By:
Kathryn Allen, B.A. in History (Class of 2024), Christopher Newport University
Sheri Shuck-Hall, Ph.D., Professor of History, Christopher Newport University
Almost 250 years ago, on November 25, 1775, the first Black regiment in English-speaking North America fought for their freedom. They followed the offer of Lord Dunmore, Royal Governor of Virginia, who proclaimed in 1775 that any enslaved person willing to fight for the British would be freed. Despite being on the opposing side of the Americans, these formerly enslaved men understood the revolutionary principles of liberty and wanted it for themselves. Known as the Ethiopian Regiment, the Black soldiers engaged in several raids and battles on behalf of Lord Dunmore. Yet the culmination of their British military service was in Chesapeake, Virginia, where the Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Museum is today. This exhibit explores the history of the Ethiopian Regiment and how their determination led to enslaved resistance throughout the colonial South in pursuit of independence.
“Liberty to Slaves”
Since the first enslaved Africans arrived in 1619 at Point Comfort (present-day Fort Monroe) in Virginia, the institution of slavery continued to spread along with white settlement. Southern landowners focused on cash crops like tobacco that demanded intensive, exploitative labor. By the eve of the American Revolution in 1775, slavery had saturated the South. In the 1750s, Virginia had a population of around 100,000 enslaved Blacks; by the 1780s the number had doubled. Those in bondage eagerly anticipated the day where they would be free because the system of slavery was violent, dehumanizing, and unjust.[1]
The American Revolution created both chaos and opportunity for the enslaved to escape and gain their freedom. By 1775, war between the colonists and Great Britain was imminent. Major conflicts over taxation, representation, and western expansion led to rebellion, commencing at the Battles of Lexington and Concord on the 19th of April. The ‘shot heard round the world’ resulted in an American victory as they forced British troops back to Boston. In Virginia’s capital at Williamsburg, Royal Governor John Murray, Fourth Earl of Dunmore, plotted to thwart Patriot advances. Two days after the first British defeat, Lord Dunmore ordered the Royal Marines to take the gunpowder from the magazine in Williamsburg. When local enslaved Blacks heard of his plans, they came to Lord Dunmore to offer their services.[2]
Word spread quickly that Lord Dunmore planned to arm Blacks in the British defense of Virginia. Enslaved people from all over the South made their way to the Virginia coastline where Dunmore sought refuge in his ship, the H.M.S. Fowey, in the York River. Lists of runaways littered the Virginia Gazette. Reports of slave insurrections in Norfolk, Chesterfield County, and Prince Edward County fueled Black resistance.[3]
On the first of May 1775, Dunmore wrote to William Legge, the 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, explaining that he would begin accepting Blacks into his ranks. Yet he only took Blacks from Patriot lines; he refused refugees from the Loyalists. The rising number of Black soldiers struck fear in the colonial South. George Washington, General of the Continental Army who owned a plantation built and operated by enslaved Blacks, admitted that Lord Dunmore was the greatest threat to the American cause. Spring brought war, but it also provided hope to Blacks who had escaped bondage, and the British grew stronger.[4]
After his letter to Dartmouth in May, Dunmore spent the summer recruiting soldiers and raiding the Virginia coastline in Hampton Roads. As the British conducted raids against colonial settlements, more enslaved Blacks sought freedom and joined the British. On November 7, 1775, Lord Dunmore wrote “A Proclamation,” and published it eight days later. He wrote that he had hoped for a resolution to the conflict between the colonists and the British, but seeing no solution, Dunmore proclaimed:
“And 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.”[5]
This document provided incentive for many enslaved people to escape, but it was at a significant risk. If caught, they would receive severe punishment. Lord Dunmore’s proclamation was so effective in motivating Blacks to cross British lines that many neutral Southerners became Patriots as they feared widespread slave revolts.[6]
While Lord Dunmore’s proclamation targeted able-bodied Black men, even more ran towards his offer. Women, children, and the elderly fled to Dunmore’s ships in search of freedom. Within just a week of Dunmore’s proclamation, around 100 Blacks had fled to Dunmore’s encampment. Those who could not serve as soldiers joined the war effort in other ways; for example, women served as washers and tended to the uniforms of British soldiers.[7]
Shortly after issuing the proclamation, Lord Dunmore established the Ethiopian Regiment, constituting around 200 to 300 men. Unlike their namesake, these men were mostly American-born or from West Africa. The Black soldiers began their work immediately though they lacked military training. On November 15, the Ethiopian Regiment joined the British troops and other Loyalists at the skirmish of Kemp’s Landing in present-day Kempsville. The Virginia militia’s ambush failed, so the British troops marched on to Norfolk County (present-day Chesapeake) to Fort Murray, a small stockade north of Great Bridge.[8]
The Battle of Great Bridge
Great Bridge was a terrain that had strategic significance. The Elizabeth River guarded on both sides a small strip of land connecting northeast North Carolina to the port of Norfolk. The low-lying Virginia land was a marsh, and the causeway was only large enough to hold five- or six-men side-by-side. It provided the only land route towards Dunmore’s Norfolk holdings and protected his supply lines. Animosity between the Patriots and Loyalists quickly intensified. On December 9, Dunmore took the offensive despite being at a defensive advantage.[9]
The combined fear of advancing militiamen and incorrect information from a spy that Patriot forces were only 300-strong prompted Dunmore to move. The Ethiopian Regiment was there to draw the American troops away from the front lines. However, this did not go to plan, and the Patriot militiamen thwarted British forces. The Patriots moved east to take the British on two sides, and Virginia Colonel William Woodford forced British Captain Samuel Leslie, who ordered the attack, into a retreat. Under the cover of darkness, the British withdrew to their ships in Norfolk harbor. The Battle of Great Bridge was the first Patriot victory in the Virginia colony. [10]
Between 62 and 102 British troops were killed, captured, or wounded. According to Dunmore, confirmed British casualties included Captain Charles Fordyce, two other officers, and 17 enlisted men. It is unknown how many died from the Ethiopian or Loyalist Regiments. The Americans only reported one wounded soldier with no casualties on their side. The preemptive attack by the British at Great Bridge cost Dunmore control over Norfolk, Virginia, and the South. Virginians who captured Black soldiers at the battle sold them back into slavery. The loss at Great Bridge forced Dunmore to abandon Norfolk and resigned the regiment to the seas, where they would continue raiding coastal settlements. Yet fear of the Ethiopian Regiment’s power had already permeated throughout the South. The possibility of a slave revolt terrified white plantation owners, while those in bondage kept alive the hope of freedom.[11]
Leaving Virginia Behind
From Great Bridge, the remnants of the Ethiopian Regiment made their way to Lord Dunmore’s ship. Shortly after, the soldiers became extremely ill with smallpox or fever. Dunmore began searching for a place to rest and recuperate, finally settling on Gwynn’s Island at the mouth of the Rappahannock River. For months, the troops remained on the island. Their presence led many more Black refugees to join their cause, but also left them exposed to frequent Patriot attacks. They eventually left the island, where over half of the soldiers were too sick or incapacitated to fight.[12]
After leaving the Chesapeake Bay, the Ethiopian Regiment headed to New York. The soldiers officially disbanded on August 13, 1776, on Staten Island. The British appointed those that remained to the Black Pioneers; they were not a combat unit, but a construction crew tasked to build temporary housing. British General Samuel Birch gave each Black soldier of the former Ethiopian Regiment (and any other refugees who joined the British cause) a certificate that listed them as a member of the British forces. Classified as a Loyalist, the document guaranteed their freedom and passage to Nova Scotia. General Birch issued around 3,000 certificates to formerly enslaved people. Only one certificate survives today, bearing the name of Cato Ramsey. Ramsey’s information can be found in the logbook entitled, The Book of Negroes, which was a log of every man, woman, and child who was leaving for Nova Scotia.[13]
After the British defeat in 1781 at Yorktown and the signing of the Peace of Paris in 1783, the Loyalist evacuation of the former American colonies began. The exodus from New York to Nova Scotia was slow and continued for 3 years. Black Loyalists settled the towns of St. John, Port Roseway, Birchtown, and others. Unfortunately, the land given to Black settlers was not fertile. Many fell victim to famine, forcing them to become indentured servants. Unrest spread among those formerly enslaved as their status in Nova Scotia started to mirror the life that they had escaped. Disgusted with their conditions, many Black people began searching for a way out. Thomas Peters, a former sergeant in the Black Pioneers, transported willing settlers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Freetown in Sierra Leone, Africa. David George, a Black Loyalist who founded the first all-Black Baptist church in America and Canada, published in 1793 a memoir of their long struggle, ending in Africa. His work, along with the story of the Ethiopian Regiment, led to the growing abolitionist movement throughout Europe and the United States.[14]
A Revolution of Ideas and the Significance of Freedom
The American Revolutionary War sparked the beginning of what is now known as the Age of Revolutions. Taking examples from American ideals and experiences, other countries across the world began to challenge and fight against oppressors. After Americans won their independence, the revolutionary ideas expressed by the Patriots about freedom and equality led many to question slavery and pushed for emancipation. Debates of whether to support, limit, or eradicate the institution of slavery brimmed at the surface of founding political decisions that would forever impact the course of U.S. history. Abolitionist societies continued to flourish in Great Britain and the North, creating a movement that only began the long struggle for freedom in America. While the surviving soldiers of the Ethiopian Regiment escaped bondage, as did thousands of others, slavery was still a supported institution around the world by the close of the American Revolution. The fight for independence was not over yet; it was just beginning for enslaved people.[15]
Some may ask why Americans would commemorate a regiment of opposing soldiers who fought against American independence from Great Britain. Yet the Black soldiers in the Ethiopian Regiment believed in the principle of liberty and made tremendous sacrifices for themselves and future generations. It is important to commend the bravery of enslaved people who risked their lives in search of freedom. Their story is at the core of our nation’s history.
To learn more about the Ethiopian Regiment and the beginnings of the American Revolution, visit the Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Museum in Chesapeake, Virginia. The museum sits next to a recreation of the bridge on which the battle took place. The grounds include monuments, an interpretive historical trail, and a stunning view of the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal. The Foundation aims to preserve and protect the site where so many died in search of freedom. As an institution, the museum and park provide year-round educational programs to learn about the American Revolution and its diverse history.
Acknowledgements
We would like to give special thanks to Elizabeth Goodwin, the Executive Director of the Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways History Foundation, who inspired this exhibit. We are grateful for the invaluable opportunities she has provided for our history students. We would also like to thank Dr. Phillip Hamilton, Professor of History at Christopher Newport University and author of The Revolutionary War: Lives and Letters of Lucy and Henry Knox and Justifying Revolution: Law, Virtue, and Violence in the American War of Independence, and Jon Stull of the Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Museum, who kindly offered their expertise and peer-reviewed this exhibit.
About the Author
Kathryn Allen will be graduating with a B.A. in History and a minor in Museum Studies from Christopher Newport University in Spring 2024. She completed this exhibit as a service-learning project for Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Museum in partnership with the CNU Public History Center. While at CNU, she interned at Bluebird Gap Farm in Hampton, Virginia, where she traced its early history and archaeology. She also serves as the student assistant of the CNU Department of History. She plans to pursue a career in public history.
Notes
[1] By the American Revolution, around 80 percent of enslaved Blacks in the British colonies were born in America, not Africa. In 1790, the first federal census reported 292,000 enslaved Blacks in Virginia. Herbert S. Klein, Slavery in the Americas: A Comparative Study of Virginia and Cuba (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967), 177; Peter Kolchin, American Slavery, 1629-1877 (New York: Hill and Wang, 1993), 49, 168.
[2] Simon Schama, Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution (United Kingdom: HarperCollins, 2006), 62-65; Silvia Frey, Water from the Rock: Black Resistance in a Revolutionary Age (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1991), 55; Kate Gruber, “The Gunpowder Incident,” American Battlefield Trust. Accessed 1 February 2024. The Gunpowder Incident | American Battlefield Trust (battlefields.org)
[3] The Virginia Gazette, April 1775. Virginia Gazette: Dixon and Hunter, April 01, 1775, pg. 1-4 | The Colonial Williamsburg Official History & Citizenship Site; Frey, Water from the Rock, 56-58; Schama, Rough Crossings, 70; Gruber, “The Gunpowder Incident.”
[4] Frey, Water from the Rock, 56-58; Schama, Rough Crossings, 70; Gruber, “The Gunpowder Incident.”
[5] Woody Holton, Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era: A Brief History with Documents (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009), 54-55.
[6] Woody Holton, Black Americans, 54-55.
[7] Frey, Water from the Rocks, 63; Holton, Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era, 54-55; Donald Gara, “Loyal Subject of the Crown: The Queen’s Own Loyal Virginia Regiment and Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment, 1775-76,” Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research 83, no. 333 (Spring 2005): 32-34; Justin Iverson, “Liberty to Slaves: Lord Dunmore’s Ethiopian Regiment, 1775-1776,” in Rebels in Arms: Black Resistance and the Fight for Freedom in the Anglo-Atlantic (Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2022), 64, 80.
[8] Iverson, “Liberty to Slaves,” 68; Schama Rough Crossings, 79; John Selby, The Revolution in Virginia, 1775-1783 (Virginia: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1988), 70.
[9] Selby, The Revolution in Virginia, 70-73.
[10] Schama, Rough Crossings, 80-81; Selby, The Revolution in Virginia, 72-73.
[11] Schama, Rough Crossings, 81; Iverson, “Liberty to Slaves,” 71-73.
[12] Iverson, “Liberty to Slaves,” 75-78.
[13] Gara, “Loyal Subject of the Crown,” 41; Schama, Rough Crossings, 150-152; Alan Edward Brown and Graham Russell Gao Hodges, The Book of Negroes: African Americans in Exile after the American Revolution (New York: Fordham University Press, 2021), 39.
[14] David George recounted his early struggles under slavery. Born in Virginia, George had started his journey early on, by founding the first black Baptist church in Silver Bluff, South Carolina. During the Revolutionary War, he and his family made their way to the British lines to take their claim to freedom. Eventually they ended up in New York, and later, Nova Scotia. While in Canada, he searched for audiences to preach to, but he faced severe backlash from white neighbors. Thus, he decided to immigrate to Sierra Leone, where he lived out the rest of his life. George’s story is just one of many that travelled to Sierra Leone in search of the freedom promised by the British. See David George and John Rippon, ed. “An Account of the Life of Mr. David George, from Sierra Leone in Africa; Given by Himself in a Conversation with Brother Rippon of London, and Brother Pearce of Birmingham.” Baptist Annual Register 1 (1793); Holton, Black Americans in the Revolutionary Era, 112-118; Frey, Water from the Rocks, 172-196.
[15] While the exact number cannot be determined, Thomas Jefferson estimated that up to 100,000 enslaved Blacks escaped during the American Revolution, though many historians believe this number is too high. Iverson, “Liberty to Slaves,” 84.