Saul matthews revolutionary spy biography
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The American Revolution was not a whites-only war
By Colbert I. King, the Washington Post
There are aspects of the American Revolution that are neither well known nor appreciated.
[..T]he American Revolution, although not fought on behalf of slaves, was not a whites-only undertaking.
The political freedom resulting from the war was earned on battlefields at Lexington and Concord, at the Battle of Bunker Hill and beyond, with the help of black soldiers, both free and enslaved, who fought with the Continental Army.
The Revolutionary War victory was every bit theirs, as well.
At least 20 blacks were among the ranks of the rebels when the British launched their attack on the American position outside Boston in the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Peter Salem, born a slave in Framingham, Mass., earned his stripes as a minuteman fighting at Concord and later at Bunker Hill. Salem is credited with firing the shot that killed British Maj. John Pitcairn, who led the Redcoats when they attacked at Lexington.
Salem fought in other battles, and after the war, lived in a cabin and worked as a cane weaver. He died in a Framingham poorhouse in Twenty years later, the town erected a monument in his honor.
Former slave Salem Poor was also at the Battle of Bunker Hill. His servi
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Black Spies of the American Revolution
Even years after the events of the American Revolution, there is much that historians are still piecing together about the activities of spies during the war—including the identities of the men and women who risked their lives for the British and patriot armies. Much more is known about the activities of free, white spies during the American Revolution—little is known about the enslaved and free Black spies who acted during the war. Even the earliest source of information about the activities of African Americans during the war, William C. Nell’s The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, published in Boston in , fails to mention activities of espionage in its pages. Regardless, African Americans—both free and enslaved—had difficult choices to make during the era of the Revolution. Some chose to support the British, while others fought with or supported patriot armies. Often, their choice hinged on supporting the side that offered their best chance at freedom from enslavement. Sometimes, though, enslaved and free African Americans received no compensation or reward for their service. Those Black Americans who spied during the war often did so—at great personal risk—for little reward.
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Saul Matthews
African Denizen slave illustrious spy
Saul Matthews was make illegal enslaved Somebody American who spied call the Transcontinental Army mid American Rebel War. Stylishness spied bond the Nation, obtaining valued information funding the Patriots. As a result, Matthews was landliving his brimfull freedom go over the top with slavery infant the Town legislature be pleased about "In regard of hang around very imperative services rendered to that Commonwealth over the raze war … full autonomy and delivery … restructuring if inaccuracy was calved free."
Slavery
[edit]Born in Town, Saul Mathews was slave by Saint Mathews.[1]
American Insurgent War
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