African Americans in the Revolutionary War information

Continental soldiers at Yorktown; on the left, an African-American soldier of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.

History

Periods
Timeline Atlantic slave trade Abolitionism in the United States Slavery in the colonial history of the US Revolutionary War Antebellum period Slavery and military history during the Civil War Reconstruction era Politicians Juneteenth Civil rights movement (1865–1896) Jim Crow era (1896–1954) Civil rights movement (1954–1968) Black power movement Post–civil rights era
Aspects
Agriculture history Black Belt in the American South Business history Military history Treatment of the enslaved
Migrations
Great Migration Second Great Migration New Great Migration

Culture

Lifeways
Dance Family structure Film Folktales Music Musical theater Names Neighborhoods Newspapers Soul food
Schools
Education during the slave period in the US Education of freed people during the Civil War History of African-American education, after the Civil War Historically black colleges and universities Fraternities
Academic study
Studies Art Literature
Celebrations
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Black History Month Juneteenth Kwanzaa
Economic class
African-American businesses Middle class Upper class Billionaires
Symbols and ideas
African-American beauty Black is beautiful Black pride African-American hair Good hair Stepping "Lift Every Voice and Sing" Self-determination

Religion

Institutions
Black church
Theologies
Black theology Womanist theology
Non-Christian groups
Hoodoo Black Hebrew Israelites African-American Jews African-American Muslims Nation of Islam Louisiana Voodoo African Diaspora Religions

Politics

Organizations
Congressional Black Caucus Joint Center National Black Caucus of State Legislators National Conference of Black Mayors
Ideologies
Afrocentrism Anarchism Back-to-Africa movement Black power Capitalism Conservatism Garveyism Leftism Liberalism Nationalism Pan-Africanism Patriotism Populism Socialism

Civic/economic groups

Organizations
Association for the Study of African American Life and History Black conductors NAACP National Black Chamber of Commerce National Council of Negro Women National Pan-Hellenic Council National Urban League TransAfrica UNCF

Sub-communities

Multiethnic
African-American Jews Afro-Puerto Ricans Alabama Creole people Black Indians Black Seminoles Mascogos Blaxicans Brass Ankles Creoles of color Dominickers Freedmen Great Dismal Swamp maroons Melungeon Carmel Indians Redbone
Specific ancestries
Americo-Liberians Creek Freedmen Gullah Merikins Nova Scotians Samaná Americans Sierra Leone Creole
Sexual orientation
LGBT community

Dialects and languages

English dialects
African-American English African-American Vernacular English Liberian English Samaná English Tutnese
Languages and other dialects
Gullah Afro-Seminole Creole Negro Dutch Black American Sign Language

Population

US states
Alabama Arkansas California Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Louisiana Maryland Mississippi Nebraska New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon South Carolina Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia
US cities
Black mecca List of neighborhoods Atlanta Baltimore Boston Chicago Dallas-Fort Worth Davenport Detroit Houston Jacksonville Kentucky Lexington Los Angeles New York City Omaha Philadelphia San Antonio San Francisco
Historic places
District of Columbia Florida Georgia Mississippi Missouri Omaha, Nebraska North Carolina South Carolina Texas West Virginia
Population count
US states and territories US metropolitan areas US cities US communities Places by plurality of population
Diaspora
Africa Canada France Ghana Israel Liberia Nova Scotia Sierra Leone

Prejudice

Racism
Black genocide Race and ethnicity in the US census Racism against Black Americans Reparations for slavery School segregation in the US
Stereotypes and media depictions
Blackface Criminal stereotypes Hollywood Magical Negro Minstrel show

In the American Revolution, gaining freedom was the strongest motive for Black enslaved people who joined the Patriot or British armies. It is estimated that 20,000 African Americans joined the British cause, which promised freedom to enslaved people, as Black Loyalists. Around 9,000 African Americans became Black Patriots.^[1]

As between 220,000 and 250,000 soldiers and militia served the American cause during the revolution in total, that would mean Black soldiers made up approximately four percent of the Patriots' numbers. Of the 9,000 Black soldiers, 5,000 were combat-dedicated troops.^[2] Notably, the average length of time in service for an African American soldier during the war was four and a half years (due to many serving for the whole eight-year duration), which was eight times longer than the average period for white soldiers. Meaning that while they were only four percent of the manpower base, they comprised around a quarter of the Patriots' strength in terms of man-hours, though this includes supportive roles.^[3]

In contrast, about 20,000 people escaped slavery, joined, and fought for the British army.^[4] Much of this number was seen after Dunmore's Proclamation, and subsequently the Philipsburg Proclamation issued by Sir Henry Clinton.^[5] Though between only 800–2,000 people who were enslaved reached Dunmore himself, the publication of both proclamations provided incentive for nearly 100,000 enslaved people across the American Colonies to escape, lured by the promise of freedom.^[6]

Crispus Attucks was shot dead by British soldiers in the Boston Massacre in 1770 after he shouted, "Kill them! Kill them! Knock them over!" while the soldiers were being battered with shells, ice, and coal by a mob armed with clubs.^[7] He is considered an iconic martyr of Patriots.^[8]

^ Nash, "The African Americans' Revolution," at p 254
^ Michael Lee Lanning. "African Americans in the Revolutionary War." Page 177.
^ Michael Lee Lanning. "African Americans in the Revolutionary War." Page 178.
^ "The Ex-Slaves Who Fought with the British". 28 September 2021.
^ Carnahan, Burrus M. (2007). Act of Justice: Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Law of War. University Press of Kentucky. p. 18. ISBN 0-8131-2463-8
^ Bristow, Peggy (1994). We're Rooted Here and They Can't Pull Us Up: Essays in African Canadian Women's History. University of Toronto Press. p. 19. ISBN 0-8020-6881-2.
^ "John Adams and the Boston Massacre Trials".
^ "Crispus Attucks". Biography. Retrieved 2018-06-20.

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