Patriots of Color

When we tell the story of the American Revolution, the usual suspects are highlighted – George Washington, John Hancock, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Ethan Allen. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the start of the War of Independence, we want to highlight more and different stories. On April 19th, the soldiers who fought in Lexington, Concord, and along the Battle Road included both white men and men of color. The soldiers of color who served on April 19 included a mix of enslaved and free men. Eleven men of color served in minute companies; records indicate that most were free. At least twenty-three men of color served in colonial militia companies on April 19. Eighteen can be documented in primary or secondary sources as having been present during the fighting on April 19, including Prince Estabrook and cousins Eli and Silas Burdoo of Lexington.

Existing records do not show how many men of color were enslaved when they responded to the alarm occasioned by the events of April 19. The legal status of some soldiers is evident in some records, but enslaved men of color are probably under-represented in currently available material. Out of sixteen men known or believed to have been enslaved on April 19, only nine are listed on rolls authorizing payment for service that day. It would not be surprising to learn that other officers or local leaders serving on April 19 were accompanied by enslaved men of color who did not appear in subsequent primary source records. Given these gaps in the historical record, a conservative estimate of as many as fifty men of color serving with colonial forces on April 19, 1775 seems reasonable. By the end of the conflict, an estimated 5,500 African and Native American men served on the colonial side; many more served on the side of the British, particularly after the fighting moved south.