Resources

African Americans Serving in the Armies of the Revolution

John U. Rees
Article list: https://tinyurl.com/JohnURees-articles

‘They Were Good Soldiers’: African–Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775–1783
(Helion and Company, UK; US distributor, Casemate Publishing)
(See below for contents)

Contents:
Preface viii
Acknowledgements x
Introduction xi
1 ‘I do promise to every Negroe … full security … within these Lines’: Black Americans in Service to the
Crown 15
2 ‘Numbers of Free Negroes are desirous of inlisting’: An Overview of African Americans in the
Continental Army 22
3 Analysis: ‘Return of the Negroes in the Army,’ August 1778 38
4 Soldier Narratives and Regimental Service 45
5 Massachusetts: ‘The Person of this … Negro Centers a Brave & gallant Soldier’ 50
6 Connecticut: ‘He … entered the service upon condition of receiving his freedom …’ 59
7 New Hampshire: ‘I was in the battles of Harlem-heights & Monmouth’ 70
8 Rhode Island: ‘Very much crippled in one arm … [by] a wound received … [at] Monmouth’ 74
9 New York: ‘The Enemy made a stand and threw up a b[r]east work’ 84
10 New Jersey: ‘Enlisted … for nine months … was in the Battles of Crosswick & [M]onmouth’ 92
11 Pennsylvania: ‘Wounded in the right thigh, at Brandywine …’ 102
12 Georgia: ‘He served as a drummer in this company’ 110
13 South Carolina: ‘A Ball … passed through his left side, killing the Drummer immediately behind’
114
14 Maryland: ‘He will never forget the roaring of Cannon …’ 120
15 Delaware: ‘Discharged … 1782, being a slave for life & claimed’ 129
16 Virginia: ‘Served for two years … in the light infantry commanded by Colo Harry Lee’ 134
17 North Carolina: ‘The men sent on Board of Prison Ships – myself among them …’ 146
18 ‘They had a great frollick … with Fiddling & dancing’: Small Things Forgotten 157
19 ‘Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness’: Post-War Societal Attitudes, the Black Experience, and
Slavery 165
Afterword: ‘They were good soldiers’ 172
Appendices (of the book)
I ‘Being a coloured man he was taken as a waiter’: Overview of Soldiers as Officers’ Servants 176
II African American Women with the Army 185
III Compendium of Deserter Notices for Soldiers of Color 190
IV Analysis of the Chesterfield Supplement’s Black Soldiers 200
Recommended Further Reading and Resources 205
_________________

African American Veterans Featured in the Narrative of:

‘They Were Good Soldiers’: African–Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775–1783
https://www.scribd.com/document/444807314/African-American-Veterans-Featured-in-the-
Narrative-of-They-Were-Good-Soldiers
Helion Blog: “They Were Good Soldiers”
https://helionbooks.wordpress.com/2020/01/23/they-were-good-soldiers-african-americans-serving-
in-the-continental-army-1775-1783/

Excerpt:“’Being a coloured man he was taken as a waiter’: Overview of African Americans as

Officers’ Servants,”
https://www.academia.edu/38094359/Being_a_coloured_man_he_was_taken_as_a_waiter_Overvie
w_of_Officers_Servants
Interview by Kabinettskriege: John Rees on “They Were Good Soldiers: African Americans
Serving in the Continental Army, 1775-1783”
https://kabinettskriege.blogspot.com/2019/09/author-interview-john-rees-on-they-
were.html?fbclid=IwAR0k5rciaz3gU3X9KVOY_nLwlcICBC2AFlIEqgSeyBfcoUzd0k6qt-ABNYo
________________________

“‘Lately apprehended in the first Maryland regiment …’: African American Women with the
Army”
(Excerpted from the book, “‘They were good soldiers.’: African Americans Serving in the
Continental Army, 1775-1783” https://tinyurl.com/Helion-Rees (ISBN 9781911628545, 2019)
https://www.academia.edu/38515415/_Lately_apprehended_in_the_first_Maryland_regiment_Afric
an_American_Women_with_the_Army
Series for Journal of the American Revolution
Nineteenth Century Remembrances of Black Revolutionary Veterans:
Hannah Till: George Washington’s Cook
https://allthingsliberty.com/2021/02/nineteenth-century-remembrances-of-black-revolutionary-
veterans-tannah-hill-george-washingtons-cook/

Nineteenth Century Remembrances of Black Revolutionary Veterans:

Thomas Carney, Maryland Continental Soldier
https://allthingsliberty.com/2021/02/nineteenth-century-remembrances-of-black-revolutionary-
veterans-thomas-carney-maryland-continental-soldier/

Nineteenth Century Remembrances of Black Revolutionary Veterans:

Edward Hector, Bombardier and Wagoner
https://allthingsliberty.com/2021/02/nineteenth-century-remembrances-of-black-revolutionary-
veterans-edward-hector-bombardier-and-wagoner/

Nineteenth Century Remembrances of Black Revolutionary Veterans:

Jacob Francis, Massachusetts Continental and New Jersey Militia
https://allthingsliberty.com/2021/02/nineteenth-century-remembrances-of-black-revolutionary-
veterans-jacob-francis-massachusetts-continental-and-new-jersey-militia/
Nineteenth Century Remembrances of Black Revolutionary Veterans:
New Jersey Soldier Oliver Cromwell
(Not published as of 2/16.2021)

“’She had gone to the Army … to her husband’: Judith Lines’ Unremarked Life”
(To be published in JAR)

Articles Commissioned by American Battlefield Trust

“I offer freedom to the blacks of all Rebels that join me”: Lord Dunmore’s Loyalist Ethiopian
Regiment, 1775-1776
https://www.academia.edu/44364250/_I_offer_freedom_to_the_blacks_of_all_Rebels_that_join_me_L
ord_Dunmores_Loyalist_Ethiopian_Regiment_1775_1776
See also, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/lord-dunmores-ethiopian-regiment

“We … exchanged about ten Rounds … [until] obliged to retire with considerable Loss”
African Americans in the Rhode Island Regiments, 1775-1783
(work in progress)

“Numbers of Free Negroes are desirous of inlisting”: An Overview of African Americans in the
Continental Army
(work in progress)

WordPress Blog Posts

1. More "Good Soldiers" (African American Men and Women Serving in the Continental Army) -
"They Were Good Soldiers": A Belated Introduction to My New Online Endeavor (John U. Rees)
https://continentaldevil.wordpress.com/2020/01/13/they-were-good-soldiers-a-belated-introduction-
to-my-new-online-endeavor/

2. Updated Statistics for the August 1778 "Return of the Negroes in the Army" (Fifteen brigades of
Gen. George Washington's main army)
https://www.academia.edu/42171194/Updated_Statistics_for_the_August_1778_Return_of_the_Neg
roes_in_the_Army_Fifteen_brigades_of_Gen._George_Washingtons_main_army_

3. "Many of them have Proved themselves brave …": More on African American Numbers, and
Officers' Opinions of Them as Soldiers
https://www.academia.edu/42171225/_Many_of_them_have_Proved_themselves_brave_More_on_
African_American_Numbers_and_Officers_Opinions_of_Them_as_Soldiers

4. Analysis: William Ranney’s Painting “Battle of Cowpens” and Black Cavalry Soldiers.
https://www.academia.edu/42171334/Analysis_William_Ranneys_Painting_Battle_of_Cowpens_an
d_Black_Cavalry_Soldiers

5. Roster of African American Veterans Featured in the Book, ‘They Were Good Soldiers’:
African–Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775–1783
https://www.academia.edu/42171396/Roster_of_African_American_Veterans_Featured_in_the_Bo
ok_They_Were_Good_Soldiers_African_Americans_Serving_in_the_Continental_Army_1775_178
3
6. "Left in the Field for dead …": African American Continental Soldiers at the Battle of
Monmouth (Focusing on a Connecticut soldier and a black Rhode Island company in the battle.)
https://www.academia.edu/42171429/_Left_in_the_Field_for_dead_African_American_Continental
_Soldiers_at_the_Battle_of_Monmouth_Focusing_on_a_Connecticut_soldier_and_a_black_Rhode_
Island_company_in_the_battle._

7. Encomiums in Print: Nineteenth Century Remembrances of Black Revolutionary Veterans

(Hannah Till, Thomas Carney, Edward Hector, Jacob Francis, and Oliver Cromwell)
https://continentaldevil.wordpress.com/2020/06/05/encomiums-in-print-nineteenth-
century-remembrances-of-black-revolutionary-veterans-hannah-till-thomas-carney-
edward-hector-jacob-francis-and-oliver-cromwell/
Articles that formed the basis for my book:

“’They were good soldiers.’: African–Americans Serving in the Continental Army, 1775-1783”
(Including a Reevaluation of the Black 1st Rhode Island Regiment, 1778-1780)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/123231213/%E2%80%9CThey-were-good-soldiers-
African%E2%80%93Americans-Serving-in-the-Continental-Army
(Note: The article above is no longer available, having been revised and subsumed by the
book “They Were Good Soldiers”)

“’At Eutau Springs he received three wounds …’: Black Soldiers in Southern Continental
Regiments”
Contents
Overview of Numbers
Gleaning Veterans’ Pensions
Georgia
South Carolina
Maryland
Delaware
Virginia
Analysis: William Ranney’s Painting “Battle of Cowpens” and Black Cavalry Soldiers
Analysis: Officers’ Servants
North Carolina
Post-War Comments on Unit Integration, Slavery, and Societal Attitudes towards Blacks
Appendices
A. "Return of the Negroes in the Army," 24 August 1778, White Plains, New York
B. Estimated Populations of the American Colonies, 1700-1780
C. Synopsis of African-American veterans’ pensions found on Southern Campaign Revolutionary War
Pension Statements & Rosters (with links to pension transcriptions)
D. Analysis of average number of African Americans in all the brigades listed in the 24 August 1778 “Return
of the Negroes in the Army” showing 755 black soldiers in fifteen brigades of Gen. George Washington’s main
army at White Plains, New York.
E. A Study in Complexity: Comparison of Virginia Continental regiment lineage with that of the
Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Lines
F. Synopsis of the Chesterfield List (Virginia, 1780-1781) (Including, “Numbers of African-Americans on the
Chesterfield List.”)
https://www.scribd.com/doc/290761045/At-Eutau-Springs-he-received-three-wounds-Black-
Soldiers-in-Southern-Continental-Regiments
Pensions used for the above study:
A. Delaware and Georgia Pensions Gleaned from “Southern Campaign Revolutionary War Pension
Statements & Rosters,”
https://www.academia.edu/18409677/Delaware_and_Georgia_Pensions_Gleaned_from_Southern_C
ampaign_Revolutionary_War_Pension_Statements_and_Rosters_as_of_14_April_2011_http_www.
southerncampaign.org_pen_
B. South Carolina Pensions Gleaned from SCRWP,
https://www.academia.edu/18409708/South_Carolina_Pensions_Gleaned_from_Southern_Campaig
n_Revolutionary_War_Pension_Statements_and_Rosters_as_of_14_April_2011_http_www.souther
ncampaign.org_pen_
C. Maryland Pensions Gleaned from SCRWP,
https://www.academia.edu/18409828/Maryland_Pensions_Gleaned_from_Southern_Campaign_Rev
olutionary_War_Pension_Statements_and_Rosters_as_of_14_April_2011_http_www.southerncamp
aign.org_pen_
 D. Virginia Pensions Gleaned from SCRWP (Including a Synopsis of the 1780 Chesterfield Roll),
https://www.academia.edu/18409884/Virginia_Pensions_Gleaned_from_Southern_Campaign_Revol
utionary_War_Pension_Statements_and_Rosters_as_of_14_April_2011_http_www.southerncampai
gn.org_pen_
E. North Carolina Pensions Gleaned from SCRWP,
https://www.academia.edu/18409910/North_Carolina_Pensions_Gleaned_from_Southern_Campaig
n_Revolutionary_War_Pension_Statements_and_Rosters_as_of_14_April_2011_http_www.souther
ncampaign.org_pen_
F. Examples of African-Americans Serving in the North Carolina Militia Gleaned from SCRWP,
https://www.academia.edu/18409926/Examples_of_African-
Americans_Serving_in_the_North_Carolina_Militia
See also: Examples of the Complexity of Continental Army Unit Lineage: (The Virginia, Pennsylvania and
Massachusetts Continental Lines)
https://www.scribd.com/doc/307784931/Examples-of-the-Complexity-of-Continental-Army-Unit-Lineage-
The-Virginia-Pennsylvania-and-Massachusetts-Continental-Lines

“Revolutionary War Pension File: Jeffery Brace a.k.a. Stiles (African-American soldier,
6th Connecticut Regiment),” http://www.americanrevolution.org/rees.html
 Other Authors’ Monographs
(African-American Soldiers)
Michael C. Scoggins, “To Assist His Countrymen in Arms: Motivations and Incentives in African-
American Revolutionary War Service,” American Revolution (Magazine of the American Revolution
Association), vol. 1, no. 2 (May 2009), 47-52.
https://www.academia.edu/43680540/Michael_C._Scoggins_To_Assist_His_Countrymen_in_Arms_
Motivations_and_Incentives_in_African-American_Revolutionary_War_Service_
C.R. Cole (with Charles L Blockson), “Hannah Till Mother of Isaac Woorley Till,” (Daughters of the
American Revolution, commemorative marker research, 2015))
https://www.scribd.com/document/125409736/C-R-Cole-with-Charles-L-Blockson-Hannah-Till-
Mother-of-Isaac-Woorley-Till-Daughters-of-the-American-Revolution-commemorative-marker-
research

William L. Calderhead, “Thomas Carney: Unsung Soldier of the American Revolution,” Maryland
Historical Magazine, vol. 84 (Winter 1989), 319-326.
https://www.academia.edu/42201834/William_L._Calderhead_Thomas_Carney_Unsung_Soldier_of
_the_American_Revolution_Maryland_Historical_Magazine_vol._84_Winter_1989_319-326

George Fenwick Jones, "The Black Hessians: Negroes Recruited by the Hessians in South Carolina and
Other Colonies," The South Carolina Historical Magazine, vol. 83, no. 4 (Oct., 1982), 287-302.
https://www.academia.edu/42860211/The_Black_Hessians_Negroes_Recruited_by_the_Hessians_in
_South_Carolina_and_Other_Colonies

Todd W. Braisted, ‘The Black Pioneers and Others: The Military Role of Black Loyalists in the American
War for Independence’, in John W. Polis, (ed.), Moving On: Black Loyalists in the Afro-Atlantic World
(New York and London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1999), 3–37.
https://www.academia.edu/42861545/Todd_W._Braisted_The_Black_Pioneers_and_Others_The_M
ilitary_Role_of_Black_Loyalists_in_the_American_War_for_Independence_
_______________________

More information at,

Recommended Resources
African Americans in the Revolution and Racial Attitudes in America, Past and Present
https://www.academia.edu/43681036/Recommended_Resources_African_Americans_in_the_Revol
ution_and_Racial_Attitudes_in_America_Past_and_Present
 Black drummer of the Hesse Hanau Artillery in Canada 1781-82.
(Artwork by Don Troiani, courtesy of the artist, artist, www.historicalimagebank.com )