Titus Kent was an enslaved man in colonial

Suffield, Connecticut Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield, Connecticut, Enfiel ...

, the father of

Titus Gay Titus Gay (1787-1837), also known as Old Ti, was born into slavery in the town of Suffield, Connecticut, USA. Because of the Gradual Emancipation Act passed in 1784, Gay was freed in 1812 after reaching 25 years of age. He was buried in the north ...

and a Connecticut militiaman in the American Revolutionary War. Kent served with his enslaver, Elihu Kent (1733–1814), and with others from

. Kent served in the

3rd Connecticut Regiment The 3rd Connecticut Regiment was authorized on 16 September 1776 and was organized between 1 January - April 1777 of eight companies of volunteers from the counties of Windham and Hartford in the state of Connecticut. On 3 April 1777 it was as ...

in the Connecticut Line; Colonel

Samuel Wyllys Samuel Wyllys (January 4, 1739 – June 9, 1823) was an American military officer in the American Revolution, Connecticut politician, and a member of the Wyllys–Haynes family. Early life Wyllys was born on January 4, 1739, and baptized o ...

commanded, serving under General

Samuel Holden Parsons Samuel Holden Parsons (May 14, 1737 – November 17, 1789) was an American lawyer, jurist, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 428. in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Countr ...

. His regiment served in the New York area throughout its service. Suffield volunteers comprised about one-third of the Connecticut militia. There was no official town militia; every town contributed to the Connecticut militia while possibly dividing up into different platoons, regiments, etc., based on location. Initially, the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

discouraged enslaved men from enlisting 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 ...

, to appease the slave states. However, the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

offered freedom to enslaved people who fought on behalf of the British Army, forcing the Congress to relent and offer the same. Other enslaved people became part of the war everywhere.Genealogy Forums
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Titus 18th-century American slaves