About 20% of the population in the colonies during the American Revolution was African American, and about half of those were slaves. Many of the African Americans supported the British in the beginning as they were seen as a source of liberty. In fact many of the slaves had high hopes, as some Massachusetts
slaves said they expected “great things from men who have made such a noble stand against the designs of their fellow-men to enslave them.” (Brown 257) Of course the Americans saw this as a ‘white mans’ fight for liberty, since they did not consider the fact that blacks were people mattered in the revolution, and this war was a huge disruption to the slave system.
Since so many blacks supported the British, many actually joined the war effort once they were free; others that were slaves were allowed to join by their masters. In fact there were already blacks involved at the first battle in Lexington
and they were part of the militia. White soldiers were not always happy to have black counterparts in the war, in fact, enlisted men under Washington
complained about them being able to enlist to such an extent that they decided not to allow recruiters to enlist more blacks. Not all the recruiters agreed to this policy however, because they had quotas to meet and blacks were often willing to sign up. Edward Rutledge saw this as a huge problem for the slave system and appealed to the council to put an end to the black enlistments.
The council determined that no blacks would be enlisted in the Army, and that any blacks in the vicinity of the Army were to be arrested if they were not already enlisted. When it was time for a black mans reenlistment, they would be unable to do so. Free blacks protested and when word got back to Washington
, he referred them to the Continental Congress with his support for allowing black enlistment. He knew that they needed more bodies in the Army if they were going to have enough troops. The Congress decided that any blacks already in the Army could reenlist, but no new blacks could join. Soon other states began to follow suit and they even began to stop blacks from joining the militia. Southern states were leery of letting blacks join the army, if blacks were trained and armed it could lead to an insurrection or a revolt. That was not a possibility they were willing to consider.
John Adams on the other hand disagreed. Why should blacks not be allowed to fight for the liberty of America
? The answer so readily available was that whites and blacks can not coexist; it was a direct threat to the slave and class system. But as the numbers of enlisted continued to dwindle, the need for black soldiers became increasingly apparent. When incentives offered to white soldiers could no longer entice, Congress realized that blacks would enlist for incentives. So, they gave the recruitment officers a choice, they could either take black soldiers or recruit from their own militias. Recruiters then began enlisting free black volunteers. The states realized that in order to continue the fight against the British, they not only needed soldiers, but the blacks could be an important part. If the blacks fought for the British they would be a new enemy, and not only that, but slaves could turn on their owners. Many states began to allow black enlistments, and some even offered freedom to slaves, or land grants to owners who would allow their slaves to join in the fight. Southern states continued to balk at allowing blacks and slaves to fight, and even when they were offered alternatives and incentives by the Congress, they still refused to budge; most to their own detriment.
One system that the south finally allowed was Sumter
’s Law in 1781. Sumter
would seize runaway slaves that had been owned by the loyalists and offer them as a recruiting tool. They would allow new white recruits to receive a slave upon their enlistment. Blacks became a new commodity. The loyalists were obviously not happy about this situation, and the British wanted to use the slaves to their advantage. They wanted to make them their allies in the war, not enemies. Slavery had been abolished in the British Isles
in 1773, which gave them a favorable view in the American slave’s eyes. But officially, there was no policy of how to handle blacks in the British army; it was left up to the officials in the field. Lord Dunmore steps in and offers freedom to slaves in the South who will serve for the British. His proclamation, “I hereby further declare all indented servants, negroes, or others (appertaining to rebels) free, that are able and willing to bear arms…” caused a serious backlash among continentals and loyalists alike. There was a certain risk to the British in using slaves, because there were many loyalists who owned and employed them. Even though the loyalists were in support of Britain
they may not take so kindly to having their slaves taken away.
Some slaves continued to resists any service to either side, and many continued to flee to Indian Territory
to escape the Army. Some slaves that worked for the British turned out to be very valuable at spying because they could work both sides and slip in and out of the lines with no problems. The Americans viewed them as less than nothing, and it never occurred to them that they could be a threat. Some slaves went on to obtain not only rank, but pay in the British army and became loyal soldiers. Perhaps the most hated group of blacks that worked for the British became known as the Black Dragoons. They were a group formed by Lord Dunmore and were a unit of former slaves. Every member, including the officers, was black and armed. They rode mounted on horseback throughout the countryside fighting the Whigs. This only served to increase the hostilities of the rebels. The British eventually decided that it was worth sacrificing slavery in order to hold onto the war and afterwards many enlisted slaves were evacuated along with the British.
Source Reference:
Brown, Richard D., ed. Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1791. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
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