On July 9Th of 1776, General George Washington declared that blacks would not be able to enroll in the continental army, but soon after(December 31st), he reviewed his decision and reversed the law.
a total of 5,000 free and enslaved blacks participated in the war on the side of the continental army, while tens of thousands enrolled in the British army, but unfortunately, an estimated number of 100,000 African Americans escaped, died or were killed during the American Revolution.
Unfortunately, African Americans are not given any credit for the winning of the revolutionary war. But if you look at the facts, why did they even participate at all. They were fighting for a society that had enslaved there race for decades. Even before it was declared that any slave who enlisted would be free after they served, still had enlisted without being forced to.
Without blacks helping us in the revolutionary war, we would have lost countless more battles. One particular African American who contributed extreme amounts of help to the war is a man named Salem Poor. Salem Poor was born free in Massachusetts in the 1750s. He married and had one child but left them in 1775 to join the Massachusetts militia. His attitude and conduct in the war was so exceptional that a letter was written to George Washington saying how great a soldier he was and was signed by fourteen of his officers including Samuel Prescott. Salem Poor was given credit for shooting down a high ranking officer Lt. Col. James Abercrombie.
In short, Blacks contributed massive amounts help to both the continental army and the British.
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