This paper primarily reviews the service of black soldiers in the military
of the United States and Confederate States 1861-65, with a critical
view toward the recruiting methods of black soldiers by the
Northern States and their agents.
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Confederate of Color |
Runaway slave Crispus Attucks, killed alongside two white citizens at the Boston Massacre in 1770, is a well-known black American who served in the Revolution, as well as black slave Peter Salem, who shot and killed British Major Pitcairn at Bunker Hill. An all-black regiment under Colonel Christopher Greene distinguished itself against Hessians at Newport, Rhode Island, repelling successive “furious onsets” by the mercenaries. The first woman Continental soldier was Deborah Gannett, who concealed her gender and served throughout the war under the alias of “Robert Shurtlif.”
Author Vernon Jordan states, “the role of the black (slave) in the Revolution can best be understood by realizing that his major loyalty was not to a place, nor to a people, but to a principle (liberty)."
Though we recognize them as former slaves who fought bravely for the American revolutionary cause, the real evidence suggests that slaves who did serve in that conflict were more likely to join the British side and fight against the independence of the colonists. As there is no reliable record of how many blacks fought on either side, it is estimated that 3000 fought on the American side, and Thomas Jefferson placed the number of former slaves fighting for the British at 30,000.
Black Soldiers in Red, Blue and Grey
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