Historical Papers The Black Men in the Revolution and War of 1812.
by John Greenleaf Whittier
The return of the festival of our national independence has called our
attention to a matter which has been very carefully kept out of sight by
orators and toast-drinkers. We allude to the participation of colored
men in the great struggle for American freedom. It is not in accordance
with our taste or our principles to eulogize the shedders of blood even
in a cause of acknowledged justice; but when we see a whole nation doing
honor to the memories of one class of its defenders to the total neglect
of another class, who had the misfortune to be of darker complexion, we
cannot forego the satisfaction of inviting notice to certain historical
facts which for the last half century have been quietly elbowed aside,
as no more deserving of a place in patriotic recollection than the
descendants of the men to whom the facts in question relate have to a
place in a Fourth of July procession.
Of the services and sufferings of the colored soldiers of the Revolution
no attempt has, to our knowledge, been made to preserve a record. They
have had no historian. With here and there an exception, they have all
passed away; and only some faint tradition of their campaigns under
Washington and Greene and Lafayette, and of their cruisings under Decatur
and Barry, lingers among their, descendants. Yet enough is known to show
that the free colored men of the United States bore their full proportion
of the sacrifices and trials of the Revolutionary War.
The late Governor Eustis, of Massachusetts,--the pride and boast of the
democracy of the East, himself an active participant in the war, and
therefore a most competent witness,--Governor Morrill, of New Hampshire,
Judge Hemphill, of Pennsylvania, and other members of Congress, in the
debate on the question of admitting Missouri as a slave State into the
Union, bore emphatic testimony to the efficiency and heroism of the black
troops. Hon. Calvin Goddard, of Connecticut, states that in the little
circle of his residence he was instrumental in securing, under the act of
1818, the pensions of nineteen colored soldiers. "I cannot," he says,
"refrain from mentioning one aged black man, Primus Babcock, who proudly
presented to me an honorable discharge from service during the war, dated
at the close of it, wholly in the handwriting of George Washington; nor
can I forget the expression of his feelings when informed, after his
discharge had been sent to the War Department, that it could not be
returned. At his request it was written for, as he seemed inclined to
spurn the pension and reclaim the discharge." There is a touching
anecdote related of Baron Stenben on the occasion of the disbandment of
the American army. A black soldier, with his wounds unhealed, utterly
destitute, stood on the wharf just as a vessel bound for his distant home
was getting under way. The poor fellow gazed at the vessel with tears in
his eyes, and gave himself up to despair. The warm-hearted foreigner
witnessed his emotion, and, inquiring into the cause of it, took his last
dollar from his purse and gave it to him, with tears of sympathy
trickling down his cheeks. Overwhelmed with gratitude, the poor wounded
soldier hailed the sloop and was received on board. As it moved out from
the wharf, he cried back to his noble friend on shore, "God Almighty
bless you, Master Baron!"
"In Rhode Island," says Governor Eustis in his able speech against
slavery in Missouri, 12th of twelfth month, 1820, "the blacks formed an
entire regiment, and they discharged their duty with zeal and fidelity.
The gallant defence of Red Bank, in which the black regiment bore a part,
is among the proofs of their valor." In this contest it will be
recollected that four hundred men met and repulsed, after a terrible and
sanguinary struggle, fifteen hundred Hessian troops, headed by Count
Donop. The glory of the defence of Red Bank, which has been pronounced
one of the most heroic actions of the war, belongs in reality to black
men; yet who now hears them spoken of in connection with it? Among the
traits which distinguished the black regiment was devotion to their
officers. In the attack made upon the American lines near Croton River
on the 13th of the fifth month, 1781, Colonel Greene, the commander of
the regiment, was cut down and mortally wounded; but the sabres of the
enemy only reached him through the bodies of his faithful guard of
blacks, who hovered over him to protect him, every one of whom was
killed. The late Dr. Harris, of Dunbarton, New Hampshire, a
Revolutionary veteran, stated, in a speech at Francistown, New Hampshire,
some years ago, that on one occasion the regiment to which he was
attached was commanded to defend an important position, which the enemy
thrice assailed, and from which they were as often repulsed. "There
was," said the venerable speaker, "a regiment of blacks in the same
situation,--a regiment of negroes fighting for our liberty and
independence, not a white man among them but the officers,--in the same
dangerous and responsible position. Had they been unfaithful or given
way before the enemy, all would have been lost. Three times in
succession were they attacked with most desperate fury by well-
disciplined and veteran troops; and three times did they successfully
repel the assault, and thus preserve an army. They fought thus through
the war. They were brave and hardy troops."
In the debate in the New York Convention of 1821 for amending the
Constitution of the State, on the question of extending the right of
suffrage to the blacks, Dr. Clarke, the delegate from Delaware County,
and other members, made honorable mention of the services of the colored
troops in the Revolutionary army.
The late James Forten, of Philadelphia, well known as a colored man of
wealth, intelligence, and philanthropy, enlisted in the American navy
under Captain Decatur, of the Royal Louis, was taken prisoner during his
second cruise, and, with nineteen other colored men, confined on board
the horrible Jersey prison-ship; All the vessels in the American service
at that period were partly manned by blacks. The old citizens of
Philadelphia to this day remember the fact that, when the troops of the
North marched through the city, one or more colored companies were
attached to nearly all the regiments.
Governor Eustis, in the speech before quoted, states that the free
colored soldiers entered the ranks with the whites. The time of those
who were slaves was purchased of their masters, and they were induced to
enter the service in consequence of a law of Congress by which, on
condition of their serving in the ranks during the war, they were made
freemen. This hope of liberty inspired them with courage to oppose their
breasts to the Hessian bayonet at Red Bank, and enabled them to endure
with fortitude the cold and famine of Valley Forge. The anecdote of the
slave of General Sullivan, of New Hampshire, is well known. When his
master told him that they were on the point of starting for the army, to
fight for liberty, he shrewdly suggested that it would be a great
satisfaction to know that he was indeed going to fight for his liberty.
Struck with the reasonableness and justice of this suggestion, General
Sullivan at once gave him his freedom.
The late Tristam Burgess, of Rhode Island, in a speech in Congress, first
month, 1828, said "At the commencement of the Revolutionary War, Rhode
Island had a number of slaves. A regiment of them were enlisted into the
Continental service, and no braver men met the enemy in battle; but not
one of them was permitted to be a soldier until he had first been made a
freeman."
The celebrated Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina, in his speech on the
Missouri question, and in defence of the slave representation of the
South, made the following admissions:--
"They (the colored people) were in numerous instances the pioneers, and
in all the laborers, of our armies. To their hands were owing the
greatest part of the fortifications raised for the protection of the
country. Fort Moultrie gave, at an early period of the inexperienced and
untried valor of our citizens, immortality to the American arms; and in
the Northern States numerous bodies of them were enrolled, and fought
side by side with the whites at the battles of the Revolution."
Let us now look forward thirty or forty years, to the last war with Great
Britain, and see whether the whites enjoyed a monopoly of patriotism at
that time.
Martindale, of New York, in Congress, 22d of first month, 1828, said:
"Slaves, or negroes who had been slaves, were enlisted as soldiers in the
war of the Revolution; and I myself saw a battalion of them, as fine,
martial-looking men as I ever saw, attached to the Northern army in the
last war, on its march from Plattsburg to Sackett's Harbor."
Hon. Charles Miner, of Pennsylvania, in Congress, second month, 7th,
1828, said: "The African race make excellent soldiers. Large numbers of
them were with Perry, and helped to gain the brilliant victory of Lake
Erie. A whole battalion of them were distinguished for their orderly
appearance."
Dr. Clarke, in the convention which revised the Constitution of New York
in 1821, speaking of the colored inhabitants of the State, said:--
"In your late war they contributed largely towards some of your most
splendid victories. On Lakes Erie and Champlain, where your fleets
triumphed over a foe superior in numbers and engines of death, they were
manned in a large proportion with men of color. And in this very house,
in the fall of 1814, a bill passed, receiving the approbation of all the
branches of your government, authorizing the governor to accept the
services of a corps of two thousand free people of color. Sir, these
were times which tried men's souls. In these times it was no sporting
matter to bear arms. These were times when a man who shouldered his
musket did not know but he bared his bosom to receive a death-wound from
the enemy ere he laid it aside; and in these times these people were
found as ready and as willing to volunteer in your service as any other.
They were not compelled to go; they were not drafted. No; your pride had
placed them beyond your compulsory power. But there was no necessity for
its exercise; they were volunteers,--yes, sir, volunteers to defend that
very country from the inroads and ravages of a ruthless and vindictive
foe which had treated them with insult, degradation, and slavery."
On the capture of Washington by the British forces, it was judged
expedient to fortify, without delay, the principal towns and cities
exposed to similar attacks. The Vigilance Committee of Philadelphia
waited upon three of the principal colored citizens, namely, James
Forten, Bishop Allen, and Absalom Jones, soliciting the aid of the people
of color in erecting suitable defences for the city. Accordingly,
twenty-five hundred colored then assembled in the State-House yard, and
from thence marched to Gray's Ferry, where they labored for two days
almost without intermission. Their labors were so faithful and efficient
that a vote of thanks was tendered them by the committee. A battalion of
colored troops was at the same time organized in the city under an
officer of the United States army; and they were on the point of marching
to the frontier when peace was proclaimed.
General Jackson's proclamations to the free colored inhabitants of
Louisiana are well known. In his first, inviting them to take up arms,
he said:--
"As sons of freedom, you are now called on to defend our most inestimable
blessings. As Americans, your country looks with confidence to her
adopted children for a valorous support. As fathers, husbands, and
brothers, you are summoned to rally round the standard of the eagle, to
defend all which is dear in existence."
The second proclamation is one of the highest compliments ever paid by a
military chief to his soldiers:--
"TO THE FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR.
"Soldiers! when on the banks of the Mobile I called you to take up arms,
inviting you to partake the perils and glory of your white fellow-
citizens, I expected much from you; for I was not ignorant that you
possessed qualities most formidable to an invading enemy. I knew with
what fortitude you could endure hunger, and thirst, and all the fatigues
of a campaign. I knew well how you loved your native country, and that
you, as well as ourselves, had to defend what man holds most dear,--his
parents, wife, children, and property. You have done more than I
expected. In addition to the previous qualities I before knew you to
possess, I found among you a noble enthusiasm, which leads to the
performance of great things.
"Soldiers! the President of the United States shall hear how praiseworthy
was your conduct in the hour of danger, and the Representatives of the
American people will give you the praise your exploits entitle you to.
Your general anticipates them in applauding your noble ardor."
It will thus be seen that whatever honor belongs to the "heroes of the
Revolution" and the volunteers in "the second war for independence" is to
be divided between the white and the colored man. We have dwelt upon
this subject at length, not because it accords with our principles or
feelings, for it is scarcely necessary for us to say that we are one of
those who hold that
"Peace hath her victories
No less renowned than war,"
and certainly far more desirable and useful; but because, in popular
estimation, the patriotism which dares and does on the battle-field takes
a higher place than the quiet exercise of the duties of peaceful
citizenship; and we are willing that colored soldiers, with their
descendants, should have the benefit, if possible, of a public sentiment
which has so extravagantly lauded their white companions in arms. If
pulpits must be desecrated by eulogies of the patriotism of bloodshed, we
see no reason why black defenders of their country in the war for liberty
should not receive honorable mention as well as white invaders of a
neighboring republic who have volunteered in a war for plunder and
slavery extension. For the latter class of "heroes" we have very little
respect. The patriotism of too many of them forcibly reminds us of Dr.
Johnson's definition of that much-abused term "Patriotism, sir! 'T is
the last refuge of a scoundrel."
"What right, I demand," said an American orator some years ago, "have the
children of Africa to a homestead in the white man's country?" The
answer will in part be found in the facts which we have presented. Their
right, like that of their white fellow-citizens, dates back to the dread
arbitrament of battle. Their bones whiten every stricken field of the
Revolution; their feet tracked with blood the snows of Jersey; their toil
built up every fortification south of the Potomac; they shared the famine
and nakedness of Valley Forge and the pestilential horrors of the old
Jersey prisonship. Have they, then, no claim to an equal participation
in the blessings which have grown out of the national independence for
which they fought? Is it just, is it magnanimous, is it safe, even, to
starve the patriotism of such a people, to cast their hearts out of the
treasury of the Republic, and to convert them, by political
disfranchisement and social oppression, into enemies?
