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A Chronology of African American Military Service |
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From the Colonial Era through the Antebellum Period
On 26 July 1948, President Harry S Truman signed Executive Order 9981, establishing the Presidents Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services. It was accompanied by Executive Order 9980, which created a Fair Employment Board to eliminate racial discrimination in federal employment.
Segregation in the military services did not officially end until the Secretary of Defense announced on 30 September 1954 that the last all-black unit had been abolished. However, the presidents directive put the armed forces (albeit reluctantly) at the forefront of the growing movement to win a fully participatory social role for the nations African-American citizens.
The true fulfillment of the entire scope of Executive Order 9981equality of treatment and opportunityactually required an additional change in Defense Department policy. This occurred with the publication of Department of Defense Directive 5120.36 on 26 July 1963, 15 years to the day after Truman signed the original order. This major about-face in policy issued by Secretary of Defense Robert J. McNamara expanded the militarys responsibility to include the elimination of off-base discrimination detrimental to the military effectiveness of black servicemen.
As part of a continuing observance of Executive Order 9981, the U.S. Army Materiel Command requested that each of its major subordinate commands develop a program of events to support this commemoration. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) Historical Function's contribution will be a series of articles and chronologies detailing not only the ongoing process of eliminating discrimination in the Department of Defense but highlighting African Americans distinguished military contributions. To keep these issues in perspective, some background information on the effort to ensure black civil rights will also be included.
Blacks, free and slave, were early participants in the various conflicts that sporadically broke out between the English colonies and their Indian and European rivals in North America. Their service continued even after independence had been declared and the new republic of the United States had been founded. Although there were early colonial and national laws to exclude blacks and Indians from military service, in times of danger or war white leaders willingly drew upon both these manpower sources.
African Americans served with distinction in such major conflicts as the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812. They also fought in many of the confrontations that characterized relations between white colonists and Native Americans. In addition, British commanders sought to entice blacks into military service under the Union Jack during both of Englands struggles with the Americans.
Usually in this period, black recruits served side-by-side with their white comrades, although all-black units were also formed. Free blacks were paid the same as white soldiers, while slaves who served with their masters permission were often emancipated at the end of the war. The offer of freedom was also the primary lure used by the British to attract blacks into His Majestys army or navy.
After 1815, the federal government and various states prohibited African Americans and Native Americans from serving in the Army, Marine Corps or state militias. The lack of foreign enemies, racism, the removal of any Indian threat east of the Mississippi, and the growing concern, particularly in the South, about possible slave rebellions all combined to exclude blacks from military service in the four decades proceeding the Civil War. The exception to this exclusionary policy was the U.S. Navy, where black sailors were integrated throughout most of the 19th century. The outbreak of the Civil War, however, would once again force white leaders to reassess the racial policies governing the nations armed forces.
Illustration from the 1855 edition of "Colored Patriots of the American Revolution" by W.C. Nell shows Crispus Attucks, the "first martyr of the American Revolution" fired on by British soldiers in Boston on March 5, 1770.
Engraving of the Boston Masacre by Paul Revere, 1770
Crispus Attucks' grave
Minuteman statue, Lexington, MA
Battle of Bunker Hill
Black sailor
Land grant to Austin Dabney
Benedict Arnold
Surrender at Yorktown
1639 The Virginia House of Burgesses passed the first legislation to exclude blacks from the militia.
1652 Because of the possibility of Indian attack, a Massachusetts law required all blacks, Scotsmen, and Native Americans who lived with or were servants of English settlers to participate in military training.
1656 Massachusetts prohibited blacks and Indians from military service because of white fears about possible uprisings.
1660 Connecticut passed a law barring African Americans and Native Americans from military service. By the end of the 17th century, all of the colonies had enacted similar laws.
1689 During King Williams War, France and its Indian allies threatened Englands North American colonies. Black militia fought and died in this imperial conflict. They also served later in Queen Annes War (1702-13), the second of three major confrontations between the French and English for control of North America.
1703 The South Carolina assembly offered to free any slave who captured or killed any Native Americans considered hostile to the colony.
1705 The Virginia Assembly passed legislation preventing "Negro[es], mulatto[s], or Indian[s]" from holding civil, military or ecclesiastical office.
1707 An early South Carolina law required militia captains "to enlist, traine [sic] up and bring into the field for each white, one able slave armed with a gun or lance."
1708 Charles Town, South Carolina, employed "slave cowboys" to help protect the settlement from Indian attack.
1715 South Carolina used slaves to help fight during the Yamasee War.
1729 Armed blacks helped to defend French Louisiana from Indian attack.
1735 Free black militia officers in Louisiana led black troops during an Indian war.
1747 The South Carolina assembly provided for the use of black troops in the event of danger or emergency, and authorized the enlistment of 50 percent of all able-bodied slaves between the ages of 16 and 20.
1756-1763 Black soldiers served during the French and Indian War, the North American colonial struggle which pitted the French and Spanish against the British. Barzillai Lew fought during this conflict as a member of a Massachusetts militia company. He later saw action at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolution.
5 March 1770 Crispus Attucks, a runaway slave turned Jacktar, and four other colonists were killed during the so-called Boston Massacre, in which British soldiers fired on unarmed men and boys who were causing a disturbance. He was the first African American killed during the American Revolution.
1774 Massachusetts began enlisting blacks in its militia companies.
1774 General Thomas Gage rejected the petition of Boston blacks, who offered to fight for the British in exchange for their freedom.
1774 New York offered to emancipate any slaves who served in the militia for 3 years.
1775 The Massachusetts Committee of Safety directed that only free blacks could serve in the militia.
19 April 1775Blacks took part in the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The first armed clash between England and her colonists in North America was sparked by the dispatch of 700 British soldiers from the Boston garrison. Sent to seize colonial arms and possibly arrest rebel leaders, the "redcoats" encountered armed resistance instead. Pomp Blackman and Prince Estabrook were two of the black Minutemen who took part in the event immortalized as the "shot heard round the world." Estabrook was killed during the fighting.
May 1775 Black patriots helped Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys take Fort Ticonderoga, New York, by surprise.
15 June 1775 The Continental Congress chose George Washington to head the newly established Continental Army. Shortly after assuming command, Washington ordered his officers not to recruit black troops. He later rescinded this order to allow the enlistment of free blacks. Congress subsequently approved this decision in 1776.
17 June 1775 Several black soldiers (most notably Peter Salem and Salem Poor) helped defend Breeds Hill in the Battle of Bunker Hill on Charlestown Heights overlooking Boston Harbor. Although tactically a British victory, this confrontation was psychologically significant for the colonists. The patriots met British regulars and successfully held on to their position until they ran out of ammunition.
July 1775 American General Horatio Gates ordered his officers not to recruit "any deserter from the Ministerial army, nor any stroller, negro, or vagabond, or persons suspected of being an enemy to the liberty of America, nor any under eighteen years of age."
26 September 1775 Edward Rutledge proposed that all blacks in the Continental Army be discharged. Voted down by northern delegates, the issue cropped up again in October 1775, because of white fears that the Army was becoming a refuge for runaway slaves. At that time, a committee agreed to exclude blacks (especially slaves) from the service. However, after northern officers and soldiers strongly protested the measure, Washington reversed this decision in December 1775 to permit free blacks to serve.
November 1775 The "Ethiopian Regiment" was formed in Virginia after about 800 blacks responded to the royal governors offer of freedom to all male slaves who joined the British forces.
28 November 1775 The Continental Congress formally established the Continental Navy, after authorizing the construction of two warships on 13 October to defend against the British fleet. The approved rules regulating the new military service allowed both free and enslaved blacks to enlist.
5 December 1775 The Massachusetts Bay General Court officially commended Salem Poor for his service as "a brave and gallant soldier."
1776 Virginia opened its militia to all free males regardless of race. Blacks were initially used as pioneers (i.e., members of military construction crews), drummers, and fifers.
1776 Early in the Revolutionary War, South Carolina passed a law declaring the death penalty for any bondsman who joined the British army or navy. As the war progressed, all of the southern states increased patrols, established local guard units, removed slaves from proximity to British forces, and imposed severe punishments on would-be defectors. But these actions could not prevent several thousand slaves from seeking service and freedom with the British.
21 February 1776 Washington issued orders reinforcing his decision to keep slaves from serving in the Continental Army.
26 September 1776 The British in New York City executed Captain Nathan Hale of Connecticut for spying. The hangman was a loyalist slave named Bill Richmond, who later gained fame as a boxing champion in Europe.
1777 After it was discovered that slaves claiming to be free men had enlisted in the militia, the Virginia assembly passed a law prohibiting blacks from joining without a certificate of freedom.
1777 As the war with England dragged on, Congress began to assign troop quotas for each state. Consequently, the need for manpower became so great that the states began recruiting more blacks. Additional black enlistments resulted from the use of a substitution system in which those men wishing to avoid service found it easier and less expensive to provide a black substitute. Most northern states and Maryland also allowed slaves to serve.
1777 The Rhode Island assembly passed a resolution allowing "every able-bodied negro, mulatto or Indian man slave" to enlist in two segregated battalions led by white officers. Among the incentives offered to recruits were equal pay and freedom.
11 September 1777 After the Battle of the Brandywine fought on this date, Edward Hector, a black soldier who served in the Third Pennsylvania Artillery, was awarded a cash bonus for bravery.
October 1777 The General Assembly of Connecticut authorized the selectmen of any town to free any suitable slaves or indentured servants who enlisted in the state militia.
1777 The Rhode Island assembly authorized the enlistment of slaves in the militia. Those blacks who served for the duration of the war would be emancipated.
April 1778 Thomas Kench, an artillery regiment soldier, wrote to the Massachusetts assembly to urge the enlistment of blacks in segregated units. He believed that the "ambition [of the all-black units] would entirely be to outdo the white men in every measure that the fortunes of war calls upon a soldier to endure." However, Massachusetts authorities voted to continue the states practice of "taking negroes in our service, intermixed with the white men."
28 June 1778 During the Battle of Monmouth fought in New Jersey on this date, Continental troops, including 700 black soldiers, proved to be the military equals of British regulars.
August 1778 A black battalion of over 300 slaves, promised their freedom after the war and given equal pay, fought during the unsuccessful Franco-American assault on Newport, Rhode Island. Continental Army officers dispatched by Washington to fill depleted ranks in that area had recruited them.
24 August 1778 Adjutant General Alexander Scammell reported that 755 black soldiers, scattered over 14 brigades, were enlisted in the Continental Army. The majority of black soldiers came from the New England states. Of the states outside this region, Virginia sent the largest number of black troops.
29 December 1778 During the British capture of Savannah, Georgia, 3500 regular troops under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell overwhelmed the patriot militia of 1000 men. Quamino Dolly, an elderly black slave, aided the British by guiding them to the town.
1779 Delegates from South Carolina objected to a proposal approved by Congress authorizing the use of slaves as soldiers during the American Revolution.
14 February 1779 Slave patriot Austin Dabney won fame for his participation in the Battle of Kettle Creek, Georgia. During this clash, American militia successfully defeated a Tory brigade. Dabney was the only black who fought in this military action. The Georgia legislature freed Dabney in 1786 to prevent his master from exploiting his military fame. In 1821, legislators granted him a 112-acre farm in honor of his heroism during the Revolutionary War.
March 1779 Congress urged South Carolina and Georgia to raise 3000 black troops to be segregated into all-black units. Owners would be indemnified, and though slaves would receive no pay or bounties, they would be rewarded for their faithful service at the wars end with freedom and $50. However, both states rejected this recommendation, despite their desperate need for soldiers.
31 May 1779 American troops commanded by General Anthony Wayne captured the British fort at Stony Point, New York. The success of this expedition was attributable to a slave named Pompey, who obtained a British password and helped capture one of the forts guards. He was only one of several black spies and undercover agents aiding the patriot cause during the American Revolution.
June 1779 British General Sir Henry Clinton officially promised to emancipate any male slaves who escaped to join the British militia. As the war progressed, both sides increased their recruitment of black troops.
21 June 1779 Spain declared war on England, joining France in the war raging in North America and Europe. The Spanish, however, refused to recognize American independence. Troops dispatched from Spanish Louisiana on expeditions against the British in the South and West included companies of free blacks and slaves commanded by black officers. During the successful campaign to capture Pensacola and Mobile from the British, six black officers were cited for bravery. King Carlos III later awarded medals of valor to them.
3 Sep-28 October 1779 A French fleet under the command of Admiral Jean Baptiste dEstaing in conjunction with American forces unsuccessfully laid siege to Savannah, Georgia. More than 500 free blacks from Haiti were part of dEstaings troops.
1780 Maryland was the only southern state that allowed slaves to enlist in the militia.
June 1780 An all-black unit known as the Connecticut Colonials served for over 2 years. Disbanded in November 1782, the companys 52 free blacks and slaves were integrated with the states white units in the final months of the war.
23 September 1780 Two blacks aided in the capture of British spy Major John Andre, who served as adjutant general to British General Sir Henry Clinton. Three American militiamen caught him after his meeting with American turncoat General Benedict Arnold. Andre was hanged at Tappan, New York, on 2 Oct.
1781 British General Charles Cornwallis, who was forced to surrender at Yorktown, Virginia, on 19 October 1781, hired slave James Armistead to spy on the Americans. Armistead, however, was actually an undercover agent for the patriots. In recognition of his services, the Virginia legislature emancipated Armistead in 1786.
June 1781 Maryland passed legislation subjecting all free men to a military draft. A total of 750 black troops were inducted and incorporated with other troops.
1781 The New York General Assembly authorized slaves to join the military. After 3 years of service until regularly discharged, those slaves who joined would become free citizens of New York.
1782 The British in New York freed those blacks who joined British ranks before 30 Nov.
1783 Because the re-enslaving of black veterans became so widespread throughout the South, Virginia passed legislation that freed all those slaves who had served in the Revolutionary War.
3 September 1783 American and British representatives signed the Treaty of Paris, recognizing American independence and ending the American Revolution. Almost 10,000 blacks served during the war, 5000 of whom were regular soldiers in the Continental Army.
1783 North Carolina legislators recognized Edward Griffins meritorious service during the Revolution by freeing him.
1791 The U.S. Congress passed legislation excluding blacks and Native Americans from the peacetime militia.
May 1792 Additional legislation adopted by Congress restricted enlistment in the militia to white male citizens. All of the state militia laws also reflected the same restriction. Among the reasons cited by later scholars for this decision were white fears about slave rebellions; the misguided belief that African Americans either could not or would not fight; concern that black military service would cause unwanted social changes; and the notion that the arming of blacks indicated the failure of white troops.
1798 Secretary of War James McHenry and Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert issued separate directives prohibiting the enlistment of blacks for use on warships of the newly established U.S. Navy or in the recently created U.S. Marine Corps. These decisions reversed the non-racial enlistment policy that had been in effect since the Revolutionary War.
1798 Despite earlier efforts to exclude them from the military, blacks served during the undeclared naval war with France. The earlier restriction was never enacted because of the Navys continual need for personnel. The hard lot of sailors in this period and the difficulty of enlisting experience seaman left recruiters little choice but to open the service to anyone, regardless of race.
22 June 1807 Three of the four sailors forcibly removed by the British after the H.M.S. Leopard fired on the U.S.S. Chesapeake were black. They were identified as William Ware, Daniel Martin and John Strachan. The volatile incident began when the British frigate halted the U.S. ship just outside the 3-mile limit off the coast of Virginia to demand the return of the alleged deserters. The British killed 3 Americans and wounded 18, but only 1 of the sailors removed from the Chesapeake, a white man named John Wilson, was later proven to be a deserter. Britain returned two of the black sailors to the United States, but the third died in England.
1812-1815 Free blacks and slaves served during the War of 1812. The British once again recruited slaves for their Navy as well as armed escaped slaves in Florida and various Indian tribes.
1812 Louisiana permitted free blacks to serve in the state militia.
3 March 1813 The U.S. Navy officially authorized the enlistment of free blacks, because of continuing manpower shortages.
10 September 1813 African Americans fought during the Battle of Lake Erie, a significant U.S. victory during the War of 1812. About 10 to 25 percent of Admiral Oliver H. Perrys men were black.
2 August 1814 Almost 1000 blacks in New York City helped to fortify the Brooklyn Heights approach guarding the town from British attack.
September 1814 White leaders in Philadelphia requested aid from two black preachers to help organize the citys defense after British troops attacked Washington, D.C. Black workers helped to refortify the west bank of the Schuylkill River south of town.
11 September 1814 Black soldiers participated in the American victory at Plattsburg, New York, where U.S. regular troops and militia manned field fortifications protecting the road to the Hudson Valley and New York City.
21 September 1814 General Andrew Jackson issued a proclamation urging the "Free Colored Inhabitants of Louisiana" to volunteer for service in his army. Black recruits were offered equal pay and the same bounty in money and lands as white volunteers. Those blacks who joined were organized into segregated units with white officers and black noncommissioned officers.
October 1814 The New York legislature authorized the formation of two black militia regiments headed by white officers. Those free blacks who enlisted received equal pay, while slaves who joined with their masters permission were freed at the wars end.
8 January 1815 Two battalions of 430 black soldiers fought with General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans, two weeks after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed, ending the War of 1812. Black troops from the West Indies also fought for the British.
3 March 1815 Congress passed legislation creating a postwar army of 10,000 men, but no blacks were recruited. Later that year, the War Department issued a memorandum that included disparaging remarks about African Americans.
1816 The U.S. Navy officially excluded slaves from serving on board ships or in shipyards.
Nov-December 1817 U.S. troops destroyed the Negro Fort on the Apalachicola River in Spanish Florida. Manned primarily by escaped slaves, the fortification had been used to continue attacks on the Americans after the War of 1812.
1818 Blacks fought with the Seminoles against the U.S. Army during both the First and Second Seminole Wars. In the latter conflict, the Seminoles and their black allies held off their white adversaries from 1835 to 1843. Although ultimately defeated, it cost the U.S. government $40 million and 1800 lives to finally subdue this group of intrepid fighters.
1820 Congress prohibited the enlistment of blacks or mulattos in the U.S. Army. This was reinforced by a subsequent regulation issued by the Army in 1821, limiting service to free white males. The state militias instituted similar restrictions.
1830 Ohio passed a law excluding African Americans from serving in the state militia.
1831 Greenbury Logan, one of the first blacks to settle in Texas, was one of the few African Americans who fought for the Lone Star Republics independence from Mexico.
1836 Over 300 men defending Goliad, Texas, were slaughtered by Mexican troops after laying down their arms. Included among the dead was fifer Peter Allen, a black musician who served with Captain Wyatts Company.
1839 In response to white complaints about the use of black sailors, the U.S. Navy imposed a quota limiting African Americans to five percent of the services total personnel.
1842 South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun introduced a bill to prohibit blacks from serving in the Navy, except as menial labor. Although passed by the Senate, the House never brought the bill to a vote.
24 April 1846The excuse for war needed by President James K. Polk after Mexico refused to negotiate with John Slidell came with a minor skirmish on this date. Mexican cavalry clashed with U.S. troops blockading a Mexican town. Only a few African Americans served during the Mexican-American War, because of the increasing racial prejudice and growing North-South split over the slavery issue. They were present unofficially with the Army as personal servants of white officers and in other support roles. Officially, at least 1000 black sailors served on board U.S. ships blockading Mexican harbors during the conflict.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bennett, Lerone Jr. Before the Mayflower: A History of Black America. New York: Penguin Books, 1982.
Bowers, William T., William M. Hammond and George L. MacGarrigle. Black Soldier White Army. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 1996.
Carruth, Gorton. The Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993.
Dupuy, R. Ernest and Trevor N. Dupuy. The Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1986.
Foner, Eric and John A. Garraty, eds. The Readers Companion to American History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991.
Harley, Sharon. The Timetables of African-American History: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in African-American History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
Horton, James Oliver and Lois E. Horton, eds. A History of the African American People. London: Salamander Books Limited, 1995.
Lanning, Michael Lee (LTC, ret.), The African-American Soldier; From Crispus Attucks to Colin Powell. Secaucus, NJ: Birch Lane Press, 1997.
MacGregor, Morris J. Jr. Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1981.
Quarles, Benjamin. The Negro in the Making of America. New York: Touchstone, 1996.
Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr., ed. The Almanac of American History. New York: Perigee Books, 1983.
Wilson, Joseph T. The Black Phalanx; African American Soldiers in the War of Independence, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994.
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