Peter Salem (October 1, 1750 – August 16, 1816)BlackPast.org
"Salem, Peter" was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

from Massachusetts who served as a U.S. soldier in 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 ...

. Born into slavery in

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popul ...

, he was freed by a later master, Major Lawson Buckminster, to serve in the local militia. He then enlisted in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

, serving for nearly five years during the war. Afterwards, he married and worked as a cane weaver. A monument was erected to him in the late 19th century at his grave in Framingham.

Early life

Peter Salem was born on October 1, 1750, to an enslaved mother in

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

.Smithsonian NMAAHC
/ref> His enslaver was Jeremiah Belknap,American National Biography
"Salem, Peter" who later sold him to Major Lawson Buckminster. When Buckminster became a major in the

, he

emancipated Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchis ...

Salem in 1775 so he could enlist in the Massachusetts militia in what soon became the Revolutionary War. Salem's last name may have been given to him by his original enslaver Belknap, who may have chosen the name after

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, where he once lived. His last name may also be derived from the Arabic word "

salaam As-salamu alaykum ( ar, ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ, , ), also ''Salamun Alaykum'' is a greeting in Arabic that means 'Peace be upon you'. The (, meaning 'peace') has become a religious salutation for Muslims worldwide when greet ...

", meaning ''peace''.

Military service

Salem took part in the war's first battles at

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

on April 19, 1775. He is on the roll of Captain Simon Edgell's militia company from Framingham as having served four days from April 19, 1775. On April 24, he enlisted in Captain Drury's company of Colonel John Nixon's 6th Massachusetts Regiment.

Battle of Bunker Hill

Salem, another hero of this event, fought with his company in the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...

. According to Samuel Swett, who chronicled the battle, Salem had mortally wounded

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

officer

John Pitcairn Major John Pitcairn (28 December 1722 – 17 June 1775) was a Marine Service officer who was stationed in Boston, Massachusetts, at the start of the American War of Independence. Born in Scotland in 1722, Pitcairn joined the Naval Service at ...

who died from a

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

shot. This has been disputed. About a dozen other free African Americans took part in the battle, including Phillip Abbot of Andover Mass,

Barzillai Lew Barzillai Lew (November 5, 1743 January 18, 1822) was an African-American soldier who served with distinction during the American Revolutionary War. Family history Barzillai Lew's story began with Primus Lew of Groton, Massachusetts (a former ser ...

Salem Poor Salem Poor (1747–1802) was an enslaved African-American man who purchased his freedom in 1769, became a soldier in 1775, and rose to fame as a war hero during the American Revolutionary War, particularly in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Early lif ...

, Titus Coburn, Alexander Ames, Cato Howe, and

Seymour Burr Seymour Burr (1754/1762–1837) was an African-American slave in the Connecticut Colony in the North American British Colonies and United States. Owned by the brother of Colonel Aaron Burr, who was also named Seymour, he was known only as Seymo ...

. Salem reenlisted for another year in the 4th Continental Regiment on January 1, 1776. When that enlistment expired, he signed up for three years in the 6th Massachusetts Regiment of Colonel Thomas Nixon, a brother of Colonel John Nixon. He was honorably discharged on December 31, 1779, having served a total of four years and eight months.''Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War.'' Vol. 13, pp. 743–744. Salem apparently extended his enlistment for two months and served with Captain Claye's Company of Colonel Nixon's Regiment from January 1 to March 1, 1780. Salem fought at the battles of Saratoga and Stony Point.Sidney and Emma Nogrady Kaplan, ''The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution'', Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989 revised edition.

Later life and death

Salem spent the rest of his life living peacefully. He married Katy Benson in

in September 1783, and he later built a cabin near

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, where he worked as a cane weaver. Peter Salem died on August 16, 1816, aged 65. He was buried in the Old Burying Ground in Framingham, and the town spent $150 to erect a monument in his memory in 1882.

Media portrayals

At one time Salem was thought to have been depicted in

John Trumbull John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Rev ...

's painting ''

The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775 ''The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775'' refers to several oil paintings completed in the late 18th and early 19th century by the American artist John Trumbull depicting the death of Founding Father Joseph ...

.'' Modern authorities differ. David Barton identifies Salem standing to Thomas Grosvenor's right. Professor David Brion Davis, citing evidence from Professor Sidney Kaplan, states that the African American to Thomas Grosvenor's right "was Peter Salem". Peter Salem is one of the supporting characters in the 2015 television miniseries ''

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It pl ...

.'' He is played by British actor

Jimmy Akingbola James Olatokunbo Akingbola (born 7 April 1978) is an English television, theatre and film actor. Early life Jimmy Akingbola was born in London to parents of the Yoruba tribe who had emigrated from Nigeria. In 1996, Akingbola started at the ...

.IMDb
"Sons of Liberty: The Uprising"

References

Sources

''Celebrate Boston'' website, article about role in Battle of Bunker Hill
"Peter Salem"
African American Registry

''Boston 1775'' blog

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salem, Peter 1750 births 1816 deaths 18th-century American slaves People from Leicester, Massachusetts People from Framingham, Massachusetts African-American history of Massachusetts Black Patriots Free people of color