Black Loyalists

The coat of arms of the Black Loyalist Heritage Society in Canada.

When the British sent ships, people and supplies to the New World it was basically a business decision to expand the Crown while making money for their sponsors. The 13 colonies represented a doorway of expansion and British influence in the New World. The colonists, on the other hand, were looking for refuge from Britain’s growing population, religious freedom and a chance for self-government.

Ever present were British soldiers, a reminder of what the colonists had hoped to have left behind. As the colonists began to gain confidence in their new home, survival was no longer the upper most priority. Cultivating tobacco and cotton became a way to prosper. This led to the acquiring of enslaved persons, first the Native Americans and later the African descended people. Britain saw the progress of the colonists as their own and began levying taxes. With more and more demands from Britain and taxation without representation, a resentment began to brew resulting in two distinct groups and ultimately the Revolutionary War.

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Loyalists were loyal to the British, while Patriots were loyal to America and her desire to rid herself of British rule becoming self-governing. As the Revolutionary War waged on, President George Washington, a slave owner considered the large population of the African descended people as a means to overpower and finally win the war but succumbed to fears of the enslaved with weapons that might ultimately be used on them.

The British on the other hand decided that the large population of indentured, free and enslaved Negroes could turn the tide of the war for them. Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia and a British subject decided to put out a call that offered freedom to any enslaved person who fought on the side of the British in the Revolutionary War. Lord Dunmore's Proclamation, as it was known, was issued in Williamsburg in 1775 covered a number of issues, but the portion most important to those seeking freedom, read as follows:

"... 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."

For the enslaved, this meant a possibly once in a lifetime chance for freedom from slavery. The call brought thousands of enslaved to New York. Their numbers were so great that Lord Dunbar ultimately called them The Ethiopian Regiment.

To further encourage the Negro to join the British against the Patriots, on June 30, 1779, Sir Henry Clinton, Commander in Chief of His Majesty’s Forces in North America, issued the Proclamation of Philipsburg granting freedom to the enslaved in rebel states, encouraging them to abandon their masters, further depleting the rebel economic and emotional foundation. To extend the reach of the call, the proclamation was published in the "Royal Gazette," on July 4, 1779.

Value of the Black LoyalistsValue of the Black Loyalists

Runaway ad for a slave named Titus, later to be known as Colonel Tye, fighting for the Crown during the American Revolutionary War.

The contributions of the free, indentured and enslaved Black Loyalists have largely been overlooked or relegated to footnotes. History proves that they were significant players in the stage that would be the Revolutionary War. Despite Britain's ultimate surrender, without the tremendous answer to the call for help, the British would not have been able to last in battle as long as they did. Also, these men, women and children demonstrated the capabilities of the Negro who has mostly been described less favorably than their white counterparts.

Their roles were many as were the skills they brought to battle. Always with an eye on the freedom promised by the British, the Black Loyalist worked as blacksmiths, forgers, seamen, soldiers, laborers, surveyors and more. Some brought with them knowledge of the terrain, enemy communities, their people and military capabilities making them invaluable to the British.

Notable Black LoyalistsNotable Black Loyalists

• Rose Fortune
• Boston King
• David George
• Stephen Blucke
• John Marrant
• Harry Washington
• Col Tying
• The Black Pioneers

See alsoSee also

• The Book of Negroes
• United Empire Loyalists

Explore more about the Black LoyalistsExplore more about the Black Loyalists

• Researching Black Loyalist Communities in Canada webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
• Researching a Loyalist Soldier webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
• Loyalists, Freedmen and Frauds in the Southern Claims Commission webinar at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
• Elhassan, Khalid. History Collection. African American Loyalists During the Revolutionary War: 10 Significant People, Events, and Things. August 3, 2018.
• Norton, Mary Beth. The Fate of Some Black Loyalists of the American Revolution. The Journal of Negro History 58, no. 4 (1973): 402–26.
• Lanning, Lt Col Michael Lee. Defenders of Liberty: African Americans in the Revolutionary War. Citadel Press. Kensington Publishing. New York. 2000.
• Museum of American Revolution
• Black Loyalists Heritage Centre
• Continental Congress. History.com
• World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia

References

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