Ethiopian Regiment Lord Dunmore ' s Ethiopian Regiment or Ethiopian Regiment was the name given to a British colonial military unit organized during the American Revolution by John Murray , 4th Earl of Dunmore , and last Royal Governor of Virginia . Composed of slaves who had escaped from Patriot masters , it was led by British officers and sergeant s . Black Loyalists also served in guerrilla units such as the elite Black Brigade , as well as together with British troops and white Loyalist militia recruited in the colonies . History . In 1775 , Lord Dunmore , Royal Governor of Virginia , issued a proclamation offering freedom to all slaves of revolutionaries who were willing to join him under arms against the rebels in the American Revolutionary War . Five hundred Virginia slaves promptly abandoned their Revolutionary masters and joined Dunmore ' s ranks . The governor formed them into the Ethiopian Regiment , also known as Lord Dunmore ' s Ethiopian Regiment . During the war , tens of thousands of slaves escaped , having a substantial economic effect on the American South . An estimated 25 , 000 slaves escaped in South Carolina ; 30 , 000 in Virginia , and one - quarter of the almost total slave population in Georgia . Slaves also escaped in New England and New York , often joining the British forces occupying New York for freedom . While thousands went to the British lines for freedom ( and the British evacuated nearly 4 , 000 Black Loyalists to Nova Scotia and other colonies after the war ) , others took advantage of the wartime confusion to migrate to other areas of the colonies . " Smallpox also ruined the British plan to raise an army of slave and indentured servant s by promising them freedom after the war - the disease killed off most of the Ethiopian Regiment even as it assembled . " Lord Dunmore ' s Ethiopian Regiment , composed of escaped slaves , was probably the first black regiment in the service of the Crown during the revolution . By December 1775 the regiment had nearly 300 blacks , including its most famous member , an escaped slave called Titus , then known as Tye . In later years , he became known as Colonel Tye as an honorary title for his military skills . The Ethiopian Regiment saw service from 1775 to 1776 . Private Tye and his comrades believed that they were fighting not just for their own individual freedom but for the freedom of enslaved blacks in North America . Their regimental uniforms had sashes inscribed with the words , " Liberty to Slaves " . Although the men were often used for foraging and other labor , they also saw battle . The Ethiopian Regiment perhaps saw action for the first time at the Battle of Kemp ' s Landing in November 1775 . The Earl of Dunmore defeated the rebellious colonial militia . Two of its colonels were captured . One colonel was taken by one of his former slaves . The black regiment in British service was a symbol of hope for Americans of African descent . That blacks were trained to bear arms and kill was a revolutionary idea at the time , especially as they were with one of the world ' s best armies . In 1775 the Queen ' s Own Loyal Virginia Regiment , the Ethiopian Regiment , and the 14th Regiment of Foot occupied Norfolk , Virginia , and Dunmore established his headquarters there . Virginia ' s Committee of Safety ordered Colonel William Woodford in command of 500 Virginia rebels to Norfolk to oppose Dunmore . His men and others gathered at one end of a key bridge ( at Great Bridge ) , on a causeway that connected the mainland to the port of Norfolk . Dunmore ' s forces , including some of the Ethiopians , had constructed Fort Murray at the other end of the bridge , and Colonel Woodford entrenched on his side of Great Bridge . Woodford sent a black man to Dunmore as a double agent with false news of Woodford ' s strength ( he was to report they had only 300 men . ) The spy further said the force were " green " recruits who would be easily frightened off . Captain Samuel Leslie ordered Captain Charles Fordyce to lead 120 men of the 14th Foot down the causeway to attack the rebel position . The Ethiopian Regiment stood ready on Great Bridge supported by British cannon . Rebel sentries , notably the William Flora , slowed the British advance with " buck and ball " . Alerted by the noise of battle , the rebels manned the breastwork . The Revolutionaries did not fire , and waited until the British were close . Emboldened by the lack of an all - out assault , the British rushed forward . " The day is ours ! " declared Captain Fordyce . Silence was followed by gunfire . The Americans cut down Fordyce and 12 privates . Of the wounded , two were former slaves who belonged to the Ethiopian Regiment : James Sanderson was wounded in the forearm ; and Cesar was wounded in the thigh . Woodford marched some of his men through the swamps and attacked the Ethiopian Regiment ' s flank , forcing them back in confusion . The revolutionaries seized two British cannon , and the British retreated back into their fort . In the following days , the British evacuated the fort and then Norfolk , which was then occupied by revolutionary forces including Woodford and his men . Dunmore ' s defeat was the first significant engagement of the American Revolutionary War in the South . Dunmore disbanded the Ethiopian Regiment in 1776 , although many of its members likely served as Black Pioneers during the occupation of New York . Colonel Tye . Titus had escaped from his master in Monmouth County , New Jersey before Lord Dunmore ' s proclamation of emancipation to slaves of American rebels who would join his ranks . He was on the run when he heard of Lord Dunmore ' s proclamation . The fugitive made his way to Virginia and enlisted in Lord Dunmore ' s Ethiopian Regiment . Lord Dunmore created the Ethiopian Regiment under white officers and NCOs . Although it is possible ( if not probable ) that some of the black recruits rose to the rank of sergeant ( possibly even Tye ) ; the British commissioned no blacks as officers in the 18th or 19th centuries . Nothing is known of Private Tye ' s ( or Sergeant Tye ' s ) activities between 1776 and 1778 . Tye returned to New Jersey from Virginia , as his first recorded fighting debut was at the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778 . He was known for the duration of the war as the Black Loyalist guerrilla leader Colonel Tye . It was an honorific title of respect . He led the elite Black Brigade , which served with the guerrilla Queen ' s Rangers in helping defend the British in New York in the winter of 1779 . In addition , he led numerous raids in Monmouth County , New Jersey , interrupting supply lines , capturing rebel officers , and killing suspected leaders . He died of complications from wounds in 1780 .