The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1920-10-02

respects the liberties and privileges
or. the latter, which the colonies are
determined to maintain, that the ad-
mission OF any person as a soldier into
the army now raising, but only such
az are freemen, will .be Inconsistent
with the principles that art to be sup
ported and reflect dishouor on these
colonies, and that no slaves be al.
united Into this army upon any con-
sideration whatever"
Washington took command or the
army around Boston on July 3. 1775.
The instructions for the recruiting
officers from his headquarters at Cam.
bridge prohibited {: the. enlistment of
any negro" It may also be~noticed
that they were forbidden to enlist
r. any person who Is not an American
born, unless such person has a wife
and family and is:a settled person
in this country" ,-.,~.. 80
Many Colored Men Enrolled: ri 7''@
Notwithstanding all this, the fact
remains, according to Bancroft, that
the roll of the army at cambridge;
had, from its first formation, borne
the names of men OF COLOR Free
:colored men stood In the ranks by the
side Of white men. In the beginning
of the war they had entered the
provincial army, and the coldredsrnens
like others. were retained insth9
Ice after the troops were adopted by
the continent"
A committee on conference, consist
ing of DR.. Franklin, Benjamin Harri-
son and Thomas Lynch, met at Cam
bridge, October IL, 1776, with the
deputy governors of Connecticut and
Rhode Island and the committee OF
the council OF Massachusetts Bay, to
confer with Gen. Washington, and ad-
wise a method for renovating the
army. On the Esd of October the
groes to be excluded from the new
enlistment, - especially such a. are,
slaves?" All were thought=improper.
by the council of officers. Il was1
agreed. that they be rejected alto
gether.
In general orders, issued November
IL, 1776,i Washington says: Neither
negroes, boys unable to bear arms
nor old men unit to endure the ID
tigues Of the campaign are to be On
listed"
V0tuSSSSGV ] uOIV EOII0IIn0uIs
Washington, however. in the last
days of the year, under representa-
tons to him that the free colored men
who had served In his army were very
much dissatisfied at being discarded,
and fearing that they might seek en-
ployment in the British army, took
the responsibility to depart from the
resolution respecting them and gave
license for their being enlisted.
Washington promised that II there
was any objection on the part of Con:
gress he would discontinue the enlist
Ing OF colored men, but, on January
10, ITS, Congress determined that
fully In the army at Cambridge may
be re-enlisted therein, but no Others"
The entire aspect of the affairs
changed when. in 1879 the South be-
gan to be invaded. South Carolina,
especially, was unable to make any
effectual efforts with militia, by reason
of the great proportion of citizens
necessary to remain at home to pre-.
vent Instructions among the colored
men and their assertions to the enemy,
who we're assiduous in their endeavors
to excite both revolt and desertion.
The result was that in all the South.
ern states the legislatures passed reso--
buttons to enlist the colored men, and
the colored patriots OF the Revolution
are as much entitled as their white
brethren for the ardor with which
they fought the common enemy,
whether they were bondmen or free
men. 1t has never been possible to
give an exact statement as to the
number Of colored men who served in
the Revolution. for the reason that
they. were generally mixed in regi-
ments and not calculated separately.