The Black Phalanx Part 5

_An Act directing the Emanc.i.p.ation of certain Slaves who had served as Soldiers in this State, and for the Emanc.i.p.ation of the Slave, Aberdeen._

"I. Whereas, it hath been represented to the present General a.s.sembly, that, during the course of the war, many persons in this State had caused their slaves to enlist in certain regiments or corps, raised within the same, having tendered such slaves to the officers appointed to recruit forces within the State, as subst.i.tutes for free persons whose lot or duty it was to serve in such regiments or corps, at the same time representing to such recruiting officers that the slaves, so enlisted by their direction and concurrence, were freemen; and it appearing further to this a.s.sembly, that on the expiration of the term of enlistment of such slaves, that the former owners have attempted again to force them to return to a state of servitude, contrary to the principles of justice, and to their own solemn promise;

"II. And whereas it appears just and reasonable that all persons enlisted as aforesaid, who have faithfully served agreeable to the terms of their enlistment, and have hereby of course contributed towards the establishment of American liberty and independence, should enjoy the blessings of freedom as a reward for their toils and labors.

"_Be it therefore enacted_, That each and every slave, who, by the appointment and direction of his owner, hath enlisted in any regiment or corps raised within this State, either on Continental or State establishment, and hath been received as a subst.i.tute for any free person whose duty or lot it was to serve in such regiment or corps, and hath served faithfully during the term of such enlistment, or hath been discharged from such service by some officer duly authorized to grant such discharge, shall, from and after the pa.s.sing of this act, be fully and completely emanc.i.p.ated, and shall be held and deemed free, in as full and ample a manner as if each and every one of them were specially named in this act; and the Attorney-general for the Commonwealth is hereby required to bring an action, _in forma pauperis_, in behalf of any of the persons above described who shall, after the pa.s.sage of this act, be detained in servitude by any person whatsoever; and if, upon such prosecution, it shall appear that the pauper is ent.i.tled to his freedom in consequence of this act, a jury shall be empaneled to a.s.sess the damages for his detention.

"III. And whereas it has been represented to this General a.s.sembly, that Aberdeen, a negro man slave, hath labored a number of years in the public service at the lead mines, and for his meritorious services is ent.i.tled to freedom;

"_Be it therefore enacted_, That the said slave Aberdeen, shall be, and he is hereby, emanc.i.p.ated and declared free in as full and ample a manner as if he had been born free."

In 1786 an act was pa.s.sed to emanc.i.p.ate a negro slave who had acted as a spy for Lafayette. This practice was not perhaps wholly confined to the South. Although Ma.s.sachusetts abolished slavery in 1783, her territory was, it seems, still subject to slave hunts, and her negro soldiers to the insult of an attempt to re-enslave them. But Gen. Washington, though himself a slave-holder, regarded the rights of those who fought for liberty and national independence, with too much sacredness and the honor of the country with too much esteem, to permit them to be set aside, merely to accommodate those who had rendered the nation's cause no help or a.s.sistance. Gen. Putnam received the following letter, which needs no explanation:

"HEADQUARTERS, Feb. 2, 1783.

"SIR:--Mr. Hobby having claimed as his property a negro man now serving in the Ma.s.sachusetts Regiment, you will please to order a court of inquiry, consisting of five as respectable officers as can be found in your brigade, to examine the validity of the claim and the manner in which the person in question came into service. Having inquired into the matter, with all the attending circ.u.mstances, they will report to you their opinion thereon; which you will report to me as soon as conveniently may be.

"I am, Sir, with great respect, your most obedient servant,

"GEORGE WASHINGTON.

"P. S.--All concerned should be notified to attend.

"Brig.-Gen. Putnam."

Not only did some of the negro soldiers who fought in the American Army receive unjust treatment at the close of the war, but those who served under the Royal standard, also shared a fate quite different from what they supposed it would be when the proclamations of Lord Dunmore, Clinton and Cornwallis, were inviting them to cast their lot with the British.

The high character of Thomas Jefferson induces me to reproduce his letter to Dr. Gordon, or rather that portion of it which refers to the treatment of the negroes who went with the British army. Mr. Jefferson says:

"From an estimate I made at that time, on the best information I could collect, I supposed the State of Virginia lost, under Lord Cornwallis' hand, that year, about thirty thousand slaves; and that, of these, twenty-seven thousand died of the small-pox and camp fever; the rest were partly sent to the West Indies, and exchanged for rum, sugar, coffee and fruit; and partly sent to New York, from whence they went, at the peace, either to Nova Scotia or to England. From this last place, I believe they have lately been sent to Africa. History will never relate the horrors committed by the British army in the Southern States of America."

The heroism of the negro soldier has ever been eulogized by the true statesmen of our country, whenever the question of the American patriots was the theme. And I find no better eulogy to p.r.o.nounce upon them than that Hon. Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina, delivered in the United States House of Representatives in 1820, and that of Hon. Wm.

Eustis, of Ma.s.sachusetts, during the same debate. Mr. Pinckney said:

"It is a remarkable fact, that notwithstanding, in the course of the Revolution, the Southern States were continually overrun by the British, and that every negro in them had an opportunity of leaving their owners, few did; proving thereby not only a most remarkable attachment to their owners, but the mildness of the treatment, from whence their affection sprang. They then were, as they still are, as valuable a part of our population to the union as any other equal number of inhabitants. They were in numerous instances the pioneers, and in all the laborers, of your armies. To their hands were owing the erection of the greatest part of the fortifications raised for the protection of our country; some of which, particularly Fort Moultrie, gave, at the early period of the inexperience and untried valor of our citizens, immortality to American arms; and, in the Northern States, numerous bodies of them were enrolled into, and fought, by the side of the whites, the battles of the Revolution."--_Annals of Congress._

And said Mr. Eustis:

"At the commencement of the Revolutionary war, there were found in the Middle and Northern States, many blacks, and other people of color, capable of bearing arms; a part of them free, the greater part slaves. The freemen entered our ranks with the whites. The time of those who were slaves was purchased by the States; and they were induced to enter the service in consequence of a law by which, on condition of their serving in the ranks during the war, they were made freemen.

"The war over, and peace restored, these men returned to their respective States; and who could have said to them, on their return to civil life, after having shed their blood in common with the whites in the defence of the liberties of their country, 'You are not to partic.i.p.ate in the liberty for which you have been fighting?' Certainly no white man in Ma.s.sachusetts."

Such is the historic story of the negro in the American Revolution, and it is a sad one as regards any benefit to his own condition by his connection with either side. But it is one of the most memorable of all history on exhibition of the fidelity of a race to the cause of the freedom of all men.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] "Ran away from his master, William Brown, of Framingham, on the 30th of Sept. last, a Mullato Fellow, about 27 years of age, named _Crispus_, 6 feet 2 inches high, short, curl'd hair, his knees nearer together than common; had on a light coloured Bearskin Coat, plain brown Fustain Jacket, or brown All Wool one, new Buck skin breeches, blue Yarn Stockings, and a checked woolen shirt. Whoever shall take up said Runaway, 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."--_Boston Gazette._

[2] Mr. Sparks appends to this letter the following note: "At a meeting of the general officers, previously to the arrival of the committee from Congress in camp, it was unanimously resolved, that it was not expedient to enlist slaves in the new army; and by a large majority, negroes of every description were excluded from enlistment. When the subject was referred to the Committee in conference, the resolve was not adhered to, and probably for the reason here mentioned by Washington. Many black soldiers were in the service during all stages of the war."--Spark's Washington, Vol. III. pp. 218-219.

[3] Dunmore after destroying Norfolk, sailed with his fleet of men-of-war and more than fifty transports, on board of which were many armed negroes and Royal troops, to the mouth of the Piankatank river, and took possession of Gwynn's Island, where he landed his troops and entrenched. Here he was attacked by Gen. Lewis' men from the opposite sh.o.r.e. One of Dunmore's ships was badly damaged by cannon b.a.l.l.s, and he drew off and sailed up the Potomoc river, and occupied St. Georgia's Island, after having burned a mansion at the mouth of Aqua Creek. He was here attacked by a militia force and retired. Misfortune followed him; disease, shipwreck and want of provisions. He soon made sail, and with his negroes reached England, where he remained.

[4] At the first onset, a large body of the Virginia militia, under a charge of the British infantry with fixed bayonets, threw down their arms and fled. A considerable part of the North Carolina militia followed their unworthy example. But the Continentals evinced the most unyielding firmness, and pressed forward with unusual ardor. Never did men acquit themselves more honorably. They submitted only when forsaken by their brethren in arms, and when overpowered by numbers.

[5] "The British loss, in this battle, exceeded five hundred in killed and wounded, among whom were several of the most distinguished officers.

The American loss was about four hundred, in killed and wounded, of which more than three-fourths fell upon the Continentals. Though the numerical force of Gen. Greene nearly doubled that of Cornwallis, yet, when we consider the difference between these forces; the shameful conduct of the North Carolina militia, who fled at the first fire; the desertion of the second Maryland regiment, and that a body of reserve was not brought into action, it will appear that our numbers, actually engaged, but little exceeded that of the enemy."--_Grimshaw's U. S.

History._

[6] The Burlington _Gazette_, in an issue of some time ago, gives the following account of an aged negro Revolutionary patriot: "The attention of many of our citizens has doubtless been arrested by the appearance of an old colored man, who might have been seen, sitting in front of his residence, in east Union street, respectfully raising his hat to those who might be pa.s.sing by. His attenuated frame, his silvered head, his feeble movements, combine to prove that he is very aged: and yet, comparatively few are aware that he is among the survivors of the gallant army who fought for the liberties of our country.

"On Monday last, we stopped to speak to him, and asked how old he was.

He asked the day of the month, and upon being told that it was the 24th of May, replied, with trembling lips, 'I am very old--I am a hundred years old to-day.'

"His name is Oliver Cromwell, and he says that he was born at the Black Horse, (now Columbus), in this county, in the family of John Hutchins.

He enlisted in a company commanded by Capt. Lowry, attached to the Second New Jersey Regiment, under the command of Col. Israel Shreve. He was at the battles of Trenton, Brandywine, Princetown, Monmouth, and Yorktown, at which latter place, he told us, he saw the last man killed.

Although his faculties are failing, yet he relates many interesting reminiscences of the Revolution. He was with the army at the retreat of the Delaware, on the memorable crossing of the 25th of December, 1776, and relates the story of the battle on the succeeding day, with enthusiasm. He gives the details of the march from Trenton to Princetown, and told us, with much humor, that they 'knocked the British around lively,' at the latter place. He was also at the battle of Springfield, and says that he saw the house burning in which Mrs.

Caldwell was shot, at Connecticut Farms."

"I further learn, (says the author of the 'Colored Patriots of the Revolution'), that Cromwell was brought up a farmer, having served his time with Thomas Hutchins, Esq., his maternal uncle. He was, for six years and nine months under the immediate command of Washington, whom he loved affectionately."

"His discharge," says Dr. M'Cune Smith, "at the close of the war, was in Washington's own handwriting, of which he was very proud, often speaking of it. He received annually, ninety-six dollars pension. He lived a long and honorable life. Had he been of a little lighter complexion, (he was just half white), every newspaper in the land would have been eloquent in praise of his many virtues."

[7] Simon Lee, the grandfather of William Wells Brown, on his mother's side, was a slave in Virginia, and served in the war of the Revolution.

Although honorably discharged, with the other Virginia troops, at the close of the war, he was sent back to his master, where he spent the remainder of his life toiling on a tobacco plantation.--_Patriotism of Colored Americans._

CHAPTER II.

THE WAR OF 1812.

While there is no intention of entering into an examination of the causes of the war between the United States and Great Britain in 1812, yet in order to carry out the design of the author to show that in this war,--like all others in which the government of the United States has been engaged,--the negro, as a soldier, took part, it is deemed necessary to cite at least one of the incidents, perhaps _the_ incident, which most fired the national heart of America, and hastened the beginning of hostilities.

The war between England and France gave to the American merchant marine interest an impetus that increased the number of vessels three-fold in a few years; it also gave command of the carrying trade of the West Indies, from which Napoleon's frigates debarred the English merchantmen.

In consequence England sought and used every opportunity to cripple American commerce and shipping. One plan was to deprive American ships of the service of English seamen. Her war vessels claimed and exercised the right of searching for English seamen on board American vessels.

During the year 1807, the English Admiral Berkeley, in command of the North American Station, issued instructions to commanders of vessels in his fleet to look out for the American frigate Chesapeake, and if they fell in with her at sea, to board her and search for deserters, as all English seamen in the American service were regarded by England. With the instructions, were the descriptions of four sailors, three negroes and one white man, who were missing.

The persons who deserted from the Melampus, then lying in Hampton Roads, were William Ware, Daniel Martin, John Strachan, John Little and Ambrose Watts. Within a month from their escape from the Melampus, the first three of these deserters offered themselves for enlistment, and were received on board the Chesapeake, then at Norfolk, Va., preparing for sea. The British consul at Norfolk, being apprized of the circ.u.mstance, wrote a letter to the American naval officer, requesting the men to be returned. With this request, the officer refused to comply, and the British lost no time in endeavoring to procure an order from the American government for their surrender. On receipt of the application, the Secretary of the Navy ordered an examination into the characters and claims of the men in question. The examination resulted in proof that the three negroes, Ware, Martin and Strachan were natives of America.

The two former had "_protections_," or notarial certificates of their citizenship;[8] Strachan had no "_protection_," but a.s.serted that he lost it previous to his escape. Such being the circ.u.mstances, the government refused to give the men up, insisting that they were American citizens, and though, they had served in the British navy, they were pressed into the service and had a right to desert it.

The Chesapeake was one of the finest of the frigates in the American Navy, and after receiving an outfit requiring six months to complete at the Gosport Navy Yard, at Norfolk, Va., started for the Mediterranean.

The English frigate Leopard, which lay in the harbor at Norfolk when the Chesapeake sailed, followed her out to sea, hailed her and sent a letter to her commander, Commodore James Barron, demanding the surrender of the deserters. Barron sent a note refusing to comply with the demand, whereupon the Leopard fired several broadsides into the Chesapeake.

Barron struck his colors without firing a shot, and permitted the officers of the Leopard to board his vessel and search her. The British captain refused to accept the surrender of the Chesapeake, but took from her crew the three men who had been demanded as deserters; also a fourth, John Wilson, a white man, claimed as a runaway from a merchant ship.

The white sailor, it was admitted by the American government, was a British subject, and his release was not demanded; he was executed for deserting the British Navy. Of the negroes, two only were returned by the British government, the other one having died in England. Says an American historian: