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683. Washington: Hero of the Revolution (Part 1)
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Slavery at Valley Forge: Washington, Rhode Island's 117 Freed Soldiers, and a Moral Turning Point
At 58:09 · chapter starts 54:00
When Rhode Island proposes solving its recruitment shortfall by buying enslaved men's freedom and enrolling them as soldiers, Washington faces an acute test. He owns around 87 enslaved people himself; he knows Southerners will be appalled; and he has no obligation to agree. But he does agree. Rhode Island frees and sends 117 men; Massachusetts and Connecticut follow, with Connecticut allowing slave owners to dodge military service by sending enslaved men in their place. By August 1778, 755 Black men are serving in the Continental Army [1] — Dominic Sandbrook "Rhode Island freed 117 slaves as soldiers: Rhode Island bought the freedom of 117 enslaved men and sent them as soldiers to Valley Forge, t…" 56:12 , and historian Henry Winecheck notes there are remarkably few records of racial friction. The war is also changing Washington personally. By late 1778 he is writing to his Mount Vernon steward about stopping the sale of enslaved people against their will and breaking up slave families — and then, in a letter, mentioning his slaves 'of whom I every day long more and more to get clear of.' He never frees them in his lifetime, and the complication that Martha owns most of them adds a legal tangle. But as Dominic notes, there is little doubt Washington believed slavery was wrong.
Rhode Island, struggling to fill its recruitment quota, did something radical: it bought the freedom of 117 enslaved men and sent them to Valley Forge as soldiers. Two other states followed. By August 1778 there were 755 Black men in the Continental Army — and reports of racial trouble were almost non-existent.
By the time conflict with Britain broke out in the 1770s, Washington owned close to 87 enslaved people at his Mount Vernon plantation.
Rhode Island bought the freedom of 117 enslaved men and sent them as soldiers to Valley Forge, the first colony to do so.
By August 1778, approximately 755 Black soldiers were serving in the Continental Army, following Rhode Island's initiative.
