Nero Hawley Nero Hawley ( 1742 – 1817 ) , born into slavery in North Stratford , now Trumbull , Connecticut , enlisted in place of his owner , Daniel Hawley , in the Continental Army on April 20 , 1777 during the American Revolution and earned his freedom . His heroic life is featured in the book , " From Valley Forge to Freedom " , which also notes other areas of Trumbull , Connecticut associated with Hawley ' s life . Revolutionary War . 2nd Connecticut . The 2nd Connecticut Regiment was raised in Spring of 1777 for the new army or " Continental Line " and was made up of men and slaves from throughout the state of Connecticut . Ordered to assemble in Danbury , Connecticut to prepare to take the field , they went into camp in Peekskill , New York soon after . They served during the summer and fall of 1777 along the Hudson River under the command of General Israel Putnam . On November 14 , 1777 , they were ordered to join General Washington ' s main army in Pennsylvania where they engaged in the sharp action of the Battle of White Marsh on December 8 , 1777 . The unit lost a number of officers and men , killed and wounded in the battle . Valley Forge , Pennsylvania . Nero Hawley spent the winter of 1777 - 1778 at Valley Forge , Pennsylvania under the command of General George Washington . He was a Private in Captain James Beebee ' s Company , Huntington ' s Brigade of the 2nd Connecticut Regiment , 1st Connecticut Division . On March 12 , 1778 , the parish of North Stratford , now Trumbull , Connecticut , made donations of provisions for those residents serving in the southern army stationed at Valley Forge . Of the fifteen men serving there from North Stratford , three were Hawley ' s ; Abraham , Nathan and Nero . Nero Hawley answered seven roll calls between December 1777 and June 1778 during the harsh winter encampment . Battle at Monmouth , New Jersey . On July 28 , 1778 he fought in the Battle of Monmouth , New Jersey . Hawley was assigned to the 2nd Connecticut Brigade commanded by Huntington and camped at White Plains before spending the winter of 1778 - 1779 with the division at Redding , Connecticut . He served on the east side of the Hudson River in General Heath ' s wing during operations of 1779 and with the Light Company under Captain Ten Eyck . He was then detached to Meig ' s Light Regiment and engaged the enemy at the Battle of Stony Point on July 15 , 1779 . Wintered during 1779 - 1780 , at Morristown , New Jersey , serving on the outposts . In 1780 , he served with the main army along the Hudson River and wintered at Camp " Connecticut village " above the Robinson House during 1780 - 1781 . Private life . Nero married Peg , the slave servant of the Unity Parish pastor , Reverend James Beebe , in 1761 . They raised seven children , five born before Nero enlisted in the army . Hawley was emancipated in 1782 , however , the children born to Nero and Peg were the property of Reverend Beebe . Two children were listed in Beebe ' s inventory of his estate after his death in 1785 . Nero formally emancipated all four children in 1801 when they were twenty - six and thirty - four years of age . On March 14 , 1791 , Hawley , described in the old North Stratford Ecclesiastical Society book as a " free Negro man " , withdrew with others from the Congregational Society of North Stratford , now Trumbull , and became a member of the Episcopal Church at Ripton , now Huntington . On May 26 , 1808 , Hawley ' s pension was increased to $ 3 . 33 per month . After the war , Hawley became a brick maker and received a final pension increase to $ 40 per year in 1813 . Nero Hawley died in 1817 at the age of 75 , and is buried in the Riverside Cemetery in Trumbull Center . Descendants . Nero ' s grandsons Grant and Peter Hawley were named trustees of the Zion Colored Methodist Episcopal Church in June 1835 when the church purchased land on Broad Street in Bridgeport , Connecticut to construct a church building . The church , now known as the Walter ' s Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church , is the oldest black church in Bridgeport and celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2010 .