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Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence Paperback – September 18, 2013

by Alan Gilbert (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 79 ratings
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We commonly think of the American Revolution as simply the war for independence from British colonial rule. But, of course, that independence actually applied to only a portion of the American population—African Americans would still be bound in slavery for nearly another century. Alan Gilbert asks us to rethink what we know about the Revolutionary War, to realize that while white Americans were fighting for their freedom, many black Americans were joining the British imperial forces to gain theirs. Further, a movement led by sailors—both black and white—pushed strongly for emancipation on the American side. There were actually two wars being waged at once: a political revolution for independence from Britain and a social revolution for emancipation and equality.



Gilbert presents persuasive evidence that slavery could have been abolished during the Revolution itself if either side had fully pursued the military advantage of freeing slaves and pressing them into combat, and his extensive research also reveals that free blacks on both sides played a crucial and underappreciated role in the actual fighting. Black Patriots and Loyalists contends that the struggle for emancipation was not only basic to the Revolution itself, but was a rousing force that would inspire freedom movements like the abolition societies of the North and the black loyalist pilgrimages for freedom in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.
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  1. Print length
    392 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University of Chicago Press
  4. Publication date
    September 18, 2013
  5. Dimensions
    9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    022610155X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0226101552
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Drawing on first-person accounts and other primary sources, Gilbert tells an often inspiring but ultimately sad story, since American slavery endured and even expanded after the revolution. Still, the personal stories of those who fought on the patriots’ side in an all-black regiment and on the loyalist side in exchange for a promise of freedom are fascinating and informative. Gilbert convincingly asserts that their example eventually helped inspire other liberation movements in the Western Hemisphere.”
― Booklist

About the Author


Alan Gilbert is a John Evans Professor in the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. He is the author of Marx’s Politics: Communists and Citizens, Democratic Individuality, and Must Global Politics Constrain Democracy?He lives with his wife, Paula, and their son, Sage, in the mountains of Morrison, Colorado.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Chicago Press; Reprint edition (September 18, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 392 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 022610155X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0226101552
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.19 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 79 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
79 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Happaw
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye opener
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2023
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Great read loaded with new Revolutionary War information
One person found this helpful
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Richard Comfort
5.0 out of 5 stars 2 Rebellions
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2014
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This is a missing piece of the American Revolution. It begins with the British offer of freedom to slaves in exchange for participation in the Crown's army. Blacks joined in droves. At the decisive battle of Yorktown blacks fought for both sides. The result was mostly black bodies left on the battle field. What the slaves received from the English after the war was over is a commentary on two rebellions. One was a victory for white American patriots. The other was a disaster for slaves. After reading this story no American can think of the Revolution in the same light as we learned about it in school. Shame on American history as taught to us in our schools. But, then again, isn't that often the case?
18 people found this helpful
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OLD1mIKE
4.0 out of 5 stars Challenging, but worth the effort.
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2022
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Incredibly well researched. Worth reading. A legitimate history of how slaves and freemen were used by both sides during the revolutionary war and the period following. Not a high level commentary or woke version of history. This is a dense, challenging read relying on primary sources. Even skimming I learned new things about the war and 18th century culture I wasn’t previously aware of. It’s worth 5 stars on content. I gave it 4 because it was so densely packed with information, I found it a challenging read. I also think it was worth the effort.
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henry lindsay
5.0 out of 5 stars THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT BOOK!!!
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2013
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It's interesting to note,that the first thing George Washington asked for ,at the end of the Revolutionary War was the return of all slaves.(for which he was firmly rebuked by the commanding British officer-Lord North)To their credit,although inconsistent,for some,the British kept their agreement( Dunmore Proclamation),and relocated Loyalist soldiers and their families(former slaves)to Canada , the Caribbean,and England. Washington,despite his promises of freedom,and the fact that persons of color had fought and died to defeat the British troops,allowed those that were caught, to be returned to the brutality of slavery
21 people found this helpful
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Amiee Gibson
5.0 out of 5 stars starting to become a history buff....
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2016
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Bought this for my sons history class, but it looks so interesting that I cannot wait to read it!
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2015
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Tremendous and detailed account, exemplifying how important details are often left out of the history books.
11 people found this helpful
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R.L.D.
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly enlightening look at the past untold history
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2014
With over 70 pages of notes and documentation to back up the research, you know the author did his homework. This is an incredible new perspective on the Revolutionary War that was (and maybe never will be) taught in our schools. When one looks at some of the rewriting of history going on in Texas and some other states, reading this book is essential.

It is not all easy reading and sometimes overburdening perhaps on details. But it deserves 5 stars
6 people found this helpful
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Jim veasley
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2017
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Received
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FORTUNE-FFW
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on June 23, 2017
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Good book
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Mr. E. L. Glover
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking book.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2012
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This book tells another view point to the war. It is thought provoking. Freedom for the slaves was an issue in the background of the conflict. For keen students of the period, it brings a whole new area for discussion into play. Enjoyable read, though heavy in parts.
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Stephen Davidson
4.0 out of 5 stars An Important Overview of the Role Blacks Played in the American Revolution
Reviewed in Canada on May 22, 2013
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Alan Gilbert’s Black Patriots and Loyalists is the latest work to enrich our understanding of the role of enslaved Africans in the American Revolution. Far from being marginal participants in North America’s first civil war, blacks had a crucial role, comprising a larger component of both Patriot and Loyalist forces than previously recognized.

In his introduction to Black Patriots and Loyalists, Gilbert lays out his intriguing argument that the War of Independence was actually two revolutions. The first revolution was undertaken to achieve political independence; the second revolution was fought to end slavery.

While these two conflicts sometimes ran parallel to one another, they were also often at odds. Patriots who fought for political independence sometimes did so to oppose the abolition of slavery. Some of those who battled to defeat the cause of liberty did so to gain their own freedom from slavery. And it was the British rather than the American Patriots --Gilbert states emphatically-- who most advanced the cause of the “second revolution” for social equality.

The second revolution got underway before the first. Caribbean slave rebellions began as early as 1761, 15 years before the Declaration of Independence. When a judge ruled that slavery was illegal in Great Britain in 1772, it sent shock waves across the empire. While it did not bring about abolition (that would not happen until 1807), the ruling gave the perception that the British Empire wanted to abolish slavery. This had two immediate consequences before the events of 1776.

For some white colonists, slavery’s anticipated abolition was seen as another one of Britain’s many unfair impositions on her colonists. For enslaved Africans, the 1772 court decision demonstrated that Britain --rather than the Patriot cause-- was their best hope for liberty. When,on November 7, 1775, Virginia’s Governor Dunmore issued a proclamation offering freedom to any Patriot’s slave who sided with the crown, the rebels’ worst fears and the slaves’ greatest hopes were confirmed.

Gilbert then outlines the course of the two American revolutions with startling statistics as well as detailed wartime experiences of both Black Patriots and Loyalists. Readers will learn of the exploits of the Black Pioneers, the Royal Ethiopian Regiment, and black guerrilla fighters as well as the First Rhode Island Regiment and the Bucks of Massachusetts. Thomas Peters, Colonel Tye, and David George are among the featured “black redcoats”, while Prince Dupleix of Connecticut and the three uncles and father of Rhode Island’s Elleanor Eldridge are spotlighted
black Patriots.

While Gilbert points out how blacks were exploited by both sides in the revolution, he also demonstrates the extent of British exertions after their defeat to protect free Black Loyalists from re-enslavement by the “liberated” citizens of the new United States. His careful study of the Book of Negroes is a great boon to anyone – scholar or loyalist descendant—interested in the black diaspora. Using it and other primary sources, Gilbert provides a conservative estimate of 12 to 15,000 free blacks that fled the United States with the Crown.

Rather than ending the story of Black Patriots and Loyalists with the conclusion of the American Revolution, Gilbert recounts the impact these emancipated refugees had in Nova Scotia, Sierra Leone, the West Indies, and Great Britain – and demonstrates how the revolution affected abolition movements throughout Europe and North America after 1783. By the end of Black Patriots and Loyalists, Gilbert accomplishes his goals – to tell the history of the twin revolutions and to honour the efforts of blacks to free themselves. It is a fresh perspective that enriches the ever-growing historical tapestry of the loyalist era.
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