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Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with the Loyalists during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. In particular, the term refers to men who escaped enslavement by Patriot masters and served on the Loyalist side because of the
Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
's guarantee of freedom. Some 3,000 Black Loyalists were evacuated from New York to Nova Scotia; they were individually listed in the ''
Book of Negroes The ''Book of Negroes'' is a document created by Brigadier General Samuel Birch, under the direction of Sir Guy Carleton, that records names and descriptions of 3,000 Black Loyalists, enslaved Africans who escaped to the British lines during ...
'' as the British gave them certificates of freedom and arranged for their transportation. The Crown gave them land grants and supplies to help them resettle in Nova Scotia. Some of the European Loyalists who emigrated to Nova Scotia brought their enslaved servants with them, making for an uneasy society. One historian has argued that those slaves should not be regarded as Loyalists, as they had no choice in their fates. Other Black Loyalists were evacuated to London or the Caribbean colonies. Thousands of enslaved people escaped from plantations and fled to British lines, especially after British occupation of
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint ...
. When the British evacuated, they took many former enslaved people with them. Many ended up among London's
Black Poor Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...
, with 4,000 resettled by the
Sierra Leone Company The Sierra Leone Company was the corporate body involved in founding the second British colony in Africa on 11 March 1792 through the resettlement of Black Loyalists who had initially been settled in Nova Scotia (the Nova Scotian Settlers) afte ...
to Freetown in Africa in 1787. Five years later, another 1,192 Black Loyalists from Nova Scotia chose to emigrate to Sierra Leone, becoming known as the
Nova Scotian settlers The Nova Scotian Settlers, or Sierra Leone Settlers (also known as the Nova Scotians or more commonly as the Settlers) were African-Americans who founded the settlement of Freetown, Sierra Leone and the Colony of Sierra Leone, on March 11, 1792 ...
in the new British colony of Sierra Leone. Both waves of settlers became part of the
Sierra Leone Creole people The Sierra Leone Creole people ( kri, Krio people) are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Liberated African slaves who settled in the ...
and the founders of the nation of Sierra Leone. Thomas Jefferson referred to the Black Loyalists as "the fugitives from these States".


Background

Slavery in England had never been authorized by legal statutes. Villeinage, a form of semi-serfdom, was legally recognized but long obsolete. In 1772, a slave threatened with being taken out of England and returned to the Caribbean challenged the authority of his master in Somersett's case. Chief Justice Lord Mansfield ruled that slavery had no standing under common law and slave owners therefore were not permitted to transport slaves outside England and Wales against their will. Many observers took it to mean that slavery was ended in England. Lower courts often interpreted the ruling as determining that the status of slavery did not exist in England and Wales, but Mansfield had ruled more narrowly. The decision did not apply to the
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centuri ...
and Caribbean colonies, where local legislatures had passed laws to institutionalize slavery. A number of cases were presented to the English courts for the emancipation of slaves residing in England, and numerous American runaways hoped to reach England where they expected to gain freedom. American slaves began to believe that
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
was for them and against their masters as tensions increased before the American Revolution. Colonial slaveholders feared a British-inspired slave revolt, and
Lord Dunmore Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. History The title was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray, second son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. He was made Lord Murray of Blair, Moulin and Tillimet (or Tullimet) and ...
wrote to
Lord Dartmouth Earl of Dartmouth is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1711 for William Legge, 2nd Baron Dartmouth. History The Legge family descended from Edward Legge, Vice-President of Munster. His eldest son William Legge was a ...
in early 1775 of his intention to take advantage of the situation.


Proclamations


Lord Dunmore's Proclamation

In November 1775,
Lord Dunmore Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. History The title was created in 1686 for Lord Charles Murray, second son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. He was made Lord Murray of Blair, Moulin and Tillimet (or Tullimet) and ...
issued the controversial
Lord Dunmore's Proclamation Dunmore's Proclamation is a historical document signed on November 7, 1775, by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, royal governor of the British Colony of Virginia. The proclamation declared martial law and promised freedom for slaves of American ...
. As Virginia's royal governor, he called on all able-bodied men to assist him in the defense of the colony, including slaves belonging to the Patriots. He promised such slave recruits freedom in exchange for service in the British Army. Within a month, about 800 former slaves had fled to Norfolk, Virginia to enlist. Outraged Virginia slave owners decreed that runaway slaves would be executed, and they also counteracted the promises of Lord Dunmore by claiming that slaves who escaped to Lord Dunmore would be sold to
sugar plantations in the Caribbean Sugar plantations in the Caribbean were a major part of the economy of the islands in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Most Caribbean islands were covered with sugar cane fields and mills for refining the crop. The main source of labor, unti ...
. But many slaves were willing to risk their lives for a chance at freedom. Lord Dunmore's Proclamation was the first mass emancipation of slaves in America. The 1776 Declaration of Independence refers obliquely to the Proclamation by citing it as one of its grievances, that King George III had "excited domestic Insurrections among us". An earlier version of the Declaration was more explicit, stating the following of King George III, but these controversial details were dropped during the final development of the document in Congress. After the war began, a number of British generals issued proclamations calling for Loyalists to free their slaves so that they could join the undermanned British army and bolster its numbers. Among those issuing proclamations were
John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730 – 25 February 1809), known as Lord Dunmore, was a British nobleman and colonial governor in the American colonies and The Bahamas. He was the last colonial governor of Virginia. Lord Dunmore was name ...
, Governor of Virginia, and Sir Henry Clinton. Jamaica's Governor
John Dalling General Sir John Dalling, 1st Baronet (c. 1731 – 16 January 1798) of Burwood Park in Surrey, was a British soldier and colonial administrator. Origins Dalling was the son of John Dalling (1697–1744), of Bungay in Suffolk, by his wife Cath ...
drafted a proposal in 1779 for the enlistment of a regiment of mulattoes and another regiment of free Negroes.


Philipsburg Proclamation

With the arrival of 30,000 Hessian mercenary troops, the British did not have as much need of former slaves.
Sir William Howe William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...
banned the formation of new Black regiments and disbanded his own. But freeing slaves of rebels still held value as economic warfare against the American so-called Patriots. In 1779, Sir Henry Clinton issued the
Philipsburg Proclamation The Philipsburg Proclamation is a historical document issued by British Army General Sir Henry Clinton on 30 June 1779, intended to encourage slaves to run away and enlist in the Royal Forces. Text General Clinton issued the following proclamat ...
, expanding Lord Dunmore's Proclamation and promising freedom to any escaped slave of a Patriot. However, Clinton often ordered the returned escaped slaves to Loyalist masters, though he requested the owner to refrain from punishment. In 1778 the Patriots promised freedom to escaped slaves of Loyalists. But as
Boston King Boston King ( 1760–1802) was a former American slave and Black Loyalist, who gained freedom from the British and settled in Nova Scotia after the American Revolutionary War. He later immigrated to Sierra Leone, where he helped found Freetown and b ...
noted in his memoir, both Patriots and Loyalists who captured escaped slaves often sold them back into slavery.


Evacuation and resettlement

When the British evacuated their troops from Charleston and New York after the war, they made good on their promises and took thousands of freed slaves with them. They resettled the freedmen in colonies in the Caribbean, such as Jamaica, and in Nova Scotia and Upper Canada, as well as transporting some to London. The Canadian climate and other factors made Nova Scotia difficult. In addition, the Poor Blacks of London, many former slaves, had trouble getting work. British abolitionists ultimately founded Freetown in what became Sierra Leone on the coast of West Africa, as a place to resettle Black Loyalists from London and Canada, and
Jamaican Maroons Jamaican Maroons descend from Africans who freed themselves from slavery on the Colony of Jamaica and established communities of free black people in the island's mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern parishes. Africans who were ensla ...
. Nearly 2,000 Black Loyalists left Nova Scotia to help found the new colony in Africa. Their descendants are the
Sierra Leone Creole The Sierra Leone Creole people ( kri, Krio people) are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Sierra Leone Liberated African, Liberated Af ...
people. https://www.persee.fr/doc/cea_0008-0055_1991_num_31_121_2116 Journal of Sierra Leone Studies, Vol. 3; Edition 1, 2014 https://www.academia.edu/40720522/A_Precis_of_Sources_relating_to_genealogical_research_on_the_Sierra_Leone_Krio_people, originally published by Longman & Dalhousie University Press (1976).


Black Loyalist military units

Lord Dunmore's proclamation and others led to the formation of several Black regiments in the British army. The most notable were Dunmore's
Ethiopian Regiment The Ethiopian Regiment, better known as Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment, was a British colonial military unit organized during the American Revolution by the Earl of Dunmore, last Royal Governor of Virginia. Composed of formerly enslaved peopl ...
and Clinton's
Black Company of Pioneers The Black Company of Pioneers, also known as the Black Pioneers and Clinton's Black Pioneers, were a British Provincial military unit raised for Loyalist service during the American Revolutionary War. The Black Loyalist company was raised by Gene ...
. Other regiments included the Jersey Shore Volunteers, the Jamaica Rangers, the Mosquito Shore Volunteers, and the Black Dragoons of the South Carolina Royalists. It was also common for Black Loyalists to serve the military in non-combat positions, such as the Black Company of Pioneers.


Black Company of Pioneers and Guides and Pioneers

The largest Black Loyalist regiment was the
Black Company of Pioneers The Black Company of Pioneers, also known as the Black Pioneers and Clinton's Black Pioneers, were a British Provincial military unit raised for Loyalist service during the American Revolutionary War. The Black Loyalist company was raised by Gene ...
, better known as the "Black Pioneers" and later merged into the Guides and Pioneers. In the military terminology of the day, a "pioneer" was a soldier who built roads, dug trenches, and did other manual labor. These soldiers were typically divided into smaller corps and attached to larger armies. The Black Pioneers worked to build fortifications and other necessities, and they could be called upon to work under fire. They served under General Clinton in a support capacity in North Carolina, New York, Newport, Rhode Island, and Philadelphia. They did not sustain any casualties because they were never used in combat. In Philadelphia, their general orders to "attend the scavengers, assist in cleaning the streets & removing all newsiances being thrown into the streets".


Ethiopian Regiment

Lord Dunmore organized his 800 Black Loyalist volunteers into the
Ethiopian Regiment The Ethiopian Regiment, better known as Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment, was a British colonial military unit organized during the American Revolution by the Earl of Dunmore, last Royal Governor of Virginia. Composed of formerly enslaved peopl ...
. They trained in the rudiments of marching and shooting before engaging in their first conflict at the
Battle of Kemp's Landing The Battle of Kemp's Landing, also known as the Skirmish of Kempsville, was a skirmish in the American Revolutionary War that occurred on November 15, 1775. Militia companies from Princess Anne County in the Province of Virginia assembled at K ...
. The Patriot militia at Kemp's Landing was unprepared for the attack and retreated. Next, Dunmore led the Royal Ethiopians into the
Battle of Great Bridge The Battle of Great Bridge was fought December 9, 1775, in the area of Great Bridge, Virginia, early in the American Revolutionary War. The victory by colonial Virginia militia forces led to the departure of Royal Governor Lord Dunmore and any ...
; Dunmore was overconfident and misinformed about the Patriot numbers, however, and the Patriots overwhelmed the British troops. After the battle, Dunmore loaded his Black troops onto ships of the British fleet, hoping to take the opportunity to train them better. The cramped conditions led to the spread of smallpox. By the time that Dunmore retreated to the Province of New York, only 300 of the original 800 soldiers had survived.


Black Brigade

The "Black Brigade" was a small combat unit of 24 in New Jersey led by
Colonel Tye Titus Cornelius, also known as Titus, Tye, and famously as Colonel Tye ( – 1780), was a slave of African descent in the Province of New Jersey who escaped from his master and fought as a Black Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War; ...
, a slave from Monmouth County, New Jersey who had escaped to British lines early in the war. The title of colonel was not an official military designation, as he was not formally commissioned as an officer, but such titles were permitted anyway in an unofficial capacity. Tye and the Black Brigade were the most feared Loyalists in New Jersey, and he led them in several raids from 1778 at the
Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, com ...
to defending the British in occupied New York in the winter of 1779. Beginning in June 1780, Tye led several actions against Patriots in Monmouth County, and he was wounded in the wrist during a raid on a Patriot militia leader in September. Within weeks, he died from gangrene, and Black Pioneer leader
Stephen Blucke Stephen Blucke or Stephen Bluck (born –after 1796) was a Black Loyalist, in the American Revolutionary War, and one the commanding officers, of the British Loyalist provincial unit, the Black Company of Pioneers. He was one of 3,000 people who l ...
took over the Black Brigade and led it through the end of the war.Jonathan D. Sutherland, ''African Americans at War''
ABC-CLIO, 2003, pp. 420-421, accessed 4 May 2010


Postwar treatment

When peace negotiations began after the
Battle of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...
, a primary issue of debate was the fate of Black British soldiers. Loyalists who remained in the United States wanted Black soldiers returned so their chances of receiving reparations for damaged property would be increased, but British military leaders fully intended to keep the promise of freedom made to Black soldiers despite the anger of the Americans. In the chaos as the British evacuated Loyalist refugees, particularly from New York and Charleston, many American slave owners attempted to recapture their former slaves. Some would capture any Black, including those born free before the war, and sell them into slavery. The US Congress ordered
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
to retrieve any American property, including slaves, from the British, as stipulated by the
Treaty of Paris (1783) The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War and overall state of conflict ...
. Since
Sir Guy Carleton Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester (3 September 1724 – 10 November 1808), known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and administrator. He twice served as Governor of the Province of Quebec, from 1768 to 177 ...
intended to honour the promise of freedom, the British proposed a compromise that would compensate slave owners and provide certificates of freedom and the right to be evacuated to one of the British colonies to any Black person who could prove his service or status. The British transported more than 3,000 Black Loyalists to Nova Scotia, the greatest number of people of African descent to arrive there at any one time. One of their settlements,
Birchtown, Nova Scotia Birchtown is a community and National Historic Site in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located near Shelburne in the Municipal District of Shelburne County. Founded in 1783, the village was the largest settlement of Black Loyalists and th ...
was the largest free African community in North America for the first few years of its existence. Black Loyalists found the northern climate and frontier conditions in Nova Scotia difficult and were subject to discrimination by other Loyalist settlers, many of them slaveholders. In July 1784, Black Loyalists in Shelburne were targeted in the Shelburne Riots, the first recorded race riots in Canadian history. The Crown officials granted land to the Black Loyalists of lesser quality and that were more rocky and less fertile than that given to White Loyalists. In 1792, the British government offered Black Loyalists the chance to resettle in a new colony in Sierra Leone. The
Sierra Leone Company The Sierra Leone Company was the corporate body involved in founding the second British colony in Africa on 11 March 1792 through the resettlement of Black Loyalists who had initially been settled in Nova Scotia (the Nova Scotian Settlers) afte ...
was established to manage its development. Half of the Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia, nearly 1200, departed the country and moved permanently to Sierra Leone. They set up the community of " Freetown". In 1793, the British transported another 3,000 Blacks to Florida, Nova Scotia and England as free men and women. Their names were recorded in the ''
Book of Negroes The ''Book of Negroes'' is a document created by Brigadier General Samuel Birch, under the direction of Sir Guy Carleton, that records names and descriptions of 3,000 Black Loyalists, enslaved Africans who escaped to the British lines during ...
'' by General Carleton. Approximately 300 free Black people in Savannah refused to evacuate at the end of the war, fearing they would be re-enslaved once they arrived in the West Indies. They established an independent colony in swamps near Savannah River, though by 1786 most of them were discovered and returned to slavery, as Southern planters ignored the fact that they had been freed by the British during the war. When the British ceded the colonies of East Florida and West Florida back to Spain per the terms of the Treaty of Paris, hundreds of free Black people which had been transported there from the South were left behind as British forces pulled out of the region.


Descendants

Many descendants of Black loyalists have been able to track their ancestry by using General Carleton's ''Book of Negroes''. The number of these descendants is unknown.


Nova Scotia

Between 1776 and 1785, around 3,500 Blacks were transported to Nova Scotia from the United States, part of a larger migration of about 34,000 Loyalist refugees. This massive influx of people increased the population by almost 60%, and led to the establishment of New Brunswick as its own colony in 1784. Most of the free Blacks settled at
Birchtown Birchtown is a community and National Historic Site in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located near Shelburne in the Municipal District of Shelburne County. Founded in 1783, the village was the largest settlement of Black Loyalists and th ...
, the largest Black township in North America at the time, next to the town of Shelburne, settled by whites. There are also a number of Black loyalists buried in unmarked graves in the
Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia) The Old Burying Ground (also known as St. Paul's Church Cemetery) is a historic cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road in Downtown Halifax. History The Old Bur ...
. Among, the descendants of the Black Loyalists are noted figures such as
Rose Fortune Rose Fortune (March 13, 1774 – February 20, 1864) was a child born in or around Philadelphia of runaway slaves. Her parents became Black Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War when they pledged to be loyal to the British Army in exc ...
, a Black woman living in Nova Scotia who became a police officer and a businesswoman.
Measha Brueggergosman Measha Brueggergosman (née Gosman; June 28, 1977) is a Canadian soprano who performs both as an opera singer and concert artist. She has performed internationally and won numerous awards. Her recordings of both classical and popular music ha ...
(née Gosman), the Canadian opera and concert singer, is a New Brunswick native and descendant of a Black Loyalist through her father. In the closing days of the Revolution, along with British troops and other Black Loyalists, her paternal four-times-great-grandfather and grandmother left the colonies. They were resettled in Shelburne with their first child, who had been born free behind British lines in New York.


Commemoration

The Black Loyalist settlement of
Birchtown, Nova Scotia Birchtown is a community and National Historic Site in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located near Shelburne in the Municipal District of Shelburne County. Founded in 1783, the village was the largest settlement of Black Loyalists and th ...
was declared a National Historic Site in 1997. A seasonal museum commemorating the Black Loyalists was opened in that year by the Black Loyalist Heritage Society. A memorial has been established at the Black Loyalist Burying Ground. Built around the historic Birchtown school and church, the museum was badly damaged by an arson attack in 2008 but rebuilt. The Society began plans for a major expansion of the museum to tell the story of the Black Loyalists in America, Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.


Sierra Leone

Some Black Loyalists were transported to London, where they struggled to create new lives. Sympathy for the black veterans who had fought for the British stimulated support for the
Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
. This organization backed the resettlement of the black poor from London to a new British colony of Sierra Leone in West Africa. In addition, Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia were offered the opportunity to relocate, and about half chose to move to the new colony. Today the descendants of these pioneers are known as the
Sierra Leone Creole people The Sierra Leone Creole people ( kri, Krio people) are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Liberated African slaves who settled in the ...
, or Krios. They live primarily in the Western Area of Freetown. Black Loyalists from the American South brought their languages to Freetown, such as
Gullah The Gullah () are an African American ethnic group who predominantly live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, within the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. Their language and cult ...
from the Low Country and
African American Vernacular English African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban ...
. Their '' lingua franca'' was a strong influence on the descendants of this community, who developed '' Krio'' as a language. Many of the Sierra Leone Creoles or ''Krios'' can trace their ancestry directly to their Black Loyalist ancestors. An example of such an ancestor is
Harry Washington Harry Washington () was a Black Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War, and enslaved by Virginia planter George Washington, later the first President of the United States. When the war was lost the British then evacuated him to Nova Scotia. ...
, likely born about 1740 in The Gambia, enslaved as a young man and shipped to Virginia. He was purchased by George Washington in 1763; he escaped about 1776 in Virginia to British lines, eventually making his way to New York. He was among free blacks evacuated to Nova Scotia by the British following the war.Black Loyalist website.
/ref> He later took the opportunity to migrate to Freetown in Africa. There by 1800 he became the leader of a rebellion against colonial rule and faced a military tribunal. His descendants are part of the Creole population, who make up 5.8% of the total.


Notable Black Loyalists

*
Stephen Blucke Stephen Blucke or Stephen Bluck (born –after 1796) was a Black Loyalist, in the American Revolutionary War, and one the commanding officers, of the British Loyalist provincial unit, the Black Company of Pioneers. He was one of 3,000 people who l ...
, commanding officer of the Black Company of Pioneers * David George, American Baptist preacher *
Abraham Hazeley Abraham Hazeley (1784–1847) was a Nova Scotian settler in Sierra Leone. He was the founder of what was to become one of the most prominent Sierra Leone Creole, Creole families in the country. Abraham Hazeley Junior was born in Birchtown, Nova ...
, Nova Scotian settler *
Boston King Boston King ( 1760–1802) was a former American slave and Black Loyalist, who gained freedom from the British and settled in Nova Scotia after the American Revolutionary War. He later immigrated to Sierra Leone, where he helped found Freetown and b ...
, first Methodist missionary to indigenous Africans *
Moses Wilkinson Moses "Daddy Moses" Wilkinson or "Old Moses" (c. 1746/47 Wilkinson's entry in the Book of Negroes gives his age as 36. – ?) was an American Wesleyan Methodist preacher and Black Loyalist. His ministry combined Old Testament divination with ...
, American Methodist preacher *
John Kizell John Kizell was an American immigrant to Sierra Leone, who became a leader in Sierra Leone as it was being developed as a new British colony in the early nineteenth century. Believed born on Sherbro Island, he was captured and enslaved as a child, ...
, American immigrant to Sierra Leone *
John Marrant John Marrant (June 15, 1755 – April 15, 1791) was an American Methodist preacher and missionary and one of the first black preachers in North America. Born free in New York City, he moved as a child with his family to Charleston, South Carolina. ...
, Methodist preacher *
Cato Perkins Cato Perkins was an African-American slave from Charleston, South Carolina who became a missionary to Sierra Leone. He was enslaved by John Perkins. Cato Perkins self-emancipated by joining the British during the Siege of Charleston and he joined ...
, American missionary to Sierra Leone * Thomas Peters, one of the "Founding Fathers" of the nation of Sierra Leone *
Colonel Tye Titus Cornelius, also known as Titus, Tye, and famously as Colonel Tye ( – 1780), was a slave of African descent in the Province of New Jersey who escaped from his master and fought as a Black Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War; ...
, soldier *
Harry Washington Harry Washington () was a Black Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War, and enslaved by Virginia planter George Washington, later the first President of the United States. When the war was lost the British then evacuated him to Nova Scotia. ...
, freedman who resettled in Sierra Leone after enslavement to George Washington


In popular culture

* The saga of the Black Loyalists inspired Lawrence Hill's 2007 novel '' The Book of Negroes'' (published as ''Someone Knows My Name'' in the United States). It won the 2008 Commonwealth Award for Fiction.


See also

*
Black refugee (War of 1812) Black refugees were black people who escaped slavery in the United States during the War of 1812 and settled in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Trinidad. The term is used in Canada for those who settled in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. They were ...
*
Black Nova Scotians Black Nova Scotians (also known as African Nova Scotians and Afro-Nova Scotians) are Black Canadians whose ancestors primarily date back to the Colonial United States as slaves or freemen, later arriving in Nova Scotia, Canada, during the 18th a ...
* History of Nova Scotia *
Birchtown, Nova Scotia Birchtown is a community and National Historic Site in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located near Shelburne in the Municipal District of Shelburne County. Founded in 1783, the village was the largest settlement of Black Loyalists and th ...
*
Billy (slave) Billy (born ) was an enslaved man from Virginia who was charged with treason during the American Revolution. He was pardoned in 1781 after a letter was written arguing that, as a slave, he was not a citizen and thus could not commit treason agains ...


References

*Cassandra Pybus, ''Epic Journeys of Freedom: Runaway Slaves of the American Revolution and Their Global Quest for Liberty,'' New York: Beacon, 2006 * Simon Schama, '' Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution'' (London: BBC Books, 2005) (New York: Ecco, 2006 ) *
James Holman James Holman FRS (15 October 1786 – 29 July 1857), known as the "Blind Traveller," was a British adventurer, author and social observer, best known for his writings on his extensive travels. Completely blind and experiencing pain and limi ...

''Travels in Madeira, Sierra Leone, Teneriffe, St. Jago, Cape Coast, Fernando Po, Princes island, etc.''
(Google eBook), 1840


External links


Black Loyalist website


''The Loyalists'', Learn Quebec

University of Manitoba, Vol. 17, No. 1

Saint John
Black Loyalist Heritage Society
official website

National Archives, United Kingdom

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

Loyalist Institute
Documents and writings on Black Loyalists

Collections Canada

Archives
Nova Scotia archives, virtual exhibition

Black Loyalists' experience in Canada
Atlantic Canadian Portal {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Loyalist Pre-emancipation African-American history American rebel slaves African Americans in the American Revolution Slavery in the United States History of immigration to Canada History of Sierra Leone Ethnic groups in Nova Scotia