The Black Soldiers :: essays research papers

The Black Soldiers by C.J. Blake All through our country’s history, African Americans have had to choose whether they were meant to live in the States or if they should go live somewhere else. Slavery without a doubt had a strong impact on their decisions. Despite the troubles African Americans have had, they made a great contribution and a very big impact on our military and armed forces since the Revolutionary War. The black man has fought against his country's wars, and he has also fought the war with their country to gain the right to fight and the right to freedom. America's first war was the war for independence from Great Britain was a major achievement. This accomplishment could not have been done if it was not for the African American soldiers in the armies. The first American to actually shed blood during the revolution that freed America from being under British rule was Crispus Attucks, a Black seaman. Attucks and four white men were killed in the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770. Attucks was still willing to fight against England along with other whites, althoug he was a fugitive slave running from his master. The colonists probably would have kept African Americans out of the military during the war if it was not for the proclamation by the Lord of Dunmore. He said "I do hereby... declare all... Negroes... 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 dignity." This meant that if any black man was willing to fight for the British they would become legally free. Then, the Americans could not afford to not let black men from joining the army. After that General George Washington officially reversed his policy about letting "free Negroes to enlist." "Of the 300,000 men that served in the Continental American Army during the War of Independence, about five thousand were Black. In addition to several all-Black companies, there was also an all-Black regiment was from Rhode Island. Between 1775 to 1781 there were no battles without Black soldiers. African American soldiers defended for the colonies at Lexington, Ticonderoga, Concord, Benington, White Plains, Saratoga, Brandywine, Savannah, and Yorktown. There were two Blacks with George Washington on the day he crossed the Delaware River on Christmas Day in 1776. Unfortunately despite African Americans' help to the war effort and the large