declaration to the
Negroes. He does not pretend to make it out of any
tenderness to them, but solely upon his own account; and,
should it meet with success, it leaves by far the greater
number at the mercy of an enraged and injured people. But
should there be any amongst 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 defenceless fathers and mothers, their wives, their
women and 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. Let them
further consider what must be their fate should the English
prove conquerors. If we can judge of the future from the
past, it will not be much mended. Long have the Americans,
moved by compassion and actuated by sound policy, endeavored
to stop the progress of slavery. Our Assemblies have
repeatedly passed acts, laying heavy duties upon imported
Negroes; by which they meant altogether to prevent the
horrid traffick. But their humane intentions have been as
often frustrated by the cruelty and covetousness of a set of
English merchants, who prevailed upon the King to repeal our
kind and merciful acts, little, indeed, to the credit of his
humanity. Can it, then, be supposed that the Negroes will be
better used by the English, who have always encouraged and
upheld this slavery, than by their present masters, who pity
their condition; who wish, in general, to make it as easy
and comfortable as possible; _and who would, were it in
their power, or were they permitted, not only prevent any
more Negroes from losing their freedom, but restore it to
such as have already unhappily lost it?_ No: the ends of
Lord Dunmore and his party being answered, they will either
give up the offending Negroes to the rigor of the laws they
have broken, or sell them in the West Indies, where every
year they sell many thousands of their miserable brethren,
to perish either by the inclemency of weather or the cruelty
of barbarous masters. Be not then, ye Negroes, tempted by
this proclamation to ruin yourselves. I have given you a
faithful view of what you are to expect; and declare before
God, in doing it, I have considered your welfare, as well as
that of the country. Whether you will profit by my advice, I
cannot tell; but this I know, that, whether we suffer or
not, if _you_ desert us, _you_ most certainly will."[539]
But the Negroes had been demoralized, and it required an extraordinary
effort to quiet them. On the 13th of December, the Virginia Convention
put forth an answer to the proclamation of Lord Dunmore. On the 14th
of December a proclamation was issued "offering pardon to such slaves
as shall return to their duty within ten days after the publication
thereof." The following; was their declaration:--
"_By the Representatives of the People of the Colony and
Dominion of Virginia, assembled in General Convention_,
"A DECLARATION.
"Whereas Lord Dunmore, by his Proclamation dated on board
the ship 'William,' off Norfolk, the seventh day of
November, 1775, hath offered freedom to such able-bodied
slaves as are willing to join him, and take up arms against
the good people of this Colony, giving thereby encouragement
to a general insurrection, which may induce a necessity of
inflicting the severest punishments upon those unhappy
people, already deluded by his base and insidious arts, and
whereas, by an act of the General Assembly now in force in
this Colony, it is enacted, that all negro or other slaves,
conspiring to rebel or make insurrection, shall suffer
death, and be excluded all benefit of clergy;--we think it
proper to declare, that all slaves who have been or shall be
seduced, by his Lordship's Proclamation, or other arts, to
desert their masters' service, and take up arms against the
inhabitants of this Colony, shall be liable to such
punishment as shall hereafter be directed by the General
Convention. And to the end that all such who have taken this
unlawful and wicked step may return in safety to their duty,
and escape the punishment due to their crimes, we hereby
promise pardon to them, they surrendering themselves to
Colonel William Woodford or any other commander of our
troops, and not appearing in arms after the publication
hereof. And we do further earnestly recommend it to all
humane and benevolent persons in this Colony to explain and
make known this our offer of mercy to those unfortunate
people."[540]
Gen. Washington was not long in observing the effects of the Dunmore
proclamation. He began to fully realize the condition of affairs at
the South, and on Dec. 15 wrote Joseph Reed as follows:--
"If the Virginians are wise, that arch-traitor to the rights
of humanity, Lord Dunmore, should be instantly crushed, if
it takes the force of the whole army to do it; otherwise,
like a snow-ball 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 indispensably necessary is the negroes; for, if he
gets formidable, numbers of them will be tempted to join who
will be afraid to do it without."[541]
The slaves themselves were not incapable of perceiving the cunning of
Lord Dunmore. England had forced slavery upon the colonists against
their protest, had given instructions to the royal governors
concerning the increase of the traffic, and therefore could not be
more their friends than the colonists. The number that went over to
the enemy grew smaller all the while, and finally the British were
totally discouraged in this regard. Lord Dunmore was unwilling to
acknowledge the real cause of his failure to secure black recruits,
and so he charged it to the fever.
"LORD DUNMORE TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
[No. 1] "SHIP 'DUNMORE,' IN ELIZABETH RIVER, VIRGINIA,
30th March, 1776
* * * * *
"Your Lordship will observe by my letter, No. 34, that I
have been endeavouring 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 earned off a great many very fine fellows."
[No. 3] "SHIP 'DUNMORE,' IN GWIN'S ISLAND HARBOUR,
VIRGINIA, June 26, 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 two thousand blacks, with whom I should have
had no doubt of penetrating into the heart of this
Colony."[542]
While the colonists felt, as Dr. Hopkins had written, that something
ought to be done toward securing the services of the Negroes, yet
their representatives were not disposed to legislate the Negro into
the army. He was there, and still a conservative policy was pursued
respecting him. Some bold officers took it upon themselves to receive
Negroes as soldiers. Gen. Greene, in a letter to Gen. Washington,
called attention to the raising of a Negro regiment on Staten Island.
"CAMP ON LONG ISLAND,
July 21, 1776, two o'clock.
"SIR; Colonel Hand 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_."[543]
To the evidence already produced as to the indiscriminate employment
of Negroes as soldiers in the American army, the observations of a
foreign officer are added. Under date of the 23d of October, 1777, a
Hessian officer wrote:[544]--
"From here to Springfield, there are few habitations which
have not a negro family dwelling in a small house near by.
The negroes are here as fruitful as other cattle. The young
ones are well foddered, especially while they are still
calves. Slavery is, moreover, very gainful. The negro is to
be considered just as the bond-servant of a peasant. The
negress does all the coarse work of the house, and the
little black young ones wait on the little white young ones.
_The negro can take the field, instead of his master; and
therefore no regiment is to be seen in which there are not
negroes in abundance: and among them there, are able-bodied,
strong, and brave fellows_. Here, too, there are many
families of free negroes, who live in good houses, have
property, and live just like the rest of the
inhabitants."[545]
In the month of May, 1777, the Legislature of Connecticut sought to
secure some action on the subject of the employment of Negroes as
soldiers."
"In May, 1777, the General Assembly of Connecticut appointed
a Committee 'to take into consideration the state and
condition of the negro and mulatto slaves in this State, and
what may be done for their emancipation.' This Committee, in
a report presented at the same session (signed by the
chairman, the Hon. Matthew Griswold of Lyme), recommended--
"'That the effective negro and mulatto slaves be allowed to
enlist with the Continental battalions now raising in this
State, under the following regulations and restrictions;
viz., that all such negro and mulatto slaves as can procure,
either by bounty, hire, or in any other way, such a sum to
be paid to their masters as such negro or mulatto shall be
judged to be reasonably worth by the selectmen of the town
where such negro or mulatto belongs, shall be allowed to
enlist into either of said battalions, and shall thereupon
be, de facto, _free and emancipated_; and that the master of
such negro or mulutto shall be exempted from the support and
maintenance of such negro or mulatto, in case such negro or
mulatto shall hereafter become unable to support and
maintain himself.
"'And that, in case any such negro or mulatto slave shall be
disposed to enlist into either of said battalions during the
[war], he shall be allowed so to do: and such negro or
mulatto shall be appraised by the selectmen of the town to
which he belongs, and his master shall be allowed to receive
the bounty to which such slave may be entitled and also
one-half of the annual wages of such slave during the time
he shall continue in said service; provided, however, that
said master shall not be allowed to receive such part of
said wages after he shall have received so much as amounts,
together with the bounty, to the sum at which he was
appraised.'"
In the lower house the report was put over to the next session, but
when it reached the upper house it was rejected.
"You will see by the Report of Committee, May, 1777, that
General Varnum's plan for the enlistment of slaves had been
anticipated in Connecticut; with this difference, that Rhode
Island _adopted_ it, while Connecticut did _not._
"The two States reached nearly the same _results_ by
different methods. The unanimous declaration of the officers
at Cambridge, in the winter of 1775, _against_ the
enlistment of slaves,--confirmed by the Committee of
Congress,--had some weight, I think, with the Connecticut
Assembly, so far as the formal enactment of a law
_authorized_ such enlistments was in question. At the same
time, Washington's license to _continue_ the enlistment of
negroes was regarded as a rule of action both by the
selectmen in making up, and by the State Government in
accepting, the quota of the towns. The process of
draughting, in Connecticut, was briefly this: The
able-bodied men, in each town, were divided into 'classes:'
and each class was required to furnish one or more men, as
the town's quota required, to answer a draught. Now, the
Assembly, at the same session at which the proposition for
enlisting slaves was rejected (May, 1777), passed an act
providing that any _two_ men belonging to this State, 'who
should procure an able-bodied soldier or recruit to enlist
into either of the Continental battalions to be raised from
this State,' should themselves be exempted from draught
during the continuance of such enlistment. Of recruits or
draughted men thus furnished, neither the selectmen nor
commanding officers questioned the _color_ or the civil
_status_: 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), an act was passed which
gave more direct encouragement to the enlistment of slaves.
By this existing law, the master who emancipated a slave was
not released from the liability to provide for his support.
This law was now 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 it was probable 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.' This enactment enabled the
selectmen to offer an additional inducement to enlistment
for making up the quota of the town. The slave (or servant
for term of years) might receive his freedom; the master
might secure exemption from draught, and a discharge from
future liabilities, to which he must otherwise have been
subjected. In point of fact, some hundreds of blacks--slaves
and freemen--were enlisted, from time to time, in the
regiments of the State troops and of the Connecticut line.
_How_ many, it is impossible to tell: for, from first to
last, the company or regimental rolls indicate _no
distinctions_ of color. The _name_ is the only guide, and,
in turning over the rolls of the Connecticut line, the
frequent recurrence of names which were exclusively
appropriated to negroes and slaves, shows how considerable
was their proportion of the material of the Connecticut
army; while such surnames as 'Liberty.' 'Freeman,'
'Freedom,' &c, by scores, indicate with what anticipations,
and under what inducements, they entered the service.
As to the efficiency of the service they rendered, I can say
nothing from the records, except what is to be gleaned from
scattered files such as one of the petitions I send you. So
far as my acquaintance extends, almost every family has its
traditions of the good and faithful service of a black
servant or slave, who was killed in battle, or served
through the war, and came home to tell stories of hard
fighting, and draw his pension. In my own native town,--not
a large one,--I remember five such pensioners, three of
whom, I believe, had been slaves, and, in fact, _were_
slaves to the day of their death; for (and this explains the
uniform action of the General Assembly on petitions for
emancipation) neither the towns nor the State were inclined
to exonerate the master, at a time when slavery was becoming
unprofitable, from the obligation to provide for the old age
of his slave."[546]
Gen. Varnum, a brave and intelligent officer from Rhode Island, early
urged the employment of Negro soldiers. He communicated his views to
Gen. Washington, and he referred the correspondence to the governor of
Rhode Island.
GEN. WASHINGTON TO GOV. COOKE.
HEADQUARTERS, 2d January, 1778
SIR:--Enclosed you will receive a copy of a letter from
General Varnum to me, upon the means which might be adopted
for completing the Rhode Island troops to their full
proportion in the Continental army. I have nothing to say in
addition to what I wrote the 29th of the last month on this
important subject, but to desire that you will give the
officers employed in this business all the assistance in
your power.
I am with great respect, sir,
Your most obedient servant,
G. WASHINGTON.
"To GOVERNOR COOKE."[547]
The letter of Gen. Varnum to Gen. Washington, in reference to the
employment of Negroes as soldiers, is as follows:--
GEN. VARNUM TO GEN. WASHINGTON.
"CAMP, January 2d, 1778.
"SIR:--The two battalions from the State of Rhode Island
being small, and there being a necessity of the state's
furnishing an additional number to make up their proportion
in the Continental army; the field officers have represented
to me the propriety of making one temporary battalion from
the two, so that one entire corps of officers may repair to
Rhode Island, in order to receive and prepare the recruits
for the field. It is imagined that a battalion of negroes
can be easily raised there. Should that measure be adopted,
or recruits obtained upon any other principle, the service
will be advanced. The field officers who go upon this
command, are Colonel Greene, Lieutenant Colonel Olney, and
Major Ward; seven captains, twelve lieutenants, six ensigns,
one paymaster, one surgeon and mates, one adjutant and one
chaplain.
"I am your Excellency's most obedient servant,
"J.M. VARNUM.
"TO HIS EXCELLENCY GENERAL WASHINGTON."[548]
Gov. Cooke wrote Gen. Washington as follows:--
"STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, &c,
"PROVIDENCE, January 19th, 1778.
"SIR:--Since we had the honor of addressing Your Excellency
by Mr. Thompson, we received your favor of the 2d of January
current, enclosing a proposition of Gen. Varnum's for
raising a battalion of negroes.
"We in our letter of the 15th current, of which we send a
duplicate, have fully represented our present circumstances,
and the many difficulties we labor under, in respect to our
filling up the Continental battalions. In addition thereto,
will observe, that we have now in the state's service within
the government, two battalions of infantry, and a regiment
of artillery who are enlisted to serve until the 16th day of
March next; and the General Assembly have ordered two
battalions of infantry, and a regiment of artillery, to be
raised, to serve until the 16th of March, 1779. So that we
have raised and kept in the field, more than the proportion
of men assigned us by Congress.
"The General Assembly of this state are to convene
themselves on the second Monday of February next, when your
letters will be laid before them, and their determination
respecting the same, will be immediately transmitted to Your
Excellency.
"I have the honor to be, &c.,
"NICHOLAS COOKE.
"TO GEN. WASHINGTON."[549]
The governor laid the above letters before the General Assembly, at
their February session; and the following act was passed:--
"Whereas, for the preservation of the rights and liberties
of the United States, it is necessary that the whole powers
of government should be exerted in recruiting the
Continental battalions; and whereas, His Excellency Gen.
Washington hath enclosed to this state a proposal made to
him by Brigadier General Varnum, to enlist into the two
battalions, raising by this state, such slaves as should be
willing to enter into the service; and whereas, history
affords us frequent precedents of the wisest, the freest,
and bravest nations having liberated their slaves, and
enlisted them as soldiers to fight in defence of their
country; and also whereas, the enemy, with a great force,
have taken possession of the capital, and of a greater part
of this state; and this state is obliged to raise a very
considerable number of troops for its own immediate defence,
whereby it is in a manner rendered impossible for this state
to furnish recruits for the said two battalions, without
adopting the said measure so recommended.
"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 enlisting, shall be entitled to, and
receive, all the bounties, wages, and encouragements,
allowed by the Continental Congress, to any soldier
enlisting into their service.
"It is further 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
rendered unable to maintain himself, he shall not be
chargeable 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 owner, for every such slave
so enlisting, a sum according to his worth; at a price not
exceeding £120 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 the said
slave; or otherwise he shall not be entitled to said sum.
"And for settling and ascertaining the value of such
slaves,--
"It is further voted and resolved, that a committee of five
be appointed, to wit:
"One from each county; any three of whom, to be a quorum, to
examine the slaves who shall be so enlisted, after they
shall have passed muster, and to set a price upon each slave
according to his value, as aforesaid.
"It is further voted and resolved, that upon any ablebodied
negro, mulatto, or Indian slave, enlisting as aforesaid, the
officer who shall so enlist him, after he shall have passed
muster, as aforesaid, shall deliver a certificate thereof,
to the master or mistress of said negro, mulatto, or Indian
slave; which shall discharge him from the service of his
said master or mistress, as aforesaid.
"It is further voted and resolved, that the committee who
shall estimate the value of any slave, as aforesaid, shall
give a certificate of the sum at which he may be valued, to
the owner of said slave; and the general treasurer of this
state is hereby empowered and directed to give unto the said
owner of the said slave, his promissory note, as treasurer,
as aforesaid, for the sum of money at which he shall be
valued, as aforesaid, payable on demand, with interest at
the rate of six per cent. per annum; and that said notes,
which shall be so given, shall be paid with the money which
is due to this state, and is expected from Congress; the
money which has been borrowed out of the general treasury,
by this Assembly, being first re-placed."[550]
This measure met with some opposition, but it was too weak to effect
any thing. The best thing the minority could do was to enter a written
protest.
"PROTEST AGAINST ENLISTING SLAVES TO SERVE IN THE ARMY.
"We, the subscribers, beg leave to dissent from the vote of
the lower house, ordering a regiment of negroes to be raised
for the Continental service, for the following reasons,
viz.:
"1st. Because, in our opinion, there is not a sufficient
number of negroes in the state, who would have an
inclination to enlist, and would pass muster, to constitute
a regiment; and raising several companies of blacks, would
not answer the purposes intended; and therefore the attempt
to constitute said regiment would prove abortive, and be a
fruitless expense to the state.
"2d. The raising such a regiment, upon the footing proposed,
would suggest an idea and produce an opinion in the world,
that the state had purchased a band of slaves to be employed
in the defence of the rights and liberties of our country,
which is wholly inconsistent with those principles of
liberty and constitutional government, for which we are so
ardently contending; and would be looked upon by the
neighboring states in a contemptible point of view, and not
equal to their troops; and they would therefore be unwilling
that we should have credit for them, as for an equal number
of white troops; and would also give occasion to our enemies
to suspect that we are not able to procure our own people to
oppose them in the field; and to retort upon us the same
kind of ridicule we so liberally bestowed upon them, on
account of Dunmore's regiment of blacks; or possibly might
suggest to them the idea of employing black regiments
against us.
"3d. The expense of purchasing and enlisting said regiment,
in the manner proposed, will vastly exceed the expenses of
raising an equal number of white men; and at the same time
will not have the like good effect.
"4th. Great difficulties and uneasiness will arise in
purchasing the negroes from their masters; and many of the
masters will not be satisfied with any prices allowed.
"JOHN NORTHUP, GEORGE PIERCE,
"JAMES BABCOK, JR., SYLVESTER GARDNER,
"OTHNIEL GORTON, SAMUEL BABCOCK."[551]
Upon the passage of the Act, Gov. Cooke hastened to notify Gen.
Washington of the success of the project.
"PROVIDENCE, February 23d, 1778.
"SIR:--I have been favored with your Excellency's letter of
the [3d instant,][552] enclosing a proposal made to you by
General Varnum, for recruiting the two Continental
battalions raised by this state.
"I laid the letter before the General Assembly at their
session, on the second Monday in this month; who,
considering the pressing necessity of filling up the
Continental army, and the peculiarly difficult circumstances
of this state, which rendered it in a manner impossible to
recruit our battalions in any other way, adopted the
measure.
"Liberty is given to every effective slave to enter the
service during the war; and upon his passing muster, he is
absolutely made free, and entitled to all the wages,
bounties and encouragements given by Congress to any soldier
enlisting into their service. The masters are allowed at the
rate of £120, for the most valuable slave; and in proportion
to those of less value.
"The number of slaves in this state is not great; but it is
generally thought that three hundred, and upwards, will be
enlisted.
"I am, with great respect, sir,
"Your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant,
"NICHOLAS COOKE.
"TO GEN. WASHINGTON."[553]
Where masters had slaves in the army, they were paid an annual
interest on the appraised value of the slaves, out of the public
treasury, until the end of the military service of such slaves.[554]
If owners presented certificates from the committee appointed to
appraise enlisted Negroes, they were paid in part or in full in
"Continental loan-office certificates."[555]
The reader will remember, that it has been already shown that Negroes,
both bond and free, were excluded from the militia of Massachusetts;
and, furthermore, that both the Committee of Safety and the Provincial
Congress had opposed the enlistment of Negroes. The first move in the
colony to secure legal enlistments and separate organizations of
Colored troops was a communication to the General Assembly of
Massachusetts, 3d of April, 1778.
"_To the Honorable Council, and House of Representatives,
Boston, or at Roxbury._
"HONORED GENTLEMEN,--At the opening of this campaign, our
forces should be all ready, well equipped with arms and
ammunition, with clothing sufficient to stand them through
the campaign, their wages to be paid monthly, so as not to
give the soldiery so much reason of complaint as it is the
general cry from the soldiery amongst whom I am connected.
"We have accounts of large re-enforcements a-coming over
this spring against us; and we are not so strong this
spring, I think, as we were last. Great numbers have
deserted; numbers have died, besides what is sick, and
incapable of duty, or bearing arms in the field.
"I think it is highly necessary that some new augmentation
should be added to the army this summer,--all the
re-enforcements that can possibly be obtained. For now is
the time to exert ourselves or never; for, if the enemy can
get no further hold this campaign than they now possess, we
[have] no need to fear much from them hereafter.
"A re-enforcement can quick be raised of two or three
hundred men. Will your honors grant the liberty, and give me
the command of 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 fortune 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 method that I would point out to your Honors in raising
a detachment of negroes;--that a company should consist of a
hundred, including commissioned officers; and that the
commissioned officers should be white, and consist of one
captain, one captain-lieutenant, two second lieutenants; the
orderly sergeant white; and that there should be three
sergeants black, four corporals black, two drums and two
fifes black, and eighty-four rank and file. These should
engage to serve till the end of the war, and then be free
men. And I doubt not, that no gentleman that is a friend to
his country will disapprove of this plan, or be against his
negroes enlisting into the service to maintain the cause of
freedom, and suppress the worse than savage enemies of our
land.
"I beg your Honors to grant me the liberty of raising one
company, if no more. It will be far better than to fill up
our battalions with runaways and deserters from Gen.
Burgoyne's army, who, after receiving clothing and the
bounty, in general make it their business to desert from us.
In the lieu thereof, if they are [of] a mind to serve in
America, let them supply the families of those gentlemen
where those negroes belong that should engage.
"I rest, relying on your Honor's wisdom in this matter, as
it will be a quick way of having a re-enforcement to join
the grand army, or to act in any other place that occasion
shall require; and I will give my faith and assurance that I
will act upon honor and fidelity, should I take the command
of such a party as I have been describing.
"So I rest till your Honors shall call me; and am your very
humble and obedient servant,
"THOMAS KENCH,
"In Col. Craft's Regiment of Artillery, now on Castle
Island.
"CASTLE ISLAND, April 3, 1778."
A few days later he addressed another letter to the same body.
"_To the Honorable Council in Boston._
"The letter I wrote before I heard of the disturbance with
Col. Seares, Mr. Spear, and a number of other gentlemen,
concerning the freedom of negroes, in Congress Street. It is
a pity that riots should be committed on the occasion, as it
is justifiable that negroes should have their freedom, and
none amongst us be held as slaves, as freedom and liberty is
the grand controversy that we are contending for; and I
trust, under the smiles of Divine Providence, we shall
obtain it, if all our minds can be united; and putting the
negroes into the service will prevent much uneasiness, and
give more satisfaction to those that are offended at the
thoughts of their servants being free.
"I will not enlarge, for fear I should give offence; but
subscribe myself
"Your faithful servant,
"THOMAS KENCH.
"CASTLE ISLAND, April 7, 1778."[556]
On the 11th of April the first letter was referred to a joint
committee, with instructions "to consider the same, and report." On
the 17th of April, "a resolution of the General Assembly of Rhode
Island for enlisting Negroes in the public service" was referred to
the same committee. In the Militia Act of 1775, the exceptions were,
"Negroes, Indians, and mulattoes." By the act of May, 1776, providing
for the re-enforcement of the American army, it was declared that,
"Indians, negroes, and mulattoes, shall not be held to take up arms or
procure any person to do it in their room." By another act, passed
Nov. 14, 1776, looking toward the improvement of the army, "Negroes,
Indians, and mulattoes" were excluded. During the year 1776 an order
was issued for taking the census of all males above sixteen, but
excepted "Negroes, Indians, and mulattoes." But after some reverses to
the American army, Massachusetts passed a resolve on Jan. 6, 1777,
"for raising every seventh man to complete our quota," "without any
exceptions, save the people called Quakers." This was the nearest
Massachusetts ever got toward recognizing Negroes as soldiers. And on
the 5th of March, 1778, Benjamin Goddard, for the selectmen, Committee
of Safety, and militia officers of the town of Grafton, protested
against the enlistment of the Negroes in his town.
It is not remarkable, in view of such a history, that Massachusetts
should have hesitated to follow the advice of Thomas Kench. On the
28th of April, 1778, a law was draughted following closely the
Rhode-Island Act. But no separate organization was ordered; and,
hence, the Negroes served in white organizations till the close of the
American Revolution.
There is nothing in the records of Virginia to show that there was
ever any legal employment of Negroes as soldiers; but, from the
following, it is evident that free Negroes _did_ serve, and that there
was no prohibition against them, providing they showed their
certificates of freedom:--
"And whereas several negro slaves have deserted from their
masters, and under pretence of being free men have enlisted
as soldiers: For prevention whereof, _Be it enacted_, that
it shall not be lawful for any recruiting officer within
this commonwealth to enlist any negro or mulatto into the
service of this or either of the United States, until such
negro or mulatto shall produce a certificate from some
justice of the peace for the county wherein he resides that
he is a free man."[557]
Maryland employed Negroes as soldiers, and sent them into regiments
with white soldiers. John Cadwalder of Annapolis, wrote Gen.
Washington on the 5th of June, 1781, in reference to Negro soldiers,
as follows:--
"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."[558]
The legislature of New York, on the 20th of March, 1781, passed the
following Act, providing for the raising of two regiments of blacks:--
"SECT. 6.--And be it further enacted by the authority
aforesaid, that any person who shall deliver one or more of
his or her able-bodied male slaves to any warrant officer,
as afore said, to serve in either of the said 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 future maintenance of such slave, any
law to the contrary notwithstanding: And such slave so
entered 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."[559]
The theatre of the war was now transferred from the Eastern to the
Middle and Southern colonies. Massachusetts alone had furnished, and
placed in the field, 67,907 men; while all the colonies south of
Pennsylvania, put together, had furnished but 50,493,--or 8,414 _less_
than the single colony of Massachusetts.[560] It was a difficult task
to get the whites to enlist at the South. Up to 1779, nearly all the
Negro soldiers had been confined to the New-England colonies. The
enemy soon found out that the Southern colonies were poorly protected,
and thither he moved. The Hon. Henry Laurens of South Carolina, an
intelligent and observing patriot, wrote Gen. Washington on the 16th
of March, 1779, concerning the situation at the South:--
"Our affairs [he wrote] 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
more so unless further reinforcements 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."[561]
Gen. Washington sent the following conservative reply:--
"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 battalions 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."[562]
The gifted and accomplished Alexander Hamilton, a member of
Washington's military family, was deeply interested in the plan
suggested by the Hon. Henry Laurens, whose son was on Washington's
staff. Col. John Laurens was the bearer of the following remarkable
letter from Hamilton to John Jay, President of Congress.
"HEADQUARTERS, March 14, 1779.
"To JOHN JAY.
"DEAR SIR,--Col. Laurens who will have the honor of
delivering you this letter, is on his way to South Carolina,
on a project which I think, in the present situation of
affairs there, is a very good one, and deserves every kind
of support and encouragement. This is, to raise two, three,
or four battalions of negroes, with the assistance of the
government of the State, by contributions from the owners in
proportion to the number they possess. If you should think
proper to enter upon the subject with him, he will give you
a detail of his plan. He wishes to have it recommended by
Congress to the State: and, as an inducement, that they
should engage to take those battalions into Continental pay.
"It appears to me, that an expedient of this kind, in the
present state of Southern affairs, is the most rational that
can be adopted, and promises very important advantages.
Indeed, I hardly see how a sufficient force can be collected
in that quarter without it; and the enemy's operations there
are growing infinitely more serious and formidable. I have
not the least doubt that the negroes will make very
excellent soldiers with proper management; and I will
venture to pronounce, that they cannot be put into better
hands than those of Mr. Laurens. He has all the zeal,
intelligence, enterprise, and every other qualification,
necessary to succeed in such an undertaking. It is a maxim
with some great military judges, that, with sensible
officers, soldiers can hardly be too stupid; and, on this
principle, it is thought that the Russians would make the
best troops in the world, it they were under other officers
than their own. The King of Prussia is among the number who
maintain this doctrine; and has a very emphatic saying on
the occasion, which I do not exactly recollect. I mention
this because I hear it frequently objected to the scheme of
embodying negroes, that they are too stupid to make
soldiers. This is so far from appearing to me a valid
objection, that I think their want of cultivation (for their
natural faculties are probably as good as ours), joined to
that habit of subordination which they acquire from a life
of servitude, will make them sooner become soldiers than our
white inhabitants. Let officers be men of sense and
sentiment; and the nearer the soldiers approach to machines,
perhaps the better.
"I foresee that this project will have to combat much
opposition from prejudice and self-interest. The contempt we
have been taught to entertain for the blacks makes us fancy
many things that are founded neither in reason nor
experience; and an unwillingness to part 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 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.
"With the truest respect and esteem,
"I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
"ALEX. HAMILTON."[563]
The condition of the Southern States became a matter of Congressional
solicitude. The letter of Col. Hamilton was referred to a special
committee on the 29th of March, 1779. It was represented that South
Carolina especially was in great danger. The white population was
small; and, while there were some in the militia service, it was
thought necessary to keep as large a number of whites at home as
possible. The fear of insurrection, the desertion[564] of Negroes to
the enemy, and the exposed condition of her border, intensified the
anxiety of the people. The only remedy seemed to lie in the employment
of the more fiery spirits among the Negroes as the defenders of the
rights and interests of the colonists. Congress rather hesitated to
act,--it was thought that that body lacked the authority to order the
enlistment of Negroes in the States,--and therefore recommended to
"the states of South Carolina and Georgia, if they shall think the
same expedient, to take measures immediately for raising three
thousand able-bodied negroes." After some consideration the following
plan was recommended by the special committee, and adopted:--
"IN CONGRESS, March 29, 1779.
"The Committee, consisting of Mr. Burke, Mr. Laurens, Mr.
Armstrong, Mr. Wilson, and Mr. Dyer, appointed to take into
consideration the circumstances of the Southern States, and
the ways and means for their safety and defence, report,--
* * * * *
"That the State of South Carolina, as represented by the
delegates of the said State and by Mr. Huger, who has come
hither at the request of the Governor of the said State, on
purpose to explain the particular circumstances thereof, is
unable to make any effectual efforts with militia, by reason
of the great proportion of citizens necessary to remain at
home to prevent insurrections among the negroes, and to
prevent the desertion of them to the enemy.
"That the state of the country, and the great numbers of
those people among them, expose the inhabitants to great
danger from the endeavors of the enemy to excite them either
to revolt or desert.
"That it is suggested by the delegates of the said State and
by Mr. Huger, that a force might be raised in the said State
from among the negroes, which would not only be formidable
to the enemy from their numbers, and the discipline of which
they would very readily admit, but would also lessen the
danger from revolts and desertions, by detaching the most
vigorous and enterprising from among the negroes.
"That, as this measure may involve inconveniences peculiarly
affecting the States of South Carolina and Georgia, the
Committee are of the opinion that the same should be
submitted to the governing powers of the said States; and if
the said powers shall judge it expedient to raise such a
force, that the United States ought to defray the expense
thereof: whereupon,
"Resolved, That it be recommended to the States of South
Carolina and Georgia, if they shall think the same
expedient, to take measures immediately for raising three
thousand able-bodied negroes.
"That the said negroes be formed into separate corps, as
battalions, according to the arrangements adopted for the
main army, to be commanded by white commissioned and
non-commissioned officers.
"That the commissioned officers be appointed by the said
States.
"That the non-commissioned officers may, if the said States
respectively shall think proper, be taken from among the
non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Continental
battalions of the said States respectively.
"That the Governors of the said States, together with the
commanding officer of the Southern army, be empowered to
incorporate the several Continental battalions of their
States with each other respectively, agreeably to the
arrangement of the army, as established by the resolutions
of May 27, 1778; and to appoint such of the supernumerary
officers to command the said negroes as shall choose to go
into that service.
"Resolved, That Congress will make provision for paying the
proprietors of such negroes as shall be enlisted for the
service of the United States during the war a full
compensation for the property, at a rate not exceeding one
thousand dollars for each active, able bodied negro man of
standard size, not exceeding thirty-five years of age, who
shall be so enlisted and pass muster.
"That no pay or bounty be allowed to the said negroes, but
that they be clothed and subsisted at the expense of the
United States.
"That every negro who shall well and faithfully serve as a
soldier to the end of the present war, and shall then return
his arms, be emancipated, and receive the sum of fifty
dollars."[565]
Congress supplemented the foregoing measure by commissioning young
Col. Laurens to carry forward the important work suggested. The
gallant young officer was indeed worthy of the following
resolutions:--
"Whereas John Laurens, Esq., who has heretofore acted as
aide-de-camp to the Commander-in-chief, is desirous of
repairing to South Carolina, with a design to assist in
defence of the Southern States;--
"_Resolved_, That a commission of lieutenant-colonel be
granted to the said John Laurens, Esq."[566]
He repaired to South Carolina, and threw all his energies into his
noble mission. That the people did not co-operate with him, is
evidenced in the following extract from a letter he subsequently wrote
to Col. Hamilton:--
"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 remain the smallest hopes of
success."[567]
The enemy was not slow in discovering the division of sentiment among
the colonists as to the policy of employing Negroes as soldiers. And
the suspicions of Gen. Washington, indicated to Henry Laurens, in a
letter already quoted, were not groundless. On the 30th of June, 1779,
Sir Henry Clinton issued a proclamation to the Negroes. It first
appeared in "The Royal Gazette" of New York, on the 3d of July, 1779.
"By his Excellency Sir HENRY CLINTON, K.B. General and
Commander-in-chief of all his Majesty's Forces within the
Colonies laying 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.
"But I do most strictly forbid any Person to sell or claim
Right over any NEGROE, the property of a Rebel, who may take
Refuge with any part of this Army: And I do promise to every
NEGROE 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, PHILLIPSBURGH, the
30th day of June, 1779.
"H. CLINTON.
"By his Excellency's command,
"JOHN SMITH, _Secretary_."
The proclamation had effect. Many Negroes, weary of the hesitancy of
the colonists respecting acceptance of their services, joined the
ministerial army. On the 14th of February, 1780, Col. Laurens wrote
Gen. Washington, from Charleston, S.C., as follows:--
"Private accounts say that General Prevost is left to
command at Savannah; that his troops consist of the Hessians
and Loyalists that were there before, re-enforced by a corps
of blacks and a detachment of savages. It is generally
reported that Sir Henry Clinton commands the present
expedition."[568]
Lord Cornwallis also issued a proclamation, offering protection to all
Negroes who should seek his command. But the treatment he gave them,
as narrated by Mr. Jefferson in a letter to Dr. Gordon, a few years
after the war, was extremely cruel, to say the least.
"Lord Cornwallis destroyed all my growing crops of corn and
tobacco; he burned all my barns, containing the same
articles of the last year, having first taken what corn he
wanted; he used, as was to be expected, all my stock of
cattle, sheep, and hogs, for the sustenance of his army, and
carried off all the horses capable of service; of those too
young for service he cut the throats; and he burned all the
fences on the plantation, so as to leave it an absolute
waste. _He carried off also about thirty slaves. Had this
been to give them freedom, he would have done right_; but it
was to consign them to inevitable death from the small-pox
and putrid fever, then raging in his camp. This I knew
afterwards to be the fate of twenty-seven of them. I never
had news of the remaining three, but presume they shared the
same fate. When I say that Lord Cornwallis did all this, I
do not mean that he carried about the torch in his own
hands, but that it was all done under his eye; the situation
of the house, in which he was, commanding a view of every
part of the plantation, so that he must have seen every
fire. I relate these things on my own knowledge, in a great
degree, as I was on the ground soon after he left it. He
treated the rest of the neighborhood somewhat in the same
style, but not with that spirit of total extermination with
which he seemed to rage over my possessions. Wherever he
went, the dwelling-houses were plundered of every thing
which could be carried off. Lord Cornwallis's character in
England would forbid the belief that he shared in the
plunder; but that his table was served with the plate thus
pillaged from private houses, can be proved by many hundred
eye-witnesses. From an estimate I made at that time, on the
best information I could collect, I suppose _the State of
Virginia lost, under Lord Cornwallis's hand, that year,
about thirty thousand slaves; and that, of these,
twenty-seven thousand died of the small-pox and camp-fever,
and the rest were partly sent to the West Indies and
exchanged for rum, sugar, coffee, and fruit; and partly sent
to New York, from whence they went, at the peace, either to
Nova Scotia or to England. From this last place, I believe,
they have been lately sent to Africa._ History will never
relate the horrors committed by the British Army in the
Southern States of America."[569]
Col. Laurens was called from the South, and despatched to France on an
important mission in 1780. But the effort to raise Negro troops in the
South was not abandoned.
On the 13th of March, 1780, Gen. Lincoln, in a letter to Gov. Rutledge
of South Carolina, dated at Charleston, urged the importance of
raising a Negro regiment at once. He wrote,--
"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 have recommended it, and
because it thereby becomes my duty to attempt to have it
executed, but because my own mind suggests the utility and
importance of the measure, as the safety of the town makes
it necessary."
James Madison saw in the emancipation and arming of the Negroes the
only solution of the vexatious Southern problem. On the 20th of
November, 1780, he wrote Joseph Jones as follows:--
"Yours of the 18th came yesterday. I am glad to find the
Legislature persist 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, which ought never
to be lost sight of in a contest for 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."[570]
The struggle went on between Tory and Whig, between traitor and
patriot, between selfishness and the spirit of noble consecration to
the righteous cause of the Americans. Gen. Greene wrote from North
Carolina on the 28th of February, 1781, to Gen. Washington as
follows:--
"The enemy have ordered two regiments of negroes to be
immediately embodied, and are drafting a great proportion of
the young men of that State [South Carolina], to serve
during the war."[571]
Upon his return to America, Col. Laurens again espoused his favorite
and cherished plan of securing black levies for the South. But
surrounded and hindered by the enemies of the country he so dearly
loved, and for the honor and preservation of which he gladly gave his
young life, his plans were unsuccessful. In two letters to Gen.
Washington, a few months before he fell fighting for his country, he
gave an account of the trials that beset his path, which he felt led
to honorable duty. The first bore date of May 19, 1782.
"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 howlings 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
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 question is put, we shall be
outvoted 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 attachment 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."[572]
The second was dated June 12, 1782, and breathes a despondent air:--
"The approaching session of the Georgia Legislature, and the
encouragement given me by Governor Howley, who has a
decisive influence in the counsels of that country, induce
me to remain in this quarter for the purpose of taking new
measures on the subject of our black levies. The arrival of
Colonel Baylor, whose seniority entitles him to the command
of the light troops, affords me ample leisure for pursuing
the business in person; and I shall do it with all the
tenacity of a man making a last effort on so interesting an
occasion."[573]
Washington's reply showed that he, too, had lost faith in the
patriotism of the citizens of the South to a great degree. He wrote
his faithful friend:--
"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
every thing 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 these circumstances, it would
rather have been surprising if you had succeeded; nor will
you, I fear, have better success in Georgia."[574]
Although the effort of the Legislature of Connecticut to authorize the
enlistment of Negroes in 1777 had failed, many Negroes, as has been
shown, served in regiments from that State; and a Negro company was
organized. When white officers refused to serve in it, the gallant
David Humphreys volunteered his services, and became the captain.
"In November, 1782, he was, by resolution of Congress,
commissioned as a Lieutenant-Colonel, with order that his
commission should bear date from the 23d of June, 1780, when
he received his appointment as aide-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."[575]
The following was the roster of his company:--
"_Captain_,
DAVID HUMPHREYS.
_Privates_,
Jack Arabus, Brister Baker, John Ball,
John Cleveland, Cæsar Bagdon, John McLean,
Phineas Strong, Gamaliel Terry, Jesse Vose,
Ned Fields, Lent Munson, Daniel Bradley,
Isaac Higgins, Heman Rogers, Sharp Camp,
Lewis Martin, Job Cæsar, Jo Otis.
Cæsar Chapman, John Rogers, James Dinah,
Peter Mix, Ned Freedom, Solomon Sowtice,
Philo Freeman, Ezekiel Tupham, Peter Freeman,
Hector Williams, Tom Freeman, Cato Wilbrow,
Juba Freeman, Congo Zado, Cuff Freeman,
Cato Robinson, Peter Gibbs, Juba Dyer,
Prince George, Prince Johnson, Andrew Jack,
Prince Crosbee, Alex. Judd, Peter Morando,
Shubael Johnson, Pomp Liberty, Peter Lion,
Tim Cæsar, Cuff Liberty, Sampson Cuff,
Jack Little, Pomp Cyrus, Dick Freedom,
Bill Sowers, Harry Williams, Pomp McCuff."[576]
Dick Violet, Sharp Rogers,
But notwithstanding the persistent and bitter opposition to the
employment of slaves, from the earliest hours of the Revolutionary War
till its close, Negroes, bond and free, were in all branches of the
service. It is to be regretted that the exact number cannot be known.
Adjutant-Gen. Scammell made the following official return of Negro
soldiers in the main army, under Washington's immediate command, two
months after the battle of Monmouth; but the Rhode-Island regiment,
the Connecticut, New York, and New-Hampshire troops are not mentioned.
Incomplete as it is, it is nevertheless official, and therefore
correct as far as it goes.
RETURN OF NEGROES IN THE ARMY, 24TH AUG., 1778.
+--------------------+----------+------------+-----------+--------+
| BRIGADES. | PRESENT. |SICK ABSENT.|ON COMMAND.| TOTAL. |
+--------------------+----------+------------+-----------+--------+
| North Carolina . | 42 | 10 | 6 | 58 |
| Woodford . . | 36 | 3 | 1 | 40 |
| Muhlenburg . . | 64 | 26 | 8 | 98 |
| Smallwood . . | 20 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
| 2d Maryland . . | 43 | 15 | 2 | 60 |
| Wayne . . . | 2 | -- | -- | 2 |
| 2d Pennsylvania . | [33] | [1] | [1] | [35] |
| Clinton . . . | 33 | 2 | 4 | 39 |
| Parsons . . . | 117 | 12 | 19 | 148 |
| Huntington . . | 56 | 2 | 4 | 62 |
| Nixon . . . | 26 | -- | 1 | 27 |
| Patterson . . | 64 | 13 | 12 | 89 |
| Late Learned . | 34 | 4 | 8 | 46 |
| Poor. . . . | 16 | 7 | 4 | 27 |
+--------------------+----------+------------+-----------+--------+
| Total . . | 586 | 98 | 71 | 755 |
+--------------------+----------+------------+-----------+--------+
ALEX. SCAMMELL, _Adj.-Gen._[577]
It is gratifying to record the fact, that the Negro was enrolled as a
soldier in the war of the American Revolution. What he did will be
recorded in the following chapter.
FOOTNOTES:
[520] Journal of the Continental Congress.
[521] The Hon. Peter Force, in an article to The National
Intelligencer, Jan. 16 and 18, 1855, says: "Southern colonies, jointly
with all the others, and separately each for itself, did agree to
prohibit the importation of slaves, voluntarily and in good faith."
Georgia was not represented in this Congress, and, therefore, could
not sign.
[522] Sparks's Washington, vol. ii. pp. 488-495.
[523] Sparks's Franklin, vol. viii, p. 42.
[524] Jefferson's Works, vol. i. p. 135.
[525] Ibid., pp. 23,24.
[526] Journals of the Provincial Congress of Mass., p. 29.
[527] Adams's Works, vol. ii. p. 322.
[528] Journals of the Provincial Congress of Mass., p. 553.
[529] Ibid., p. 302.
[530] The following is a copy of Gen. Gates's order to
recruiting-officers:--
"You are not to enlist any deserter from the Ministerial
Army, or any stroller, negro, or vagabond, or person
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 who 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."
--MOORE'S _Diary of the American Revolution_, vol. i. p.
110.
[531] The Provincial Congress of South Carolina, Nov 20, 1775, passed
the following resolve:--"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 exigencies may require; and that a daily pay
of seven shillings and sixpence be allowed for the service of each
such slave while actually employed."
--_American Archives_, 4th Series, vol. iv p. 6.
[532] Sparks's Washington, vol. iii. p. 155, note.
[533] Force's American Archives, 4th Series, vol. iii. p. 1,385.
[534] Spark's Washington, vol. iii. p. 218.
[535] Journals of Congress, vol ii. p. 26.
[536] Hopkins's Works, vol. ii. p. 584.
[537] Works of John Adams, vol. ii p. 428.
[538] Force's American Archives, 4th Series, vol. iv. p. 202.
[539] Force's American Archives, 4th Series, vol. iii. p. 1,387.
[540] Force's American Archives, 4th Series, vol. iv. pp. 84, 85.
[541] Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed, vol. i. p. 135.
[542] Force's American Archives, 5th Series, vol. ii. pp 160, 162.
[543] Force's American Archives, 5th Series, vol. i p. 486.
[544] During a few months of study in New-York City, I came across the
above in the library of the N.Y. Hist. Soc.
[545] Schloezer's Briefwechsel, vol. iv. p. 365.
[546] An Historical Research (Livermore), pp. 114-116.
[547] R.I. Col. Recs., vol. viii. p. 640.
[548] R.I. Col. Recs., vol. viii. p. 641.
[549] Ibid., vol. viii. p. 524.
[550] R.I. Col. Recs., vol viii. pp. 358-360.
[551] R.I. Col. Recs., vol. viii. p. 361.
[552] This is evidently a mistake, as Washington's letter was dated
Jan. 2, as the reader will see.
[553] R.I. Col. Recs., vol. viii. p. 526.
[554] Ibid., p. 376.
[555] Ibid., p. 465.
[556] MSS. Archives of Mass., vol. cxcix. pp. 80, 84.
[557] Hening, vol. ix. 280.
[558] Sparks's Correspondence of the American Revolution, vol. iii. p.
331.
[559] Laws of the State of New York, chap. xxxiii. (March 20, 1781,
4th Session).
[560] The American Loyalist, p. 30, second edition.
[561] Sparks's Washington, vol. vi p. 204, note.
[562] Ibid., vol. vi. p. 204.