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Dunmore's Proclamation is a
historical document Historical documents are original documents that contain important historical information about a person, place, or event and can thus serve as primary sources as important ingredients of the historical methodology. Significant historical docume ...
signed on November 7, 1775, by John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, royal governor of the British
colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...
. The proclamation declared
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
in the colony, and promised freedom for "all indented servants, negroes, or others", who joined the British Army (see also
Black Loyalist Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term referred to men enslaved by Patriots who served on the Loyalist side because of the Crown's guarantee of fr ...
s). Most relevant historians agree that the proclamation was chiefly designed for practical rather than moral reasons. Formally proclaimed on November 15, its publication prompted between 800 and 2,000 slaves (from both Patriot and Loyalist owners) to run away and enlist with Dunmore. It also raised a furor among Virginia's slave-owning elites (including those who had been sympathetic to Britain), to whom the possibility of a
slave rebellion A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of slaves have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedom and the dream o ...
was a major fear. The proclamation ultimately failed in meeting Dunmore's objectives; he was forced out of the colony in 1776, taking about 300 former slaves with him. Later British commanders over the course of 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
followed Dunmore's model in enticing slaves to defect—the 1779 Philipsburg Proclamation, which applied across all the colonies, was more successful. By the end of the war, at least 20,000 slaves had escaped from plantations into British service.


Background

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, originally from
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, was briefly the royal governor of the
Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...
before being named governor of Virginia in 1771 after the previous governor, Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt died. During his tenure, he worked proactively to extend Virginia's western borders past the
Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...
, despite the British Royal Proclamation of 1763. He notably defeated the Shawnee nation in Dunmore's War, gaining land south of the
Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
. As unpopular legislation, such as the
Stamp Act 1765 The Stamp Act 1765, also known as the Duties in American Colonies Act 1765 (5 Geo. 3. c. 12), was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of Great Britain which imposed a direct tax on the British America, British coloni ...
, engendered growing discontent with British rule, Dunmore changed his attitude towards the colonists; he became frustrated with the lack of respect towards the British Crown. Dunmore's popularity worsened after, following orders, he attempted to prevent the election of representatives to the
Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...
. On April 21, 1775, he ordered the seizure of the colony's store of gunpowder, an action that resulted in the formation of an angry mob in Williamsburg, the capital city. The colonists argued that the ammunition belonged to them, not to the British Crown, and demanded compensation or its return. The crowd was calmed before violence erupted and payment for the powder was eventually extracted, but Dunmore angrily swore that "if any injury or insult was offered to himself ..he would declare freedom to the slaves and reduce the City of Williamsburg to ashes". This undiplomatic threat alienated many of the slaveholding class who had been his most important supporters, and accelerated Dunmore's loss of effectiveness as actual governor of the colony. As the continuing unrest threatened to become violent, Dunmore fled the Governor's Palace on June 8 and took refuge aboard the
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
HMS ''Fowey'' at Yorktown. For several months, Dunmore's small navy raided the rebels' military supplies and looted riverside plantations, while inviting the slaves working in the fields to enlist. On November 14, 1775, Dunmore seized on the success of a minor skirmish with rebel militiamen to officially publicize his proclamation, making it known that Virginia was in a state of martial law, and that slaves desirous of freedom could obtain it by joining the British Army. Dunmore's Proclamation only applied to slaves who were held by individuals opposed to the British ("appertaining to Rebels"). This meant that if slaves were held by people who were pro-British, they could keep their slaves. This gives further evidence to the thesis that Dunmore's Proclamation was motivated by the desire to win the war rather than by genuine concern for the slaves.


Dunmore's Proclamation

In the official document, he declared martial law and adjudged all revolutionaries as traitors to the
British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...
. Furthermore, the document declared "all indentured servants, Negroes, or others ..free that are able and willing to bear arms." Dunmore expected such a revolt to have several effects. Primarily, it would bolster his own forces, which, cut off from reinforcements from British-held
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, numbered only around 300. Secondarily, he hoped that such an action would create a fear among the colonists of a general slave uprising and would force them to abandon the revolution.


Colonial reaction

Colonial leaders were quick to express their outrage over this escalation. On December 4, the
Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...
recommended to Virginia that they resist Dunmore "to the uttermost". Virginia's chief statesmen, assembled in the Fourth Virginia Convention, responded on December 14, 1775, with an declaration that all fugitive slaves would be executed: Newspapers such as '' The Virginia Gazette'' published the proclamation in full, and patrols were organized to look for any slaves attempting to take Dunmore up on his offer. The ''Gazette'' not only criticized Dunmore for offering freedom to only those slaves belonging to revolutionaries who were willing to serve him, but also questioned whether he would be true to his word, suggesting that he would sell the escaped slaves in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
. It was also noted that Dunmore himself was a slaveholder. The paper therefore cautioned slaves to "be not then ..tempted by the proclamation to ruin your selves." Ironically, due to the pressing need for war funds, the penalty of execution for runaways was frequently set aside so that they could be sold, particularly to the West Indies. Estimates of the number of slaves that reached Dunmore vary, but generally range between 800 and 2,000. The escaped slaves Dunmore accepted were enlisted into what was known as ''Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment''. The only notable battle in which Dunmore's regiment participated was the Battle of Great Bridge in early December 1775, which was a decisive British loss. Dunmore's dream of a massive slave army was ultimately unrealized, as his forces were decimated by outbreaks of
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
and typhoid fever almost as soon as they started gathering in cramped Royal Navy ships and encampments. When Dunmore finally left the colony in 1776 he took only 300 former slaves with him, all that remained of about 2,000 that had flocked to his promise of freedom. In 1779, British General Sir Henry Clinton issued the Philipsburg Proclamation, which freed slaves owned by revolutionaries throughout the rebel states, even if they did not enlist in the British Army. It resulted in a significantly larger number of runaways. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 attempted to leave their owners and join the British over the course of the entire war. At the end of the war, the British relocated about 3,000 former slaves to
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
.


See also

*
Black Loyalist Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term referred to men enslaved by Patriots who served on the Loyalist side because of the Crown's guarantee of fr ...
*
Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...


References


Bibliography

* * Gilbert, Alan. ''Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence'' (University of Chicago Press, 2012) * * Piecuch, Jim. ''Three Peoples, One King: Loyalists, Indians, and Slaves in the Revolutionary South, 1775–1782'' (Univ of South Carolina Press, 2008) * *


External links


Proclamation text












{{Virginia in the American Revolution 1775 documents 1775 in the Thirteen Colonies 1775 in the Colony of Virginia Documents of the American Revolution History of slavery in Virginia Colony of Virginia Virginia in the American Revolution Fugitive American slaves Military emancipation in the American Revolutionary War