Although not morally opposed to the institution of slavery, General James Oglethorpe and the Trustees banned slavery in the Georgia colony. In their view, slavery would threaten the military security of the colony, as the Spanish offered freedom for military service. After the British success at the Battle of Bloody Marsh in 1742, Oglethorpe’s justification for the ban on slavery was no longer viable and the ban was lifted in 1750.
By the beginning of the American Revolution, Georgia’s enslaved population had grown to eighteen thousand people and the colony’s economy was reliant on their labor. While initially the Continental Army banned Black men from enlisting, a constant shortage of Patriot troops eventually led to a slow acceptance of soldiers of color. By 1778, Rhode Island had formed an entire Black regiment, promising freedom at the end of the war. The British had moved more quickly; in 1775, Lord Dunmore, the last British Royal Governor of Virginia, issued a proclamation that pledged freedom to any enslaved American who joined the British Army. Lord Dunmore knew this tactic would reduce the labor force and thus weaken the American economy. An estimated twenty thousand Black men fought for the British during the war while only between five and eight thousand fought for the Patriots.
Jean Baptiste Antoine de Verger watercolor courtesy of the American Revolution Institute
Soldiers at Yorktown
A watercolor by Jean Baptiste Antoine de Verger of four soldiers at Yorktown in 1781. This painting, courtesy of the American Revolution Institute, is the earliest known depiction of an African American soldier from the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.
In rural communities, freedom-seeking Black Americans also self-liberated by creating maroon communities during and immediately after the war. These communities operated independently in swamps and forests, but their existence threatened white authorities and militia forces persistently attacked camps.
Image courtesy of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, New York Public Library.
Osman the Maroon in the Swamp
This image was created after 1857, but depicts a man who lived in a maroon community in Virginia’s Great Dismal Swamp, similar to the Belleisle and Bear Creek communities on Georgia’s coast in the wake of the Revolution.
Belleisle, the modern-day Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, was one post-war maroon community led by Captains Cudjoe and Lewis. In 1787, South Carolina militia raided and burned the Belleisle community. The remaining Belleisle residents soon built a new settlement on nearby Bear Creek. Maroon communities like Belleisle often raided nearby plantations and towns for resources, support, and provisions, allowing them to survive for decades, even through the Civil War.
In the years following the Revolutionary War, most northern states passed gradual emancipation laws; in contrast, southern states further entrenched and expanded the institution. While the Declaration of Independence had proclaimed that “all men are created equal,” the Revolution was unable to fully realize this dream for all Americans.
The first of this month’s featured images is a watercolor by Jean Baptiste Antoine de Verger of four soldiers at Yorktown in 1781. This painting, courtesy of the American Revolution Institute, is the earliest known depiction of an African American soldier from the 1st Rhode Island Regiment. The second image, “Osman the Maroon in the Swamp,” was created after 1857, but depicts a man who lived in a maroon community in Virginia’s Great Dismal Swamp, similar to the Belleisle and Bear Creek communities on Georgia’s coast in the wake of the Revolution. This image is courtesy of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, New York Public Library.
Coastal Georgia Historical Society presents this article and images from our archives as part of our mission “to connect people to Coastal Georgia’s dynamic history.” The Society operates the iconic St. Simons Lighthouse Museum and the World War II Home Front Museum, housed in the Historic Coast Guard Station at East Beach. To learn more about the Society, its museums, diverse programs, and membership, please visit coastalgeorgiahistory.org.
