Date of Award
Spring 2023
Project Type
Dissertation
Program or Major
History
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
First Advisor
Eliga H. Gould
Second Advisor
Cynthia Van Zandt
Third Advisor
Jason Sokol
Abstract
“Friends, Brothers, and Citizens” examines the lives of the American Revolutionary War’s Northeastern Patriots of color. While historians have focused on these men’s decisions and actions during the war itself, this work draws attention to another vital part of their stories: the rest of their lives. To best demonstrate their impact, “Friends, Brothers, and Citizens” frames these men as a multiracial and generational cohort whose commitment to those around them clearly shaped movements to win relief and rights for people of color throughout the early republic. Chapter 1 examines these men’s wartime strategies to support their families and wider communities. Those decisions foreshadow the postwar years these men spent fighting for causes that were bigger than themselves. These efforts are highlighted in Chapters 2 and 3, when this cohort transitioned out of the military. In spite of the systemic challenges these men faced, these chapters highlight dozens of examples of Patriots who devoted themselves to projects that supported their families and communities. As the men in this cohort aged, though, they required new support. Chapter 4 examines these elderly men and their federal pension applications. Regardless of their race and legal standing, veterans of color used the pension benefit to argue for a more inclusive version of American citizenship. After they died, their descendants took up this call. Chapter 5 traces the efforts to preserve and memorialize these Patriots’ legacies over the centuries, when veterans’ descendants used their ancestors’ service to argue for their own inclusion within the republic. Taken as a whole, this project demonstrates the importance of this understudied segment of the founding generation, both during and after the War for Independence, as well as after their own lifetimes.
Recommended Citation
Remillard, Benjamin D., "Friends, Brothers, and Citizens: American Revolutionary War Patriots of Color and Their Fight for Rights Across the Northeast" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations. 2767.
https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/2767