African-Americans both freed and enslaved, like many different ethnic groups joined the Continental Army for a variety of reasons including; land, patriotism, excitement, elevation of social status, and gaining personal freedom. For many enslaved African-Americans that accepted service and completed their term in the army, “…would be immediately discharged from the service of his master or mistress and made absolutely free…” (Lorenzo L Greene, Some Observations On The Black Regiment Of Rhode Island In The American Revolution, 1952.) Sometimes African-American slaves participated in the Continental Army as substitutes, serving their owner’s military obligation. (p. 5 Black Soldiers At Valley Forge by Joseph Becton, 1985.) As the Revolutionary …show more content…
War progressed, both sides struggle with the realization that in order to win they would need more men to serve in their army, this would include African-Americans freed or still as slaves. There isn’t an exact number of African-Americans serving during the Valley Forge Encampment, it could be in the several-hundreds. (Lee Boyle) The African-Americans serving in the Continental Army were in combat roles in these units and were on duty in all areas of the camp, from manning positions in the outer defense lines to being on foraging parties.
These soldiers also helped in the construction of the huts and fortifications that were here in the encampment. They also performed specialized duties in many fields such as medical orderlies, musicians, waiters, wagoners, and armorers. AA and white soldiers received the same pay, wore the same uniforms, and shared the winter hardships of short rations and being sheltered in cold huts. (p. 5 Black Soldiers At Valley Forge, by Joseph Becton, 1985.) There were no completely African-American companies in regiments that served at Valley Forge. Most of the African-American soldiers served in regiments from Rhode Island, Connecticut, and …show more content…
Massachusetts. As the army was getting smaller due to the many hardships they faced here at the encampment the army was in constant need of reorganization. General James Mitchel Varnum and others believed that recruiting more African Americans was needed to win the war. In January of 1778, Varnum convinced Commander-in-Chief George Washington that states needed to foot the bill to purchase the freedom of slaves and train them into the Continental Army. In February of 1778, Rhode Island started to do that. The first slaves to enlist were Cuff Greene, and Dick and Jack Champlin for whom the state paid £120 for their freedom. (Patriotic Battles p.186) In June of 1778, General Varnum left the encampment to train these troops. Between 130 and 300 African-Americans joined the Continental Army before the law allowing their enlistment was repealed on June 10th 1778. (Patriotic Battles p. 186) Some African-Americans that were here during the encampment include Shadrack Battles, a 32-year-old “free man of color” who enlisted in the Tenth Virginia Regiment in December 1779, and Windsor Fry, another free black man who served with the First Rhode Island Regiment. Salem Poor of Massachusetts, who purchased his freedom, came to Valley Forge after distinguished service at Bunker Hill and Saratoga. African-Americans at Valley Forge included slaves serving as substitutes for their masters; one of these was Samual Surphen in the New Jersey Brigade. ((Fleming, Thomas. Washington’s Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge (New York: Harper Collins, 2005) Fleming, 142-43). Citations Becton, Joseph. "Black Soldiers At Valley Forge." 1985. Print. Fleming, Thomas J. Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge. New York: Smithsonian /Collins, 2005. Print. Greene, Lorenzo. "Some Observations On The Black Regiment Of Rhode Island In The American Revolution." 1952. Print. Stephenson, Michael. Patriot Battles: How the War of Independence Was Fought. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. Print. American Indians At Valley Forge During the American Revolution, the majority of the American Indian Nations sided with the British in order to preserve their culture and stop the encroachment upon their lands. However, some tribes and American Indians supported the patriots and their cause because of personal ties, shared religious beliefs, or mistreatment by the British in the past. Some of these include large members from: the Oneidas, Tuscaroras, and the Stockbridge Nations. The Stockbridge were a composite community of the Mahican, Housatonic, and Wappinger Peoples from the Hudson Valley. (An Explanation For The Oneida-Colonial Alliance In The American Revolution, by David Levinson, Ethnohistory, 1976) Hundred of American Indians enlisted in the Continental Army and many others engage as scouts in specialized units. The muster rolls at this time do not include listing the soldiers’ race or ethnic identity, so it is difficult to give an exact number of the American Indians already serving in the army during the encampment since many have integrated into colonial society. A scattering of Stockbridge and Mohican Indians were already serving in the ranks of several New England Continental Regiments in Connecticut and Massachusetts. (p. 172 Valley Forge : Pinnacle of Courage , John W. Jackson, Thomas Publications, 1992.) In the spring of 1778, General George Washington asked to have the Oneida and Tuscarora warriors join his army at Valley Forge. Washington and the Congressional Committee wanted these groups to counter the British raids in the area that were confiscating supplies, seizing stragglers, acquiring intelligence, and harassing civilians. They could also capture enemy soldiers to gain important information and discourage attempts of desertions from the Continental Army at Valley Forge. (p.195 Forgotten Allies) These warriors have repeatedly proved themselves as exceptional scouts, and superb small-unit fighters. (p. 194 Forgotten Allies:” The Oneida Indians And The American Revolution By Joseph T. Glatthaar and James Kirby Martin, Hill and Wang, 2006) (p.195) Washington will write to General Schuyler that, “The Oneidas and Tuscaroras have a particular claim to attention and kindness, for their perseverance and fidelity.” Close to fifty warriors from these nations would be sent to Valley Forge.
(p.203) On May 15th, 1778 they arrived at the encampment. (Barren Hill, By John Reed, The Valley Forge Journal, Dec, 1982 Volume 1 Issue #2) On May 18th, they were directed to participate in a reconnaissance in force numbering 2,200 troops under the command of Marquis de Lafayette to an area called Barren Hill. On May 20th, British forces appeared trying to capture Lafayette and the army. The Oneida warriors ambushed some the British soldiers and provided some delaying action as the army started retreating back to the Valley Forge Encampment. They were the last to cross the Schuylkill in the army. (p. 214 Forgotten Allies) Possibly six Oneida were killed during this engagement and are buried at St. Peter’s Church Cemetery in Barren Hill. In the middle of June, thirty-four of the original fifty returned home. (An Explanation For The Oneida-Colonial Alliance In The American Revolution, by David Levinson, Ethnohistory, 1976) Their reason for their quick return was the threat from the British and their American Indians Allies on their families and homes. The warriors would continue to fight for the patriotic cause and their own survival in upstate New York for the rest of the
war.
Training began for Black volunteers at Camp Meigs in Readville, MA on February 21, 1863. Although some members of the community voiced opposition to the prevention of Black men from achieving the rank of colonel or officer, most community activists urged Black men to seize the opportunity to serve in the Union forces. The fear many Black volunteers had about the potential racism of White officers and colonels was calmed when Massachusetts Governor John Andrew assured Bostonians that White officers assigned to the 54th Regiment would be "young men of military experience, of firm anti-slavery principles, ambitious, superior to a vulgar contempt for color, and having faith in the capacity of colored men for military service." (Emilio 1990) Andrew held to his word, appointing 25-year-old Robert Gould Shaw as colonel and George P. Hallowell as Lieutenant. The son of wealthy abolitionists, Shaw had been educated in Europe and at Harvard before joining the seventh New York National Guard in 1861. In 1862, when Governor Andrew contacted Shaw's father about the prospect of commissioning his son as colonel of the soon-to-be organized fifty-fourth, Shaw was an officer in the Second Mass...
For example, the civil war. Clark, was a prime example of this because he also helped others to become successful, by creating infantry units to give jobs to African Americans who wanted them. This was a huge deal in the late 1800’s because many African Americans needed to get out of poverty, and needed to make change, to ultimately inform others, who advocated for segregation, that they will not stop until an solution will be implemented. This was shown throughout the article, Black Civil War Soldiers, in which proves the fact that many African Americans were trying to create infantry units, “Some blacks took this as their cue to begin forming infantry units of their own. African Americans from New Orleans formed three National Guard units: the First, Second and Third Louisiana Native Guard.” This has further helped the African American community. Therefore, this proved the fact that Corporal Ira Clark was in fact a great character portrayed during the late
Many of the African American soldiers wanted to offer their skills in the war but they could not because of their skin color they had to often have kitchen duty, cleaning beds, and
In the colonial era slavery was permissible by law in every colony. Blacks were 20% of the overall population of the 13 colonies and only 8% of them were free blacks (www.history.org). Colonists commonly used African slave labor despite the question of whether slavery was morally right. Life for blacks in the revolutionary period was one of slavery and discrimination. Only 8 percent of blacks were free [Edgar A Toppin. “Blacks in the American Revolution” (published essay, Virginia State University, 1976), p 1] and this so-called freedom merely meant that they could own and defend property. They weren’t allowed to mingle with whites and were wholly segregated.
Black soldiers were among the bravest of those fighting in the Civil War. Both free Blacks in the Union army and escaped slaves from the South rushed to fight for their freedom and they fought with distinction in many major Civil War battles. Many whites thought Blacks could not be soldiers. They were slaves. They were inferior. Many thought that if Blacks could fight in the war it would make them equal to whites and prove the theory of slavery was wrong. Even though Black soldiers had to face much discrimination during the Civil War, they were willing to fight to the death for their freedom. In the movie “Glory“ the director focused on the African Americans in the north that fought in the 54th regiment led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. During the time of the Civil War, the African Americans that fought in the 54th regiment were often treated unfairly but there were always nice people that backed them up.
For the beginning, in the middle and in the ending of the Civil War in the United States, the Black Americans were central as soldier and civilian. At first, people tried hard to get around this fact. Even President Abraham Lincoln administration sent Black volunteers home with an understanding that the war was a ''White man's war". The policy was eventually changed not because of humanitarianism but because of the Confederation's battlefield brilliance. The South brought the North to a realization that it was in a real brawl that it needed all the weapons it could lay hands on.
In 1619, slaves from Africa started being shipped to America. In the years that followed, the slave population grew and the southern states became more dependent on the slaves for their plantations. Then in the 1800s slavery began to divide America, and this became a national conflict which lead to the Civil War. Throughout history, groups in the minority have risen up to fight for their freedom. In the United States, at the time of the Civil War African Americans had to fight for their freedom. African Americans used various methods to fight for their freedom during the Civil War such as passing information and supplies to the Union Army, escaping to Union territory, and serving in the Union’s army. These actions affected the African Americans and the United States by helping the African Americans earn citizenship and abolishing slavery in the United States.
African Americans helped shape the Civil War from various perspectives. Actually, they were the underlying foundation for the war if you think about it in depth. African Americans were slaves and had been dealt with like property since they arrived in America. The likelihood of opportunity for these slaves created an enormous commotion in the South. The issue of equal rights for African Americans brought on a gap between the states. The United States Civil War began as an effort to save the Union, and ended in a fight to abolish slavery. The Civil War, frequently known as the War Between the States in the United States, which was a Civil War battled from 1861 to 1865, after seven Southern slave states proclaimed their severance and framed the Confederate States of the United States. More Americans died in the Civil War than in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined. Two thirds of the individuals that were killed in the Civil War died of disease. The medical world at the time of the Civil War and advanced disinfectants, did not exist which could have enormously lessen the spread of disease and illnesses. After years of bloody combat that left over 600,000 soldier’s dead and destroyed much of the South's infrastructure, the Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, & the difficult Reconstruction process of restoring national unity and guaranteeing rights to the freed slaves began. By December 1865 the 13th Amendment had abolished slavery throughout the United States (Waldstreicher).
African Americans that joined the Army Air Corps’ were also segregated (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). The Army Air Corps’ African American, also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, were sent to the black university in Tuskegee for their training (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1). They became one of the most well known groups of flyers during World War II that were able to fly 200 bomber escort missions over enemy territory, and were able to prevent all of the bombers from being shot down by the enemies (Reinhardt and Ganzel 1).... ... middle of paper ... ...
Those studying the experience of African Americans in World War II consistently ask one central question: “Was World War II a turning point for African Americans?” In elaboration, does World War II symbolize a prolongation of policies of segregation and discrimination both on the home front and the war front, or does it represent the start of the Civil Rights Movement that brought racial equality? The data points to the war experience being a transition leading to the civil rights upheavals of the 1960s.
The American Revolution was a “light at the end of the tunnel” for slaves, or at least some. African Americans played a huge part in the war for both sides. Lord Dunmore, a governor of Virginia, promised freedom to any slave that enlisted into the British army. Colonists’ previously denied enlistment to African American’s because of the response of the South, but hesitantly changed their minds in fear of slaves rebelling against them. The north had become to despise slavery and wanted it gone. On the contrary, the booming cash crops of the south were making huge profits for landowners, making slavery widely popular. After the war, slaves began to petition the government for their freedom using the ideas of the Declaration of Independence,” including the idea of natural rights and the notion that government rested on the consent of the governed.” (Keene 122). The north began to fr...
The article, “The Negro’s Civil War in Tennessee, 1861-1865” by Bobby L. Lovett, can be found in "The Journal of Negro History. Lovett's article relates the importance of the contributions the black soldiers of Tennessee made during the Civil War. He portraits to the reader the determination of these black Tennesseans fight to gain their freedom under some extremely violent and racial conditions.
The regiment was authorized in March 1863 by the Governor of Massachusetts, John A. Andrew. Commanded by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, it sprang to life after the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton decided white officers would be in charge of all "colored" units. Colonel Shaw was hand picked by Governor John Andrew. Governor Andrew also selected Norwood Penrose "Pen" Hallowell as the unit's second in command, a rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Like many officers of regiments of African-American troops, both Shaw and Hallowell were promoted several grades, both being captains at the time. The rest of the officers were evaluated by Shaw and Hallowell. Many of these officers were of abolitionist families and several were
African Americans were very questionable at first in the Civil War. The Union Navy had been already been accepting African American volunteers. Frederick Douglass thought that the military would help the African Americans have equal rights if they fought with them. Many children helped in the Civil War also, no matter how old they were. Because the African Americans were unfavorable, black units were not used in combat as they might have been. Nevertheless, the African Americans fought in numerous battles. African Americans fought gallantly. Northern leaders also saw another reason to have African Americans in the Civil War is that the Union needed soldiers. Congress aloud them to enlist them because they thought they might as well have more soldiers.
Decades of research has shown us that African Americans have been depressed for hundreds of years. Although the Declaration of Independence states “All men are created equal,” that rule did not apply to African Americans. By the end of the Civil War more than 180,000 black soldiers were in the United States Military. After the Civil War, many Africa...