the negroes by their masters. the greater number at the mercy of an enraged and injured people. Appeal to But should there be any amongst the negroes weak enough to believe that Lord Dunmore intends to do them a kindness, and wicked enough to provoke the fury of the Americans against their defenceless fathers and mothers, their wives, their women and children, let them only consider the difficulty of effecting their escape, and what they must expect to suffer if they fall into the hands of the Americans. Let them further consider what must be their fate should the English prove conquerors. If we can judge of the future from the past, it will not be much mended. Long have the Americans, moved by compassion and actuated by sound policy, endeavored to stop the progress of slavery. Our Assemblies have repeatedly passed acts, laying heavy duties upon imported negroes; by which they meant altogether to prevent the horrid traffic. But their humane intentions have been as often frustrated by the cruelty and covetousness of a set of English merchants, who prevailed upon the King to repeal our kind and merciful acts, little, indeed, to the credit of his humanity. Can it, then, be supposed that the negroes will be better used by the English, who have always encouraged and upheld this slavery, than by their present masters, who pity their condition; who wish, in general, to make it as easy and comfortable as possible; and who would, were it in their power, or were they permitted, not only prevent any more negroes from losing their freedom, but restore it to such as have already unhappily lost it? No: the ends of Lord Dunmore and his party being answered, they will either give up the offending negroes to the rigor of the laws they have broken, or sell them in the West Indies, where every year they sell many thousands of their miserable brethren, to perish either by the inclemency of weather or the cruelty of barbarous masters. Be not then, ye negroes, tempted by this proclamation to ruin yourselves. I have given you a faithful view of what you are to expect; and declare before God, in doing it, I have considered your welfare, as well as that of the country. Whether you will profit by my advice, I cannot tell; but this I know, that, whether we suffer or not, if you desert us, you most certainly will." -Force's American Archives, Fourth Series, vol. iii. p. 1387. The Virginia Convention appointed a Committee to prepare a Declaration in answer to Lord Dunmore's Proclamation. This was adopted on the 13th of December, when the same Committee was instructed to report another Declaration, Declaration "offering pardon to such slaves as shall return to their duty of pardon to slaves. Within ten days after the publication thereof." This also was adopted the next day, in the following terms: Lord Dun more to be crushed. "By the Representatives of the People of the Colony and Dominion of Virginia, assembled in General Convention, "" A DECLARATION. "Whereas Lord Dunmore, by his Proclamation dated on board the ship' William,' off Norfolk, the seventh day of November, 1775, hath offered feeedom to such able-bodied slaves as are willing to join him, and take up arms against the good people of this Colony, giving thereby encouragement to a general insurrection, which may induce a necessity of inflicting the severest punishments upon those unhappy people, already deluded by his base and insidious arts; and whereas, by an act of the General Assembly now in force in this Colony, it is enacted, that all negro or other slaves, conspiring to rebel or make insurrection, shall suffer death, and be excluded all benefit of clergy; we think it proper to declare, that all slaves who have been or shall be seduced, by his Lordship's Proclamation, or other arts, to desert their masters' service, and take up arms against the inhabitants of this. Colony, shall be liable to such punishment as shall hereafter be directed by the General Convention. And to the end that all such who have taken this unlawful and wicked step may return in safety to their duty, and escape the punishment due to their crimes, we hereby promise pardon to them, they surrendering themselves to Colonel William Woodford or any other commander of our troops, and not appearing in arms after the publication hereof. And we do further earnestly recommend it to all humane and benevolent persons in this Colony to explain and make known this our offer of mercy to those unfortunate people." Force's American Archives, Fourth Series, vol. iv. pp. 84, 85. Washington saw what an element of strength Lord Dunmore had called to his aid, and the importance of acting promptly and with energy against him. On the 15th of December, he thus wrote to Joseph Reed: "If the Virginians are wise, that arch-traitor to the rights of humanity, Lord Dunmore, should be instantly crushed, if it takes the force of the whole army to do it; otherwise, like a snow-ball in Dunmore. rolling, his army will get size, some through fear, some through Lord promises, and some through inclination, joining his standard: but that which renders the measure indispensably necessary is the negroes; for, if he gets formidable, numbers of them will be tempted to join who will be afraid to do it without."-Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed, vol. i. 135. Although many of the slaves responded to the proclamation by joining the army of the enemy, the greater part of them were too shrewd to be caught by such wily arts. They were unwilling to trust their freedom to the officers of a government which had persistently encouraged the slave-trade against the remonstrances of their masters, who had not only declared that traffic to be a wrong against humanity, but had expressed their desire to abolish domestic slavery as soon as it was practicable for them to do so. The inconsistency and atrocity of Lord Dunmore's conduct justly met with very general indignation. Subsequent events proved that the distrust and fears, felt by the slaves, were well founded. It will be seen by letters written several months after the Proclamation was issued, that his Lordship attributed the limited success which attended it to another than the true cause. "[No. 1.] "Lord Dunmore to the Secretary of State. "SHIP 'DUNMORE,' IN ELIZABETH RIVER, Va., "Your Lordship will observe by my letter, No. 34, that I have been endeavoring to raise two regiments here, one of white people, the other of black. The former goes on very slowly; but the latter very well, and would have been in great forwardness, had not a fever crept in amongst them, which carried off a great many very fine fellows." "[No. 3.] "SHIP 'DUNMORE,' IN GWIN'S ISLAND HARBOR, VA., "I am extremely sorry to inform your Lordship, that that fever, of which I informed you in my letter No. 1, has proved a very malignant one, and has carried off an incredible number of our people, Negro Negro especially the blacks. Had it not been for this horrid disorder, I am satisfied I should have had two thousand blacks; with whom I should have had no doubt of penetrating into the heart of this Colony." (Force's "American Archives," Fifth Series, vol. ii. pp. 160, 162.) During the years 1776 and 1777, not much was done by way of legislation towards settling a general policy with regard to the employment of negroes as soldiers. They continued, in fact, to be admitted into the line of the army without much objection. A letter from General Greene to Washington shows that it was then contemplated to form the negroes at Staten Island into an independent regiment. “ SIR, "CAMP ON LONG ISLAND, July 21, 1776, two o'clock. Colonel Hand reports seven large ships are coming up from the Hook to the Narrows. "A negro belonging to one Strickler, at Gravesend, was taken prisoner (as he says) last Sunday at Coney Island. Yesterday he made his escape, and was taken prisoner by the rifle-guard. He reports eight hundred negroes collected on Staten Island, this day to be formed into a regiment. "I am your Excellency's most obedient, humble servant, "To his Excellency Gen. WASHINGTON, Head-quarters, New York." (Force's "American Archives," Fifth Series, vol. i. p. 486.) A Resolve of the Massachusetts Legislature, in September, 1776, is worthy of special notice. Referring to it, a writer in the "Historical Magazine" for September, 1861, says, "The course of the authorities of the Southern States, now in arms against the Government, in selling as slaves all negroes taken prisoners, is the last relic of a barbarous custom. The first condemnation of the course seems to be that contained in a Massachusetts Resolve, of the 14th of September, 1776, forbidding the sale, as slaves, of two negroes taken on the sloop 'Hannibal.'" The Resolve is as follows: be treated "Whereas this Court is credibly informed, that two negro men Negroes to lately taken on the high seas, on board the sloop Hannibal,' and like other brought into this State as prisoners, are advertised to be sold at Salem prisoners the 17th instant, by public auction : "Resolved, That all persons concerned with the said negroes be, and they hereby are, forbidden to sell them, or in any manner to treat them otherwise than is already ordered for the treatment of prisoners taken in like manner; and, if any sale of the said negroes shall be made, it is hereby declared null and void. And that whenever it shall appear that any negroes are taken on the high seas, and brought as prisoners into this State, they shall not be allowed to be sold, nor treated any otherwise than as prisoners are ordered to be treated who are taken in like manner." Resolves, September, 1776, p. 14. I am indebted to my friend Mr. William J. Davis, of New York, for the following extract from the Journal of a Hessian officer who was with Burgoyne at the time of his surrender. It is a literal translation from a German work which is rare in this country. This testimony of a foreign officer, as to the common use of negroes in the American Army, is quite important. It is dated 23d October, 1777. of war. officer's "From here to Springfield, there are few habitations which have Hessian not a negro family dwelling in a small house near by. The negroes testimony. are here as fruitful as other cattle. The young ones are well foddered, especially while they are still calves. Slavery is, moreover, very gainful. The negro is to be considered just as the bond-servant of a peasant. The negress does all the coarse work of the house, and the little black young ones wait on the little white young ones. The negro can take the field, instead of his master; and therefore no regiment is to be seen in which there are not negroes in abundance: and among them there are able-bodied, strong, and brave fellows. Here, too, there are many families of free negroes, who live in good houses, have property, and live just like the rest of the inhabitants." Schloezer's Briefwechsel, vol. iv. p. 365. The capture of Major-General Prescott, of the British army, on the 9th of July, 1777, was an occasion of great joy throughout the country. Prince, the valiant negro who seized that officer, ought always to be remembered with honor |