American Revolution

(1775-1783)
When General George Washington assumed command of the Continental Army in July 1775, his Adjutant General, Horatio Gates, reminded recruiters, “not to accept any deserter from the Ministerial army, nor any stroller, negro, or vagabond.” In response, the British offered enslaved Blacks freedom if they would fight for the Crown, and many joined the British.

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Benjamin Quales explained the dilemma of the Black soldier in this war: ... can best be understood by realizing that his major loyalty was not to a place nor a people, but to a principle... He was likely to join the side that made him the quickest and best offer in terms of those “unalienable rights” of which Mr. Jefferson had spoken.

Historians have noted that the Revolutionary War was not universally supported among colonists. It has been estimated that only one third of the colonial population supported it, one
third was against it, and the other third was neutral. Consequently, it was not easy to enlist.

Note: The terms Blacks, Negroes, Colored and Africans are used interchangeably. People of African decent were not regarded as Americans until the passage of the 14th Constitutional Amendment (13 June 1866).

Soldiers to fight the British. By the end of 1775, numerous issues including personnel shortages forced General George Washington to reverse the ban on the use of Black soldiers.

During the American Revolutionary War, the typical Black soldier was a private, often lacking a name or official identity. He was carried on the rolls as A Negro man, or Negro by name, or a Negro name not known.

Some Black soldiers were identified by the classic Negro surnames of the times like Cuffe, Jack, Jupiter, or Cato. However, an unspecified number may have adopted European names, which makes it difficult to determine the actual number of African Americans who served during this war.

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As the war continued, enslaved Blacks substituted for White masters who chose not to fight. Pressured by Congress to increase enlistment, some states compensated slave owners up to 120 pounds for enslaved Africans who served.

By 1778, Massachusetts and Rhode Island allowed enslaved Africans to enroll in the service. Subsequently, a Negro commander led the Bucks of America, an all-Negro company from Massachusetts. Except for the four all-Negro units from these states and Connecticut, most Negroes were integrated into the combat units with whites.

In the Continental Navy, many black sailors served on Revolutionary gunboats. A Negro, Captain Mark Starlin of the Virginia Navy, was commander of the Patriot. Despite his battle record, Starlin was re-enslaved by his old master at the end of the war.

The Continental Congress and General Washington courted Indian allies to join the colonial war effort only whe n treaties of neutrality broke down. It took three years to sign a treaty with the Delaware Indians who were used as scouts and light Calvary troops. However, most Indian tribes supported the British, since they desired English trade goods and resented the aggressive
expansionism of Americans. Unfortunately, the victors of this war viewed the Indians as defeated allies of the British and believed they had a claim to all Indian lands.

By the end of the American Revolution, over 300,000 men would fight, including approximately 5,000 Blacks, and participate in over 50 battles. However, the new U.S. Constitution re-emphasized Black inferiority by deeming that, for political representation, each enslaved Black would only count as three-fifths of a human being.

A few years later, Congress enacted the Militia Act of 1792 thereby restricting militia enrollment to every free and able white male citizen of the respective states…of the age [from] 18 to 45.

In 1798, the Marine Corps adopted a policy forbidding the enlistment of Negroes, Mulattos, and Indians. This policy was effective until 1942.