Articles
The history of blacks in the army, started with the arrival of the first slaves. It was during the U.S. colonial era and has continued until today. There is not a single war that America has fought that the African-Americans did not participate. The battles include the Revolutionary War, the Mexican-American War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the World Wars, among others. They have served even in Afghanistan and Iraq and all other minor conflicts.
There were two types of blacks in the army. There were the slaves and the free men. They participated on both sides during the war. A recent research concluded that there were over 9000 Patriot soldiers, who were of color. The figure includes those who were in the Continental Army and Navy, and every state militia units. The others were wagoners in the Army, privateers, servants to the officers, and spies (Lee, 1966).
Initially, many had joined for the Loyalist cause. However, the tried to further their interests by pairing with the patriots. The blacks in the army worked with the northern militias from the start. In the South, the slave-owners were not for the idea of arming their slaves. In November 1775, the Royal Governor of Virginia passed an emancipation proclamation (MacGregor, 1981).
It promised freedom to all the runaways slaves who had fought the British. In 1779, there was a similar edict in New York. Many Loyalists were part of the British Army.
Testimonial.
Thank you for the essay on the ''Blacks in the Army''. The Native American writer clearly understood my query. Ronald, Friends University.
