Black Soldiers in American History

Black Soldiers in American History

While many volumes of work have been written on the heroics of Anglo-Americans in defense of the United States, insufficient notice has been given to the extensive involvement of blacks in defense of the United States beginning with, but not limited to, the Revolutionary War. Although bought over in chains, blacks continually demonstrated their commitment to liberty, equality and democracy through their participation and valiant fighting in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

The first group of Africans in the United States is attributed to a group of twenty bought in 1619 to an area that was later settled as Virginia. The status of Africans was typically that of indentured servants, or, as agriculture became important economically, slave. All too often the lives of blacks are viewed solely through the lens of the demoralizing and degrading work a slave does. A careful look at the activities of blacks in the United States will reveal far more complex lives. It is important to remember that where slavery existed there was resistance and that as Anglo colonist began discussing the ideas of liberty, equality and democracy, in the context of their subjugation to the British, blacks were deeply affected by these discourses. As the War for Independence began to unfold, blacks participated extensively in the struggle for freedom. While colonists used slavery as a metaphor in describing their relationship to England, for many thousands of blacks, a life of slavery was a tangible reality. When the opportunity came to rebel, both whites and blacks found themselves involved in acts of insurrection.

As a newly settled area, the thirteen colonies did not have the lu...

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...Address on organization of colored troops", 5 February 1868, Washington: Great Republic Office, 1868.

Endnotes

1 Christian A. Fleetwood, "The Negro as a Soldier", Written for the Negro Congress at the Cotton States and International Exposition", (Atlanta Georgia, 11-23 November 1895), 1.

2 George Henry Moore, "Notes on employment of Negroes in the American Army of the Revolution", (New York, C.T. Evans, 1862), 12.

3 Ibid., 15.

4 Ibid., 15.

5 John Moore, "Untitled", (Boston, Prof. John Moore, 1895), 4.

6 Ibid., 5.

7 Fleetwood, "The Negro as a Soldier", 2.

8 Ibid., 5.

9 "Philadelphia supervisory committee for recruiting colored regiments", (Philadelphia, King and Baird Printers, 1863), 5.

10 George Henry Moore, "Notes on employment of negroes in the American army of the Revolution", 23-24.

11 John Moore, "Untitled", 7.