Library of Virginia
Virginia Memory: Freedom Is Worth Fighting For: Billy and James
This lesson plan looks at the choices created during the Revolutionary War for enslaved African Americans in Virginia.
Virginia Historical Society
Virginia Historical Society: Waging War: The Battlefront: Men of Color to Arms?
When the war began, many African Americans - North and South - volunteered to serve as soldiers. The vast majority were former slaves who sought to strike at slavery and improve their position in society. Desperate to avert defeat, the...
Black Past
Black Past: Brace, Jeffrey (1742? 1827)
Read about the slave, Jeffrey Brace, who enlisted in the Continental Army. Find out what happened to him and his family after the Revolutionary War.
Black Past
Black Past: Poor, Salem (1747 1780)
Read this encyclopedia entry that recounts the participation of Salem Poor, a freed black man, who served in the Revolutionary War.
Black Past
Black Past: Salem, Peter (Ca. 1750 1816)
An encyclopedia entry telling about Peter Salem, a slave who fought in the Revolutionary War and reportedly fired the shot that killed Major Pitcairn at Bunker Hill.
The History Cat
The History Cat: Us History: The Buffalo Soldiers
Describes the history of the Buffalo Soldiers, African Americans who served in four Calvary peacetime units in the 19th and 20th centuries. Highlights the experiences of Emanuel Stance, a freed slave who joined the military in 1866.