Chapter XXVI: Military Employment of Negroes (1)

1775-1780.

"Many black soldiers were in the service during all stages
of the war."--SPARKS.

THE COLONIAL STATES IN 1715.--RATIFICATION OF THE
NON-IMPORTATION ACT BY THE SOUTHERN COLONIES.--GEORGE
WASHINGTON PRESENTS RESOLUTIONS AGAINST SLAVERY, IN A
MEETING AT FAIRFAX COURT-HOUSE, VA.--LETTER WRITTEN BY
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TO DEAN WOODWARD, PERTAINING TO
SLAVERY.--LETTER TO THE FREEMEN OF VIRGINIA FROM A
COMMITTEE, CONCERNING THE SLAVES BROUGHT FROM
JAMAICA.--SEVERE TREATMENT OF SLAVES IN THE COLONIES
MODIFIED.--ADVERTISEMENT IN "THE BOSTON GAZETTE" OF THE
RUNAWAY SLAVE CRISPUS ATTUCKS.--THE BOSTON MASSACRE.--ITS
RESULTS.--CRISPUS ATTUCKS SHOWS HIS LOYALTY.--HIS SPIRITED
LETTER TO THE TORY GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE.--SLAVES
ADMITTED INTO THE ARMY.--THE CONDITION OF THE CONTINENTAL
ARMY.--SPIRITED DEBATE IN THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, OVER THE
DRAUGHT OF A LETTER TO GEN. WASHINGTON.--INSTRUCTIONS TO
DISCHARGE ALL SLAVES AND FREE NEGROES IN HIS ARMY.--MINUTES
OF THE MEETING HELD AT CAMBRIDGE.--LORD DUNMORE'S
PROCLAMATION.--PREJUDICE THE SOUTHERN COLONIES.--NEGROES IN
VIRGINIA FLOCK TO THE BRITISH ARMY.--CAUTION TO THE NEGROES
PRINTED IN A WILLIAMSBURG PAPER.--THE VIRGINIA CONVENTION
ANSWERS THE PROCLAMATION OF LORD DUNMORE.--GEN. GREENE, IN A
LETTER TO GEN. WASHINGTON, CALLS ATTENTION TO THE RAISING OF
A NEGRO REGIMENT ON STATEN ISLAND.--LETTER FROM A HESSIAN
OFFICER.--CONNECTICUT LEGISLATURE ON THE SUBJECT OF
EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES AS SOLDIERS.--GEN. VARNUM'S LETTER TO
GEN. WASHINGTON, SUGGESTING THE EMPLOYMENT OF NEGROES, SENT
TO GOV. COOKE.--THE GOVERNOR REFERS VARNUM'S LETTER TO THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY.--MINORITY PROTEST AGAINST ENLISTING SLAVES
TO SERVE IN THE ARMY.--MASSACHUSETTS TRIES TO SECURE LEGAL
ENLISTMENTS OF NEGRO TROOPS.--LETTER OF THOMAS KENCH TO THE
COUNCIL AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, BOSTON, MASS.--NEGROES
SERVE IN WHITE ORGANIZATIONS UNTIL THE CLOSE OF THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION.--NEGRO SOLDIERS SERVE IN VIRGINIA.--MARYLAND
EMPLOY NEGROES.--NEW YORK PASSES AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE
RAISING OF TWO COLORED REGIMENTS.--WAR IN THE MIDDLE AND
SOUTHERN COLONIES.--HAMILTON'S LETTER TO JOHN JAY.--COL.
LAURENS'S EFFORTS TO RAISE NEGRO TROOPS IN SOUTH
CAROLINA.--PROCLAMATION OF SIR HENRY CLINTON INDUCING
NEGROES TO DESERT THE REBEL ARMY.--LORD CORNWALLIS ISSUES A
PROCLAMATION OFFERING PROTECTION TO ALL NEGROES SEEKING HIS
COMMAND.--COL. LAURENS IS CALLED TO FRANCE ON IMPORTANT
BUSINESS.--HIS PLAN FOR SECURING BLACK LEVIES FOR THE SOUTH
UPON HIS RETURN.--HIS LETTERS TO GEN. WASHINGTON IN REGARD
TO HIS FRUITLESS PLANS.--CAPT. DAVID HUMPHREYS RECRUITS A
COMPANY OF COLORED INFANTRY IN CONNECTICUT.--RETURN OF
NEGROES IN THE ARMY IN 1778.

The policy of arming the Negroes early claimed the anxious consideration of the leaders of the colonial army during the American Revolution. England had been crowding her American plantations with slaves at a fearful rate; and, when hostilities actually began, it was difficult to tell whether the American army or the ministerial army would be able to secure the Negroes as allies. In 1715 the royal governors of the colonies gave the Board of Trade the number of the Negroes in their respective colonies. The slave population was as follows:--

NEGROES. | NEGROES.
New Hampshire 150 |Maryland 9,500
Massachusetts 2,000 |Virginia 23,000
Rhode Island 500 |North Carolina 3,700
Connecticut 1,500 |South Carolina 10,500
New York 4,000 | ------
New Jersey 1,500 | Total 58,850
Pennsylvania and Delaware 2,500 |

Sixty years afterwards, when the Revolution had begun, the slave population of the thirteen colonies was as follows:--

NEGROES. | NEGROES.
Massachusetts 3,500 |Maryland 80,000
Rhode Island 4,373 |Virginia 165,000
Connecticut 5,000 |North Carolina 75,000
New Hampshire 629 |South Carolina 110,000
New York 15,000 |Georgia 16,000
New Jersey 7,600 | -------
Pennsylvania 10,000 | Total 501,102
Delaware 9,000 |

Such a host of beings was not to be despised in a great military struggle. Regarded as a neutral element that could be used simply to feed an army, to perform fatigue duty, and build fortifications, the Negro population was the object of fawning favors of the white colonists. In the NON-IMPORTATION COVENANT, passed by the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, on the 24th of October, 1774, the second resolve indicated the feeling of the representatives of the people on the question of the slave-trade:--

"2. We will neither import nor purchase, any slave imported
after the first day of December next; after which time, we
will wholly discontinue the slave-trade, and will neither be
concerned in it ourselves, nor will we hire our vessels, nor
sell our commodities or manufactures to those who are
concerned in it."[520]

It, with the entire covenant, received the signatures of all the delegates from the twelve colonies.[521] The delegates from the Southern colonies were greatly distressed concerning the probable attitude of the slave element. They knew that if that ignorant mass of humanity were inflamed by some act of strategy of the enemy, they might sweep their homes and families from the face of the earth. The cruelties of the slave-code, the harsh treatment of Negro slaves, the lack of confidence in the whites everywhere manifested among the blacks,--as so many horrid dreams, harassed the minds of slaveholders by day and by night. They did not even possess the courage to ask the slaves to remain silent and passive during the struggle between England and themselves. The sentiment that adorned the speeches of orators, and graced the writings of the colonists, during this period, was "the equality of the rights of all men." And yet the slaves who bore their chains under their eyes, who were denied the commonest rights of humanity, who were rated as chattels and real property, were living witnesses to the insincerity and inconsistency of this declaration. But it is a remarkable fact, that all the Southern colonies, in addition to the action of their delegates, ratified the Non-Importation Covenant. The Maryland Convention on the 8th of December, 1774; South Carolina Provincial Congress on the 11th January, 1775; Virginia Convention on the 22d March, 1775; North Carolina Provincial Congress on the 23d of August, 1775; Delaware Assembly on the 25th of March, 1775 (refused by Gov. John Penn); and Georgia,--passed the following resolves thereabouts:--

"1. _Resolved_, That this Congress will adopt, and carry
into execution, all and singular the measures and
recommendations of the late Continental Congress.

"4. _Resolved_, That we will neither import or [nor]
purchase any slave imported from Africa or elsewhere after
this date."

Meetings were numerous and spirited throughout the colonies, in which, by resolutions, the people expressed their sentiments in reference to the mother country. On the 18th of July, 1774, at a meeting held in Fairfax Court-House, Virginia, a series of twenty-four resolutions was presented by George Washington, chairman of the committee on resolutions, three of which were directed against slavery.

"17 _Resolved_. That it is the opinion of this meeting,
that, during our present difficulties and distress, no
slaves ought to be imported into any of the British colonies
on this continent; and we take this opportunity of declaring
our most earnest wishes to see an entire stop for ever put
to such a wicked, cruel, and unnatural trade....

"21. _Resolved_, That it is the opinion of this meeting,
that this and the other associating colonies should break
off all trade, intercourse, and dealings with that colony,
province, or town, which shall decline, or refuse to agree
to, the plan which shall be adopted by the General
Congress....

"24. _Resolved_, That George Washington and Charles
Broadwater, lately elected our representatives to serve in
the General Assembly, be appointed to attend the Convention
at Williamsburg on the first day of August next, and present
these resolves, as the sense of the people of this county
upon the measures proper to be taken in the present alarming
and dangerous situation of America."

Mr. Sparks comments upon the resolutions as follows:--

"The draught, from which the resolves are printed, I find
among Washington's papers, in the handwriting of George
Mason, by whom they were probably drawn up; yet, as they
were adopted by the Committee of which Washington was
chairman, and reported by him as moderator of the meeting,
they may be presumed to express his opinions, formed on a
perfect knowledge of the subject, and after cool
deliberation. This may indeed be inferred from his letter to
Mr. Bryan Fairfax, in which he intimates a doubt only as to
the article favoring the idea of a further petition to the
king. He was opposed to such a step, believing enough had
been done in this way already; but he yielded the point in
tenderness to the more wavering resolution of his
associates.

"These resolves are framed with much care and ability, and
exhibit the question then at issue, and the state of public
feeling, in a manner so clear and forcible as to give them a
special claim to a place in the present work, in addition to
the circumstance of their being the matured views of
Washington at the outset of the great Revolutionary struggle
in which he was to act so conspicuous a part....

"Such were the opinions of Washington, and his associates in
Virginia, at the beginning of the Revolutionary contest. The
seventeenth resolve merits attention, from the pointed
manner in which it condemns the slave trade."[522]

Dr. Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Dean Woodward, dated April 10, 1773, says,--

"I have since had the satisfaction to learn that a
disposition to abolish slavery prevails in North America,
that many of the Pennsylvanians have set their slaves at
liberty; and that even the Virginia Assembly have petitioned
the king for permission to make a law for preventing the
importation of more into that Colony. This request, however,
will probably not be granted as their former laws of that
kind have always been repealed, and as the interest of a few
merchants here has more weight with Government than that of
thousands at a distance."[523]

Virginia gave early and positive proof that she was in earnest on the question of non-importation. One John Brown, a merchant of Norfolk, broke the rules of the colony by purchasing imported slaves, and was severely rebuked in the following article:--

"'TO THE FREEMEN OF VIRGINIA:

"'COMMITTEE CHAMBER, NORFOLK, March 6, 1775

"'Trusting to your sure resentment against the enemies of
your country, we, the committee, elected by ballot for the
Borough of Norfolk, hold up for your just indignation Mr.
John Brown, merchant of this place.

"'On Thursday, the 2d of March, this committee were informed
of the arrival of the brig Fanny, Capt. Watson, with a
number of slaves for Mr. Brown: and, upon inquiry, it
appeared they were shipped from Jamaica as his property, and
on his account; that he had taken great pains to conceal
their arrival from the knowledge of the committee; and that
the shipper of the slaves, Mr. Brown's correspondent, and
the captain of the vessel, were all fully apprised of the
Continental prohibition against that article.

"'From the whole of this transaction, therefore, we, the
committee for Norfolk Borough, do give it as our unanimous
opinion, that the said John Brown, has wilfully and
perversely violated the Continental Association to which he
had with his own hand subscribed obedience, and that,
agreeable to the eleventh article, we are bound forthwith to
publish the truth of the case, to the end that all such foes
to the rights of British America may be publicly known and
universally contemned as the enemies of American liberty,
and that every person may henceforth break off all dealings
with him.'"

And the first delegation from Virginia to Congress in August, 1774, had instructions as follows, drawn by Thomas Jefferson:--

"For the most trifling reasons, and sometimes for no
conceivable reason at all, his Majesty has rejected laws of
the most salutary tendency. _The abolition of domestic
slavery is the great object of desire in those Colonies,
where it was, unhappily, introduced in their infant state.
But, previous to the enfranchisement of the slaves we have,
it is necessary to exclude all further importations from
Africa._ Yet our repeated attempts to effect this by
prohibitions, and by imposing duties which might amount to a
prohibition, have been hitherto defeated by his Majesty's
negative; thus preferring the immediate advantages of a few
British corsairs to the lasting interests of the American
States, and to the rights of human nature, deeply wounded by
this infamous practice."[524]

It is scarcely necessary to mention the fact, that there were several very cogent passages in the first draught of the Declaration of Independence that were finally omitted. The one most pertinent to this history is here given:--

"He has waged cruel war against human nature itself,
violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the
persons of a distant people who never offended him;
captivating and carrying them into slavery in another
hemisphere, or to incur miserable death in their
transportation thither. This piratical warfare, the
opprobrium of _Infidel_ powers, is the warfare of the
_Christian_ king of Great Britain. Determined to keep open a
market where _men_ should be bought and sold, he has
prostituted his negative for suppressing every legislative
attempt to prohibit or to restrain this execrable commerce.
And, that this assemblage of horrors might want no fact of
distinguished die, he is now exciting those very people to
rise in arms among us, and to purchase that liberty of which
he has deprived them, by murdering the people on whom he
also obtruded them; thus paying off former crimes committed
against the _liberties_ of one people with crimes which he
urges them to commit against the _lives_ of another.[525]

The solicitude concerning the slavery question was not so great in the Northern colonies. The slaves were not so numerous as in the Carolinas and other Southern colonies. The severe treatment of slaves had been greatly modified, the spirit of masters toward them more gentle and conciliatory, and the public sentiment concerning them more humane. Public discussion of the Negro question, however, was cautiously avoided. The failure of attempted legislation friendly to the slaves had discouraged their friends, while the critical situation of public affairs made the supporters of slavery less aggressive. On the 25th of October, 1774, an effort was made in the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts to re-open the discussion, but it failed. The record of the attempt is as follows:--

"Mr. Wheeler brought into Congress a letter directed to
Doct. Appleton, purporting the propriety, that while we are
attempting to free ourselves from our present
embarrassments, and preserve ourselves from slavery, that we
also take into consideration the state and circumstances of
the negro slaves in this province. The same was read, and it
was moved that a committee be appointed to take the same
into consideration. After some debate thereon, the question
was put, whether the matter now subside, and it passed in
the affirmative."[526]

Thus ended the attempt to call the attention of the people's representatives to the inconsistency of their doctrine and practice on the question of the equality of human rights. Further agitation of the question, followed by the defeat of just measures in the interest of the slaves, was deemed by many as dangerous to the colony. The discussions were watched by the Negroes with a lively interest; and failure led them to regard the colonists as their enemies, and greatly embittered them. Then it was difficult to determine just what would be wisest to do for the enslaved in this colony. The situation was critical: a bold, clear-headed, loyal-hearted man was needed.

On Tuesday, Oct. 2, 1750, "The Boston Gazette, or Weekly Journal," contained the following advertisement:--

"Ran-away from his master _William Brown_ of _Framingham_,
on the 30th of _Sept_. last, a Molatto Fellow, about 27
Years of Age, named _Crispas_, 5 Feet 2 Inches high, short
curl'd Hair, his Knees nearer together than common; had on a
light colour'd Bear-skin Coat, plain brown Fustian Jacket,
or brown all-Wool one, new Buckskin Breeches, blue Yarn
Stockings, and a checked woolen Shirt.

"Whoever shall take up said Run-away, and convey him to his
abovesaid Master, shall have _ten Pounds_, old Tenor Reward,
and all necessary Charges paid. And all Masters of Vessels
and others, are hereby cautioned against concealing or
carrying off said Servant on Penalty of the Law. _Boston,
October 2, 1750_."

During the month of November,--the 13th and 20th,--a similar advertisement appeared in the same paper; showing that the "Molatto Fellow" had not returned to his master.

Twenty years later "Crispas's" name once more appeared in the journals of Boston. This time he was not advertised as a runaway slave, nor was there reward offered for his apprehension. His soul and body were beyond the cruel touch of master; the press had paused to announce his apotheosis, and to write the name of the Negro patriot, soldier, and martyr to the ripening cause of the American Revolution, in fadeless letters of gold,--CRISPUS ATTUCKS!

On March 5, 1770, occurred the Boston Massacre; and, while it was not the real commencement of the Revolutionary struggle, it was the bloody drama that opened the most eventful and thrilling chapter in American history. The colonists had endured, with obsequious humility, the oppressive acts of Britain, the swaggering insolence of the ministerial troops, and the sneers of her hired minions. The aggressive and daring men had found themselves hampered by the conservative views of a large class of colonists, who feared lest some one should take a step not exactly according to the law. But while the "wise and prudent" were deliberating upon a legal method of action, there were those, who, "made of sterner stuff," reasoned right to the conclusion, that they had rights as colonists that ought to be respected. That there was cause for just indignation on the part of the people towards the British soldiers, there is no doubt. But there is reason to question the time and manner of the assault made by the citizens. Doubtless they had "a zeal, but not according to knowledge." There is no record to controvert the fact of the leadership of Crispus Attucks. A manly-looking fellow, six feet two inches in height, he was a commanding figure among the irate colonists. His enthusiasm for the threatened interests of the Province, his loyalty to the teachings of Otis, and his willingness to sacrifice for the cause of equal rights, endowed him with a courage, which, if tempered with better judgment, would have made him a military hero in his day. But consumed by the sacred fires of patriotism, that lighted his path to glory, his career of usefulness ended at the beginning. John Adams, as the counsel for the soldiers, thought that the patriots Crispus Attucks led were a "rabble of saucy boys, negroes, mulattoes, &c.," who could not restrain their emotion. Attucks led the charge with the shout, "The way to get rid of these soldiers is to attack the main-guard; strike at the root: this is the nest." A shower of missiles was answered by the discharge of the guns of Capt. Preston's company. The exposed and commanding person of the intrepid Attucks went down before the murderous fire. Samuel Gray and Jonas Caldwell were also killed, while Patrick Carr and Samuel Maverick were mortally wounded.

The scene that followed beggared description. The people ran from their homes and places of business into the streets, white with rage. The bells rang out the alarm of danger. The bodies of Attucks and Caldwell were carried into Faneuil Hall, where their strange faces were viewed by the largest gathering of people ever before witnessed. Maverick was buried from his mother's house in Union Street, and Gray from his brother's residence in Royal Exchange Lane. But Attucks and Caldwell, strangers in the city, without relatives, were buried from Faneuil Hall, so justly called "_the Cradle of Liberty_." The four hearses formed a junction in King Street; and from thence the procession moved in columns six deep, with a long line of coaches containing the first citizens of Boston. The obsequies were witnessed by a very large and respectful concourse of people. The bodies were deposited in one grave, over which a stone was placed bearing this inscription:--

"Long as in Freedom's cause the wise contend,
Dear to your country shall your fame extend;
While to the world the lettered stone shall tell
Where Caldwell, Attucks, Gray and Maverick fell."

Who was Crispus Attucks? A Negro whose soul, galling under the destroying influence of slavery, went forth a freeman, went forth not only to fight for _his_ liberty, but to give his life as an offering upon the altar of _American liberty_. He was not a madcap, as some would have the world believe. He was not ignorant of the issues between the American colonies and the English government, between the freemen of the colony and the dictatorial governors. Where he was during the twenty years from 1750 to 1770, is not known; but doubtless in Boston, where he had heard the fiery eloquence of Otis, the convincing arguments of Sewall, and the tender pleadings of Belknap. He had learned to spell out the fundamental principles that should govern well-regulated communities and states; and, having come to the rapturous consciousness of his freedom in fee simple, the brightest crown God places upon mortal man, he felt himself neighbor and friend. His patriotism was not a mere spasm produced by sudden and exciting circumstances. It was an education; and knowledge comes from experience; and the experience of this black hero was not of a single day. Some time before the memorable 5th of March, Crispus addressed the following spirited letter to the Tory governor of the Province:--

"TO THOMAS HUTCHINSON: _Sir_,--You will hear from us with
astonishment. You ought to hear from us with horror. You are
chargeable before God and man, with our blood. The soldiers
were but passive instruments, mere machines; neither moral
nor voluntary agents in our destruction, more than the
leaden pellets with which we were wounded. You was a free
agent. You acted, coolly, deliberately, with all that
premeditated malice, not against us in particular, but
against the people in general, which, in the sight of the
law, is an ingredient in the composition of murder. You will
hear further from us hereafter. Crispus Attucks."[527]

This was the declaration of war. It was fulfilled. The world has heard from him; and, more, the English-speaking world will never forget the noble daring and excusable rashness of Attucks in the holy cause of liberty! Eighteen centuries before he was saluted by death and kissed by immortality, another Negro bore the cross of Christ to Calvary for him. And when the colonists were staggering wearily under their cross of woe, a Negro came to the front, and bore that cross to the victory of glorious martyrdom!

And the people did not agree with John Adams that Attucks led "a motley rabble," but a band of patriots. Their evidence of the belief they entertained was to be found in the annual commemoration of the "5th of March," when orators, in measured sentences and impassioned eloquence, praised the hero-dead. In March, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren, who a few months later, as Gen. Warren, made Bunker Hill the shrine of New-England patriotism, was the orator. On the question of human liberty, he said,--

"That personal freedom is the natural right of every man,
and that property, or an exclusive right to dispose of what
he has honestly acquired by his own labor, necessarily
arises therefrom, are truths which common sense has placed
beyond the reach of contradiction. And no man, or body of
men, can, without being guilty of flagrant injustice, claim
a right to dispose of the persons or acquisitions of any
other man, or body of men, unless it can be proved that such
a right has arisen from some compact between the parties, in
which it has been explicitly and freely granted."

These noble sentiments were sealed by his blood at Bunker Hill, on the 17th of June, 1775, and are the amulet that will protect his fame from the corroding touch of centuries of time

The free Negroes of the Northern colonies responded to the call "_to arms_" that rang from the placid waters of Massachusetts Bay to the verdant hills of Berkshire, and from Lake Champlain to the upper waters of the Hudson. Every Northern colony had its Negro troops, not as separate organizations,--save the black regiment of Rhode Island,--but scattered throughout all of the white organizations of the army. At the first none but free Negroes were received into the army; but before peace came Negroes were not only admitted, they were purchased, and sent into the war, with an offer of freedom and fifty dollars bounty at the close of their service. On the 29th of May, 1775, the "_Committee of Safety_" for the Province of Massachusetts passed the following resolve against the enlistment of Negro slaves as soldiers:--

"Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee, as the
contest now between Great Britain and the colonies respects
the liberties and privileges of the latter, which the
colonies are determined to maintain, that the admission of
any persons, as soldiers, into the army now raising, but
only such as are freemen, will be inconsistent with the
principles that are to be supported, and reflect dishonor on
this colony, and that no slaves be admitted into this army
upon any consideration whatever."[528]

On Tuesday, the 6th of June, 1775, "A resolve of the committee of safety, relative to the [admission] of slaves into the army was read, and ordered to lie on the table for further consideration."[529] But this was but another evidence of the cold, conservative spirit of Massachusetts on the question of other people's rights.

The Continental army was in bad shape. Its arms and clothing, its discipline and efficiency, were at such a low state as to create the gravest apprehensions and deepest solicitude. Gen. George Washington took command of the army in and around Boston, on the 3d of July, 1775, and threw his energies into the work of organization. On the 10th of July he issued instructions to the recruiting-officers of Massachusetts Bay, in which he forbade the enlistment of any "negro," or "any Person who is not an American born, unless such Person has a Wife and Family and is a settled resident in this Country."[530] But, nevertheless, it is a curious fact, as Mr. Bancroft says, "the roll of the army at Cambridge had from its first formation borne the names of men of color." "Free negroes stood in the ranks by the side of white men. In the beginning of the war they had entered the provincial army; the first general order which was issued by Ward, had required a return, among other things, of the 'complexion' of the soldiers; and black men like others were retained in the service after the troops were adopted by the continent." There is no room to doubt. Negroes were in the army from first to last, but were there in contravention of law and positive prohibition.[531]

On the 29th of September, 1775, a spirited debate occurred in the Continental Congress, over the draught of a letter to Gen. Washington, reported by Lynch, Lee, and Adams. Mr. Rutledge of South Carolina moved that the commander-in-chief be instructed to discharge all slaves and free Negroes in his army. The Southern delegates supported him earnestly, but his motion was defeated. Public attention was called to the question, and at length the officers of the army debated it. The following minute of a meeting held at Cambridge preserves and reveals the sentiment of the general officers of the army on the subject:--

"At a council of war, held at head-quarters, October 8th,
1775, present: His Excellency, General Washington;
Major-Generals Ward, Lee, and Putnam Brigadier-Generals
Thomas, Spencer, Heath, Sullivan, Greene, and Gates--the
question was proposed:

"'Whether it will be advisable to enlist any negroes in the
new army? or whether there be a distinction between such as
are slaves and those who are free?'

"It was agreed unanimously to reject all slaves; and, by a
great majority, to reject negroes altogether."

Ten days later, Oct. 18, 1775, a committee of conference met at Cambridge, consisting of Dr. Franklin, Benjamin Harrison, and Thomas Lynch, who conferred with Gen. Washington, the deputy-governors of Connecticut and Rhode Island, and the Committee of the Council of Massachusetts Bay. The object of the conference was the renovation and improvement of the army. On the 23d of October, the employment of Negroes as soldiers came before the conference for action, as follows:--

"Ought not negroes to be excluded from the new enlistment,
especially such as are slaves? all were thought improper by
the council of officers."

"_Agreed_ that they be rejected altogether"

In his General Orders, issued from headquarters on the 12th of November, 1775, Washington said,--

"Neither negroes, boys unable to bear arms, nor old men
unfit to endure the fatigues of the campaign, are to be
enlisted."[532]

But the general repaired this mistake the following month. Lord Dunmore had issued a proclamation declaring "all indented servants, negroes, or others (appertaining to rebels) free." Fearing lest many Negroes should join the ministerial army, in General Orders, 30th December, Washington wrote:--

"As the General is informed that numbers of free negroes are
desirous of enlisting he gives leave to the recruiting
officers to entertain them, and promises to lay the matter
before the Congress, who, he doubts not, will approve of
it."

Lord Dunmore's proclamation is here given:--

"_By his Excellency the Right Honorable_ JOHN, _Earl of_
DUNMORE, _his Majesty's Lieutenant and Governor-General of
the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, and Vice-Admiral of the
same_,--

"A PROCLAMATION.

"As I have ever entertained hopes that an accommodation
might have taken place between _Great Britain_ and this
Colony, without being compelled by my duty to this most
disagreeable but now absolutely necessary step, rendered so
by a body of armed men, unlawfully assembled, firing on his
Majesty's tenders; and the formation of an army, and that
army now on their march to attack his Majesty's troops, and
destroy the well-disposed subject of this Colony: To defeat
such treasonable purposes, and that all such traitors and
their abettors may be brought to justice, and that the peace
and good order of this Colony may be again restored, which
the ordinary course of the civil law is unable to effect, I
have thought fit to issue this my Proclamation; hereby
declaring, that until the aforesaid good purposes can be
obtained, I do, in virtue of the power and authority to me
given by his Majesty, determine to execute martial law, and
cause the same to be executed, throughout this Colony. And,
to the end that peace and good order may the sooner be
restored, I do require every person capable of bearing arms
to resort to his Majesty's standard, or be looked upon as
traitors to his Majesty's Crown and Government, and thereby
become liable to the penalty the law inflicts upon such
offences,--such as forfeiture of life, confiscation of
lands, &c., &c. And I do hereby further declare all indented
servants, negroes, or others (appertaining to Rebels,) free,
that are able and willing to bear arms, they joining his
Majesty's troops, as soon as may be, for the more speedily
reducing this Colony to a proper sense of their duty to his
Majesty's crown and dignity. I do further order and require
all his Majesty's liege subjects to retain their quit-rents,
or any other taxes due, or that may become due, in their own
custody, till such time as peace may be again restored to
this at present most unhappy country, or demanded of them,
for their former salutary purposes, by officers properly
authorized to receive the same.

"Given under my hand, on board the Ship _William_, off
_Norfolk_, the seventh day of November, in the sixteenth
year of his Majesty's reign.

"DUNMORE.

"_God save the King!_"[533]

On account of this, on the 31st of December, Gen. Washington wrote the President of Congress as follows:--

"It has been represented to me, that the free negroes, who
have served in this army, are very much dissatisfied at
being discarded. As it is to be apprehended, that they may
seek employ in the ministerial army, I have presumed to
depart from the resolution respecting them, and have given
license for their being enlisted. If this is disapproved of
by Congress, I will put a stop to it."[534]

This letter was referred to a committee consisting of Messrs. Wythe, Adams, and Wilson. On the 16th of January, 1776, they made the following report:--

"That the free negroes who have served faithfully in the
army at Cambridge may be re-enlist--therein, but no
others."[535]

This action on the part of Congress had reference to the army around Boston, but it called forth loud and bitter criticism from the officers of the army at the South. In a letter to John Adams, dated Oct. 24, 1775, Gen. Thomas indicated that there was some feeling even before the action of Congress was secured. He says,--

"I am sorry to hear that any prejudices should take place in
any Southern colony, with respect to the troops raised in
this. I am certain the insinuations you mention are
injurious, if we consider with what precipitation we were
obliged to collect an army. In the regiments at Roxbury, the
privates are equal to any that I served with in the last
war; very few old men, and in the ranks very few boys. Our
fifers are many of them boys. We have some negroes; but I
look on them, in general, equally serviceable with other men
for fatigue; and, in action, many of them have proved
themselves brave.

"I would avoid all reflection, or any thing that may tend to
give umbrage; but there is in this army from the southward a
number called riflemen, who are as indifferent men as I
ever served with. These privates are mutinous, and often
deserting to the enemy; unwilling for duty of any kind;
exceedingly vicious; and, I think, the army here would be as
well without as with them. But to do justice to their
officers, they are, some of them, likely men."

The Dunmore proclamation was working great mischief in the Southern colonies. The Southern colonists were largely engaged in planting, and, as they were Tories, did not rush to arms with the celerity that characterized the Northern colonists. At an early moment in the struggle, the famous Rev. Dr. Hopkins of Rhode Island wrote the following pertinent extract:--

"God is so ordering it in his providence, that it seems
absolutely necessary something should speedily be done with
respect to the slaves among us, in order to our safety, and
to prevent their turning against us in out present struggle,
in order to get their liberty. Our oppressors have planned
to gain the blacks, and induce them to take up arms against
us, by promising them liberty on this condition; and this
plan they are prosecuting to the utmost of their power, by
which means they have persuaded numbers to join them. And
should we attempt to restrain them by force and severity,
keeping a strict guard over them, and punishing them
severely who shall be detected in attempting to join our
opposers, this will only be making bad worse, and serve to
render our inconsistence, oppression, and cruelty more
criminal, perspicuous, and shocking, and bring down the
righteous vengeance of Heaven on our heads. The only way
pointed out to prevent this threatening evil is to set the
blacks at liberty ourselves by some public acts and laws,
and then give them proper encouragement to labor, or take
arms in the defence of the American cause, as they shall
choose. This would at once be doing them some degree of
justice, and defeating our enemies in the scheme that they
are prosecuting."[536]

On Sunday, the 24th of September, 1775, John Adams recorded the following conversation, that goes to show that Lord Dunmore's policy was well matured:--

"In the evening, Mr. Bullock and Mr. Houston, two gentlemen
from Georgia, came into our room, and smoked and chatted the
whole evening. Houston and Adams disputed the whole time in
good humor. They are both dabs at disputation, I think.
Houston, a lawyer by trade, is one of course, and Adams is
not a whit less addicted to it than the lawyers. The
question was, whether all America was not in a state of war,
and whether we ought to confine ourselves to act upon the
defensive only? He was for acting offensively, next spring
or this fall, if the petition was rejected or neglected. If
it was not answered, and favorably answered, he would be for
acting against Britain and Britons, as, in open war, against
French and Frenchmen; fit privateers, and take their ships
anywhere. These gentlemen give a melancholy account of the
State of Georgia and South Carolina. They say that if one
thousand regular troops should land in Georgia, and their
commander be provided with arms and clothes enough, and
proclaim freedom to all the negroes who would join his camp,
twenty thousand negroes would join it from the two Provinces
in a fortnight. The negroes have a wonderful art of
communicating intelligence among themselves; it will run
several hundreds of miles in a week or fortnight. They say,
their only security is this; that all the king's friends,
and tools of government, have large plantations, and
property in negroes; so that the slaves of the Tories would
be lost, as well as those of the Whigs."[537]

The Negroes in Virginia sought the standards of the ministerial army, and the greatest consternation prevailed among the planters. On the 27th of November, 1775, Edmund Pendleton wrote to Richard Lee that the slaves were daily flocking to the British army.

"The Governour, hearing of this, marched out with three
hundred and fifty soldiers, Tories and slaves, to Kemp's
Landing, and after setting up his standard, and issuing his
proclamation, declaring all persons Rebels who took up arms
for the country, and inviting all slaves, servants, and
apprentices to come to him and receive arms, he proceeded to
intercept Hutchings and his party, upon whom he came by
surprise, but received, it seems, so warm a fire, that the
ragamuffins gave way. They were, however, rallied on
discovering that two companies of our militia gave way; and
left Hutchings and Dr. Reid with a volunteer company, who
maintained their ground bravely till they were overcome by
numbers, and took shelter in a swamp. The slaves were sent
in pursuit of them; and one of Col. Hutchings's own, with
another, found him. On their approach, he discharged his
pistol at his slave, but missed him; and was taken by them,
after receiving a wound in his face with a sword. The number
taken or killed, on either side, is not ascertained. It is
said the Governour went to Dr. Reid's shop, and, after
taking the medicines and dressings necessary for his wounded
men, broke all the others to pieces. Letters mention that
slaves flock to him in abundance; but I hope it is
magnified."[538]

But the dark stream of Negroes that had set in toward the English troops, where they were promised the privilege of bearing arms and their freedom, could not easily be stayed. The proclamation of Dunmore received the criticism of the press, and the Negroes were appealed to and urged to stand by their "true friends." A Williamsburg paper, printed on the 23d of November, 1775, contained the following well-written plea:--

"CAUTION TO THE NEGROES.

"The second class of people for whose sake a few remarks
upon this proclamation seem necessary is the Negroes. They
have been flattered with their freedom, if they be able to
bear arms, and will speedily join Lord Dunmore's troops. To
none, then, is freedom promised, but to such as are able to
do Lord Dunmore service. The aged, the infirm, the women and
children, are still to remain the property of their
masters,--of masters who will be provoked to severity,
should part of their slaves desert them. Lord Dunmore's
declaration, therefore, is a cruel declaration to the
Negroes. He does not pretend to make it out of any
tenderness to them, but solely upon his own account; and,
should it meet with success, it leaves by far the greater
number at the mercy of an enraged and injured people. But
should there be any amongst the Negroes weak enough to
believe that Lord Dunmore intends to do them a kindness, and
wicked enough to provoke the fury of the Americans against
their defenceless fathers and mothers, their wives, their
women and children, let them only consider the difficulty of
effecting their escape, and what they must expect to suffer
if they fall into the hands of the Americans. Let them
further consider what must be their fate should the English
prove conquerors. If we can judge of the future from the
past, it will not be much mended. Long have the Americans,
moved by compassion and actuated by sound policy, endeavored
to stop the progress of slavery. Our Assemblies have
repeatedly passed acts, laying heavy duties upon imported
Negroes; by which they meant altogether to prevent the
horrid traffick. But their humane intentions have been as
often frustrated by the cruelty and covetousness of a set of
English merchants, who prevailed upon the King to repeal our
kind and merciful acts, little, indeed, to the credit of his
humanity. Can it, then, be supposed that the Negroes will be
better used by the English, who have always encouraged and
upheld this slavery, than by their present masters, who pity
their condition; who wish, in general, to make it as easy
and comfortable as possible; _and who would, were it in
their power, or were they permitted, not only prevent any
more Negroes from losing their freedom, but restore it to
such as have already unhappily lost it?_ No: the ends of
Lord Dunmore and his party being answered, they will either
give up the offending Negroes to the rigor of the laws they
have broken, or sell them in the West Indies, where every
year they sell many thousands of their miserable brethren,
to perish either by the inclemency of weather or the cruelty
of barbarous masters. Be not then, ye Negroes, tempted by
this proclamation to ruin yourselves. I have given you a
faithful view of what you are to expect; and declare before
God, in doing it, I have considered your welfare, as well as
that of the country. Whether you will profit by my advice, I
cannot tell; but this I know, that, whether we suffer or
not, if _you_ desert us, _you_ most certainly will."[539]

But the Negroes had been demoralized, and it required an extraordinary effort to quiet them. On the 13th of December, the Virginia Convention put forth an answer to the proclamation of Lord Dunmore. On the 14th of December a proclamation was issued "offering pardon to such slaves as shall return to their duty within ten days after the publication thereof." The following; was their declaration:--

"_By the Representatives of the People of the Colony and
Dominion of Virginia, assembled in General Convention_,

"A DECLARATION.

"Whereas Lord Dunmore, by his Proclamation dated on board
the ship 'William,' off Norfolk, the seventh day of
November, 1775, hath offered freedom to such able-bodied
slaves as are willing to join him, and take up arms against
the good people of this Colony, giving thereby encouragement
to a general insurrection, which may induce a necessity of
inflicting the severest punishments upon those unhappy
people, already deluded by his base and insidious arts, and
whereas, by an act of the General Assembly now in force in
this Colony, it is enacted, that all negro or other slaves,
conspiring to rebel or make insurrection, shall suffer
death, and be excluded all benefit of clergy;--we think it
proper to declare, that all slaves who have been or shall be
seduced, by his Lordship's Proclamation, or other arts, to
desert their masters' service, and take up arms against the
inhabitants of this Colony, shall be liable to such
punishment as shall hereafter be directed by the General
Convention. And to the end that all such who have taken this
unlawful and wicked step may return in safety to their duty,
and escape the punishment due to their crimes, we hereby
promise pardon to them, they surrendering themselves to
Colonel William Woodford or any other commander of our
troops, and not appearing in arms after the publication
hereof. And we do further earnestly recommend it to all
humane and benevolent persons in this Colony to explain and
make known this our offer of mercy to those unfortunate
people."[540]

Gen. Washington was not long in observing the effects of the Dunmore proclamation. He began to fully realize the condition of affairs at the South, and on Dec. 15 wrote Joseph Reed as follows:--

"If the Virginians are wise, that arch-traitor to the rights
of humanity, Lord Dunmore, should be instantly crushed, if
it takes the force of the whole army to do it; otherwise,
like a snow-ball in rolling, his army will get size, some
through fear, some through promises, and some through
inclination, joining his standard but that which renders the
measure indispensably necessary is the negroes; for, if he
gets formidable, numbers of them will be tempted to join who
will be afraid to do it without."[541]

The slaves themselves were not incapable of perceiving the cunning of Lord Dunmore. England had forced slavery upon the colonists against their protest, had given instructions to the royal governors concerning the increase of the traffic, and therefore could not be more their friends than the colonists. The number that went over to the enemy grew smaller all the while, and finally the British were totally discouraged in this regard. Lord Dunmore was unwilling to acknowledge the real cause of his failure to secure black recruits, and so he charged it to the fever.

"LORD DUNMORE TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

[No. 1] "SHIP 'DUNMORE,' IN ELIZABETH RIVER, VIRGINIA,
30th March, 1776

* * * * *

"Your Lordship will observe by my letter, No. 34, that I
have been endeavouring to raise two regiments here--one of
white people, the other of black. The former goes on very
slowly, but the latter very well, and would have been in
great forwardness, had not a fever crept in amongst them,
which earned off a great many very fine fellows."

[No. 3] "SHIP 'DUNMORE,' IN GWIN'S ISLAND HARBOUR,
VIRGINIA, June 26, 1776.

"I am extremely sorry to inform your Lordship, that that
fever, of which I informed you in my letter No. 1, has
proved a very malignant one, and has carried off an
incredible number of our people, especially the blacks. Had
it not been for this horrid disorder, I am satisfied I
should have had two thousand blacks, with whom I should have
had no doubt of penetrating into the heart of this
Colony."[542]

While the colonists felt, as Dr. Hopkins had written, that something ought to be done toward securing the services of the Negroes, yet their representatives were not disposed to legislate the Negro into the army. He was there, and still a conservative policy was pursued respecting him. Some bold officers took it upon themselves to receive Negroes as soldiers. Gen. Greene, in a letter to Gen. Washington, called attention to the raising of a Negro regiment on Staten Island.

"CAMP ON LONG ISLAND,
July 21, 1776, two o'clock.

"SIR; Colonel Hand reports seven large ships are coming up
from the Hook to the Narrows.

"A negro belonging to one Strickler, at Gravesend was taken
prisoner (as he says) last Sunday at Coney Island.
Yesterday he made his escape, and was taken prisoner by the
rifle-guard. He reports eight hundred negroes collected on
Staten Island, this day to be formed into a regiment.

"I am your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant,

"N. GREENE.

"_To his Excellency_ GEN. WASHINGTON, _Headquarters, New
York_."[543]

To the evidence already produced as to the indiscriminate employment of Negroes as soldiers in the American army, the observations of a foreign officer are added. Under date of the 23d of October, 1777, a Hessian officer wrote:[544]--

"From here to Springfield, there are few habitations which
have not a negro family dwelling in a small house near by.
The negroes are here as fruitful as other cattle. The young
ones are well foddered, especially while they are still
calves. Slavery is, moreover, very gainful. The negro is to
be considered just as the bond-servant of a peasant. The
negress does all the coarse work of the house, and the
little black young ones wait on the little white young ones.
_The negro can take the field, instead of his master; and
therefore no regiment is to be seen in which there are not
negroes in abundance: and among them there, are able-bodied,
strong, and brave fellows_. Here, too, there are many
families of free negroes, who live in good houses, have
property, and live just like the rest of the
inhabitants."[545]

In the month of May, 1777, the Legislature of Connecticut sought to secure some action on the subject of the employment of Negroes as soldiers."

"In May, 1777, the General Assembly of Connecticut appointed
a Committee 'to take into consideration the state and
condition of the negro and mulatto slaves in this State, and
what may be done for their emancipation.' This Committee, in
a report presented at the same session (signed by the
chairman, the Hon. Matthew Griswold of Lyme), recommended--

"'That the effective negro and mulatto slaves be allowed to
enlist with the Continental battalions now raising in this
State, under the following regulations and restrictions;
viz., that all such negro and mulatto slaves as can procure,
either by bounty, hire, or in any other way, such a sum to
be paid to their masters as such negro or mulatto shall be
judged to be reasonably worth by the selectmen of the town
where such negro or mulatto belongs, shall be allowed to
enlist into either of said battalions, and shall thereupon
be, de facto, _free and emancipated_; and that the master of
such negro or mulutto shall be exempted from the support and
maintenance of such negro or mulatto, in case such negro or
mulatto shall hereafter become unable to support and
maintain himself.

"'And that, in case any such negro or mulatto slave shall be
disposed to enlist into either of said battalions during the
[war], he shall be allowed so to do: and such negro or
mulatto shall be appraised by the selectmen of the town to
which he belongs, and his master shall be allowed to receive
the bounty to which such slave may be entitled and also
one-half of the annual wages of such slave during the time
he shall continue in said service; provided, however, that
said master shall not be allowed to receive such part of
said wages after he shall have received so much as amounts,
together with the bounty, to the sum at which he was
appraised.'"

In the lower house the report was put over to the next session, but when it reached the upper house it was rejected.

"You will see by the Report of Committee, May, 1777, that
General Varnum's plan for the enlistment of slaves had been
anticipated in Connecticut; with this difference, that Rhode
Island _adopted_ it, while Connecticut did _not._