Colored Patriots of the American Revolution

Learn about one of the men you've seen in the painting of the Crossing of the Delaware, but probably never noticed. Also, we learn about Benjamin Banneker, who helped design the District of Columbia and taught himself math and astronomy.

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Learn about a black patriot who was an entrepreneur, inventor, and philanthropist with a fortune that made him one of the wealthiest men in America. Also, did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar steal my idea? 

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Learn about the all-black units that Connecticut mustered, the Massacre of Groton Heights, and the effort disenfranchise black voters in New York.

Further reading: THE QUEST FOR BLACK VOTING RIGHTS IN NEW YORK STATE

We learn about the first black man to be ordained a minister--and who pastors a white congregation. We also look at the first unit of black recruits and integrated troops. 

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We look at Crispus Attucks, Seymour Burr, Deborah Gannett, and Primus Hall. 

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Welcome to this introduction to Colored Patriots of the American Revolution. The podcast is named after the book by the same title written by William Cooper Nell, an abolitionist from Boston. He was provoked into writing the book when the Massachusetts legislature rejected a petition to build a monument to Crispus Attucks, the first casualty in the Revolutionary War. It is because of Nell that we even know who Attucks was because by the mid-18th century his story had been all but forgotten. 

This chapter of black history doesn't get the attention it deserves but it is filled with many heroes and heroines. William Nell conducted detailed research into the lives of many fascinating men and women, making sure that a record of their contributions to America would survive. You'll hear about slaves who served as double agents, the man who was the first black American to be ordained as a minister in a white church, veterans who fought key battles, and so much more. 

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