“Strong and Brave Fellows”

New Hampshire, despite its small size, played a significant role in the American Revolution. The deeds of the state’s soldiers and other notable citizenry have been well documented but the contributions of the black population have never been fully explored until now.
The largest part of this book consists of the service records of all known black soldiers with ties to New Hampshire: 139 who served in New Hampshire’s forces, 34 who served in New Hampshire and another colony’s forces, and 51 who served in another colony’s forces but lived in New Hampshire at some point in their lives. The work also provides information on life for blacks in New Hampshire before, during and after the American Revolution, and information on campaigns and engagements that blacks from New Hampshire were known to have taken part in.

Historian Glenn A. Knoblock is the author of many works of New England, New Hampshire, and transportation history. A lecturer for the New Hampshire Humanities, he lives in Wolfeboro Falls, New Hampshire.

Glenn A. Knoblock
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 361
Bibliographic Info: 55 photos, appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2003
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1548-9
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments     vii
Preface     1
Source Abbreviations     3
Introduction     5

BLACK LIFE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE REVOLUTION
Pre-war Slavery in New Hampshire     7
Black Soldiers and the Continental Congress     11
Black Enlistment in New Hampshire     13
Service as Free Men     15
Service for Freedom     17
Service with No Freedom     18
Status as Soldiers     19
Service as Sailors     23
The Black Veteran and Pensioner     25
Blacks as Pioneer Settlers     29
Religion and the Black Veteran     30
Death and the Black Veteran     31
Descendants of Black Veterans     33
The Black Soldier as a Patriotic Symbol     35

CAMPAIGNS AND ENGAGEMENTS
Introduction     41
The Battle of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775)     41
The Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775)     42
The Invasion of Canada (September 1775 to June 1776)     43
New York City Campaign (September 15 to October 28, 1776)     44
The Frigate Raleigh (May 1776 to September 1778)     45
The Battle of Trenton (December 26, 1776)     45
Fort Ticonderoga and the Battle of Hubbardton (July 1777)     47
The Battle of Bennington (August 16, 1777)     48
Victory at Saratoga (September 19 to October 17, 1777)     49
Winter at Valley Forge (December 1777 to June 1778)     51
The Sloop of War Ranger (May 1777 to May 1780)     53
The Battle of Monmouth (June 1778)     53
Continental Service (July 1778 to May 17790     55
The Battle of Rhode Island (August 29, 1778)     56
Sullivan’s Campaign Against the Six Nations (June to October 1779)     57
Militia Service (1779)     58
Continental and Militia Service (1780)     59
New York City and the Siege of Yorktown (1781)     60
Additional Continental and Militia Service (1781)     62
Final Continental Service (1782 to 1784)     64

THE MEN
Introduction     67
New Hampshire Soldiers     74
Soldiers with Service to New Hampshire and Other Colonies     193
Soldiers from New Hampshire Who Served for Other Colonies     243

APPENDICES
1: Black Soldiers Who Died During the War     311
2: Breakdown by Regiment of Black Soldiers Who Served for New Hampshire    312
3: Black Soldiers Before the Revolution     313
4: Black Place Names and Locales in New Hampshire<     315

Bibliography     317
Index     327

“worthwhile”—ARBA; “substantial…useful appendices…recommended”—The New Hampshire Genealogical Record; “compelling…powerful, uplifting, and shameful story, a profound tale”—Historical New Hampshire.