The daily Green Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1861-1865, 1863-03-05
The Use Of Nerroes in our Revolutionary
War

In these DAYS, when such u clamOr Is raise
against the e@pio, ment of neg,oes to aid III
Government IN irs desperate struggle With trca
son, and WHEN The opposition is e,1eciall
bitter against their use as soldiers. !, ma
not BE- Improbable to recur t. facts in o..
own hstory. The following, which we uondru>
from an elaborate article On this III beet sho v
what was til 1ught by our yolulonar Ia thlr
OF the project OF permitting negroes 10 fghJ lo
liberty.
In the army Immediately under the comman
OF General Washington, there were returne
on the 4th Of August 1916, seven hunured an
nifty live negroes. This return does not lnclud
the olark regiment Of slaves r4lsed IL Rnod
Island, whose history 10 interesting and Is glvel
by recent writer, as follows
Etrly IN l778 1T WAS proposed by Gen Var
num 70 w isntnLtUn that the Two Rhode l,ltnt
ba't1lions III camp at Valley Forge should b
united aud that the E rs Of one. Cot. (freen
L'eHt. Col, Olney, aud Aajpr Watd, with lheli
shodlterns, Do SEM to kuoue Island 10 enlist d
battalion of negroos Tor tue Continental service
Inc plan Was app owed aud the uthcers semi
hOne TO- that purpose.
Inc k1oi9 lstdnd Assembly accordingly re.
solved to rdlee regiment OF slaves, WAC were
10 D. fteed "pOn tnelr enlistment, ANA lhelr
owners to b. paid by tue ) to accJrdus Co tne
VALUATION Ot COmn,t tee (1t Dg1, one ir,,in .ac h
c"uhy') Que huhdced ana twonty pounds bern.
sIe hISh ST price Tor The most valuable slave
DIX -put' protested against GAIs AcC, on the
&rouhd tHaL There we're not enough slaves ro
III IKE an etficuVe rrgluen : th 81 tho MEASURE
"oulu D7 d'Sdpprpved abroad mat the exp nse
wonId DC eater, and Che owoers DE- dIssAtisli.u
win she III IN 'ity off 70 By tns ; 4ce.
Inc pr ano u TIE act rsctt-s un3 fI3t tn &c
" history al 'rds us tcuq lent prec .den.s of the
w'ses ttfte't, an4 brtvvsC natluns ua>iug nbe T..
ted sfeir 81 YES Eud enlisted them as soldiers to
night Tor The defence Of Gh III country
no' I oke, IN repnrun5 the result TO Wash
lng'oh sad " Lloer,y Is gwen to eyery ef &C.
i've ave e. enter ln.O ne service duray the
war a ID dpUn his posing u is,er he IL .b,,-
iuteiy IA "a Tree, aud 3nEI led 90 all Jne Hls4s
D'ah'toS dhd euc) irALen II Iv8l ~ Congress-
=" 'nJ Spt ller euils1th3 IntO n r5HVlte.
lhe nd'hper vi slaves is NOT
greet Out IL is * 'er'tiJ IN )dsIt tna5 thee
M itr'' II upvtcls @iu o. snl.1el "
HIS expectations were not dlsappo,p;ed and
these slaves who were 10 win theli oAn freedom
helC IN force. BetUie Lbe eud 0, HE wear, rhps5
men were t'ci aud no tound va ting la tn,
battle of Rhode Isl sud, Aagust 70, 1878, SAD
BY Lafayette to nave ny4n the b-ss n4tht
action of the aHDe var this newly rtistd
BLACK regiment. under Colonel Greene, distit-
gulaned lLsrit by Ieeds of dasprrlG v4t,r, re-
pc ling three times the fierce assault o. an over
Whelning iorce OF HeSslan troops And 20 they
cJntluued 60 discharge their dudy with zeal aud
hd1 lty-dever losing any Of then fast laureis 81
il4ntly Won 1t l. not Improbable that Col |
JJnn Lturens Witnessed an Drew spm3 OF nj 5
inspiration from the scene Of their hrs5 trial 10
the hell.
10 Massachusetts Legi l4tive Committee re-
porte IA l77s, in favor OF raising d glm-ut Vi
ne .roes. Connec leu Is SAID to have resorled to
r sing companies OF negroes, vino behaved
with hdety and ethceucy throughout the war
In New York, III 1881, an act was passed whlcn /
gave freedom to all the slaves VINO should serv !
three years, or until regularly discharged | i
NV Jersey the enlistment OF slaves Was forbid |
den II Mary land, in 1870. a law was passrd |
every SIG GOO ot property to fur
n'sh, within ~ dats, "a recruit, VINO might b |
other freeman Or II slave. Ia 1871, the L =
jslature of the State solved to raise irnmedl- |
ately $50 negroes to be incorporated with the
0th IT troops.
la Virginia and some other Southern Statee;
- one ssund negro " was offered as \ bounty to
every soldier who would enlist. But the idea ,
that these - sound negroes might be pu+ 10
. better use did not escape MIR. Madison, woo, |
then a member of the Continental Congress
20 expressing bis satisfaction with IN action o.
V,ruinia ,aiI