Black Loyalists and the Promise of Freedom

Dunmore's Proclamation and the Promise of Freedom

John Murray (Lord Dunmore) was a politician of Britain who became the royal governor of Virginia. On November 14, 1775, half a year after the start of the American Revolution, Dunmore announced his promise of freedom to any able-bodied enslaved person who joined his army. He created the Proclamation while on his ship in the James River near Norfolk, Virginia.

Location of Dunmore's Proclamation

Near this location on November 14, 1775, in Norfolk, Virginia, Lord Dunmore announced his Proclamation. A key reason for Dunmore’s proclamation was to disrupt the security of slave owner patriots. With the Proclamation, Dunmore hoped slaveholders would grow paranoid about their enslaved property escaping and leave the battlefront to return home. Dunmore further hoped that the enslaved who escaped would be the fittest and most valuable, thereby increasing impact on slaveowners.

Before the end of November, Dunmore recorded that “Between two to three hundred runaways already come in and these I form into a Corps as fast as they come” (Pybus 2006, 11). One of the corps Dunmore formed was the Ethiopian Regiment.

Bristol Mitchel as Representative of those in the Ethiopian Regiment

The green points trace Bristol’s journey as our representative of the Ethiopian Regiment. This lighter green dot represents the start of his journey toward freedom.

Prior to his escape, Bristol Mitchel was an enslaved person owned by Joseph Mitchell of Norfolk, Virginia. It’s difficult to know the exact date Bristol Mitchel joined the Ethiopian regiment. It is possible that Mitchel arrived during the wave of 200-300 escapees in the couple weeks following Dunmore’s Proclamation of November 14, 1775. For this period, Dunmore stationed his ships on the James River at Norfolk, Virginia.

It is also possible that Mitchel escaped in early 1776 while Dunmore remained at nearby Portsmouth, Virginia.

In whatever moment he arrived, Bristol Mitchel is a representative of the hundreds of extraordinary journeys enslaved people took to escape their oppression. By attempting to escape to the Ethiopian Regiment, they had a chance at freedom.

Focusing on parts of Mitchel's journey (and later Murphy Steele’s) personalizes the tens of thousands of enslaved people who attempted the same path to freedom during the American Revolution.

Repercussions and the Risks of Escape

Many of the enslaved people who tried to escape enslavement after Dunmore’s Proclamation failed. Being almost 50 years old when he escaped, Bristol Mitchel was not the ideal young and fit candidate Dunmore hoped for with his Proclamation.

While Mitchel successfully escaped, severe punishment awaited those caught escaping to the British. Edmund Ruffin complained about the death of one of the five enslaved people who escaped from his property. The patriot government interned this person in the enslaved section of the Williamsburg Community Gaol and left him for dead rather than return him to Ruffin.

Battle at Great Bridge

One of the first major challenges for the Ethiopian Regiment came in the Battle of Great Bridge on December 9, 1775. Dunmore equipped the Ethiopian Regiment with weapons and they fought in the battle.

The British lost the battle and suffered about 80 casualties with around 61 killed and 18 captured. Among the captured were 3 members of the Ethiopian Regiment.

Smallpox and the Retreat to Portsmouth

Dunmore moved his fleet to nearby Portsmouth on the advice of his surgeons. In January of 1776, smallpox infected Dunmore’s regiments. Prior exposure to the disease and innoculation by variolation (earlier method of vaccination) kept many of the white regiments who came from other regions (especially Britain) healthy. However, the Virginia population overwhelmingly opposed innoculation by variolation and had little prior exposure to the disease. This left the formerly enslaved members of the Ethiopian Regiment, who made up a substantial portion of Dunmore’s corps and came mostly from Virginia, vulnerable to the disease.

Dunmore continued accepting new Black recruits to the Regiment. These new recruits quickly came down with Smallpox and thus continued its spread. Surgeons started vaccinating new recruits but the spread continued. By the end of May 1776, the fleet abandoned Portsmouth and moved to Gwynn’s Island.

"Struck with horrour"

Vaccination efforts continued but the dead kept piling up. On July 9 ^th , Dunmore instructed the flotilla to leave Gwynn’s Island, leaving behind the severely ill and dead.

Accounts reposted in the Virginia Gazette, July 19, 1776, from the Virginia Shirtmen’s arrival at Gwynn’s Island detail the horrifying scene. When coming up on the island they were “struck with horrour at the number of dead bodies, in a state of putrefaction.” They recalled that some remained alive but “gasping for life; and some had crawled to the water’s edge, who could only make known their distress by beckoning to us.”  

Demise of the Ethiopian Regiment

Dunmore and the Ethiopian Regiment sailed to St. George’s Island, Maryland. A group of patriot militia formed after learning of the flotilla’s plundering of local settlements and prevented Dunmore’s flotilla from establishing a base.

It is here on August 6, 1776, that Dunmore decided to abandon hope for this military campaign. He ordered the burning of 63 vessels of the 103 under his charge. He divided the other 40 into three segments. One went to New York with some of the Ethiopian Regiment. Another went to St. Augustine, and the last went to England. After surviving the horrifying events of Smallpox, Bristol Mitchell sailed with the group to New York.

The Battle of Long Island, 1776

The remnants of the Ethiopian Regiment landed in New York and helped in The Battle of New York. They became part of almost 30,000 British soldiers ready to take New York in a major campaign. From August 27 to 29, 1776, the remaining few members of the Ethiopian Regiment participated in the battle for Long Island near Brooklyn Heights.

Though it is difficult to know if Bristol Mitchel participated in this battle, he was likely in New York alongside his fellow Ethiopian Regiment members. The British emerged victorious in one of the greatest victories of the American Revolution. They took full control of New York in November 1776.

Murphy Steele's Escape

Refocusing the journey to Murphy Steele, it is here, at Wilmington North Carolina, that he escaped Stephen Daniel’s enslavement in 1776. Stephen Daniel was a junior officer in the American Revolution. He joined the 1st North Carolina Regiment on January 4, 1776, and resigned on June 3, 1776.

The pink points trace Mitchel's journey as our representative of the Black Company of Pioneers. This lighter pink dot represents the start of his journey toward freedom.

Forming the Black Company of Pioneers

It was at Cape Fear, North Carolina, that Henry Clinton created the Black Pioneers when he rejoined some British ships stationed here. Upon arrival, he learned that 50 enslaved escapees were on board the ships. It is possible that Murphy Steele travelled from Wilmington and was among the fifty fugitives described by Henry Clinton. Clinton placed these 50 people into a new non-combat unit called the Black Company of Pioneers.

The flotilla left Cape Fear on May 31, 1776, to attack Charleston. It is possible that Daniel Stephen’s resignation as a junior officer coincided with the knowledge of his enslaved person’s (Murphy Steele) escape.

The Company of Black Pioneers was a non-combat unit assisting in many of Henry Clinton’s military operations. In 1778, Clinton became the Commander in Chief of the British Army. The Pioneers took part in battles and locations as assistive units. During the British control of Philadelphia, for example, one of their roles was to “Assist in Cleaning the Streets & Removing all Nuisances being thrown into the Streets” (Lepore 2006). At other times the Pioneers would construct buildings, fortify locations, move materials and more. The Pioneers received equal pay compared to white soldiers though they lived in lesser quarters.

The First Siege of Charleston

The First Siege of Charleston took place on June 28, 1776, and was the first action seen by the Black pioneers. The Pioneers were not a combat unit, but in their roles as assistants to battlefield operations, they were there and active. The battle occurred on nearby Sullivan’s Island with British ambitions to take Charleston. This battle was a disaster for the British, who briefly returned to Cape Fear and then left for New York.

The Battle of Long Island, 1776

Quickly after their arrival in New York, the Black Pioneers participated in the Battle of Long Island. It was a successful campaign for the British and the first victory seen by Murphy Steele and the Black Company of Pioneers. The British captured much of New York by the end of August with the patriots fully leaving New York in November 1776.

Henry Clinton left New York for half a year and returned by July 1777. During their time in New York, most of the Black Pioneers lived together in hastily-created temporary shacks.

Operations in Philadelphia

In September 1777, the British army led by General Howe captured the patriot capital of Philadelphia. By March 1778 the Pioneers had arrived in Philadelphia.

In May, the British command appointed Henry Clinton as Commander in Chief of the British Army and ordered him to return to New York to fortify their position. At this point, members of the Black Pioneers included 72 men, 15 women, and 8 children. Clinton decided to have his army move by land due to a lack of water transport available. They left on June 15 and fully abandoned Philadelphia on June 18, 1778.

Battle of Monmouth

On the way to New York, the British Army engaged in several skirmishes. One such battle happened at Monmouth Court House on June 28 ^th , 1778 The British escaped from the battle though losses mounted for both sides, and continued their return to New York.

The Philipsburg Proclamation

Clinton’s British regiments (including the Black Pioneers), returned to New York. Isolated from them, the British captured Savannah, North Carolina in late December 1778. Clinton decided to mount another attempt to gain ground in the South, with Charleston a major target.

In the leadup to his second attack on Charleston, Clinton issued the Philipsburg Proclamation on 30 June 1779, at Philipsburg Manor House in Westchester County, New York. This new Proclamation expanded the criteria for acceptance of runaway enslaved people. Further, the British now offered future freedom and opportunity to any enslaved person who could make their way to their army. The formerly enslaved members who had joined the British army now also had an extended promise to demand from the Crown.

Clinton’s flotilla and the Black Pioneers left for South Carolina on December 26, 1779.

The Second Siege of Charleston

Murphy Steele and the Black Pioneers as well as the rest of Clinton’s flotilla arrived at Charleston, South Carolina on February 14, 1780. By May 12, 1780, the British captured Charleston.

Clinton left Charleston in charge of another officer and returned to New York along with many of the Black Pioneers. Murphy Steel likely returned to New York with this wave of Pioneers.

Thomas Peter's Vision

While most of the Pioneers returned in 1781, The British occupied Charleston until December 14, 1782, when they withdrew. From this point, the Black Pioneers likely resided in New York until the end of the Revolution.

Black Pioneers continued to make their presence in New York felt when most returned in 1781. August 16 ^th , 1781 and in light of mounting losses for the British, Murphy Steel, who became an officer of the Black Pioneers, experienced a vision at the barracks near this location on Water St.  After seeing this vision several more times, Steele reported his vision to Henry Clinton.  Steele claimed that a voice repeatedly told him to send a message to General George Washington that if he did not surrender, “[the Lord] would raise all the Blacks in America to fight against him” (Schama 2006, 120). It is unlikely that George Washington received word of Steele’s vision. He would soon launch what would be one of the key victories for the patriots at Rochambeau, making British defeat almost inevitable.

Signing Freedom, the Book of Negroes

The end of battles in 1782 and the upcoming Treaty of Paris in September 1783, did not mark the end of the story for formerly enslaved people. They had joined the British army under the promise of freedom and opportunity and demanded what they felt the British Government owed them.

The end of the war renewed the opportunity for slave owners to try to recapture the enslaved people who escaped from their ownership. Contributing to or perhaps because of these fears, rumours spread that the British would return all the formerly enslaved to the patriots. Bristol Mitchel and Murphy Steel would have certainly felt the widespread anxiety over recapture. At least for Mitchel and Murphy alongside 3,000 other Black Loyalists, the British did right by their promise of freedom.

The British created the Book of Negroes as a list of Black Loyalists who registered as members of the campaign in America and wished to travel to Nova Scotia. Boston King, who was one of those listed in the Book of Negroes, later recalled that the certificate “Dispelled all of our fears”(Schama 2006, 150). While freedom came to those in the Book of Negroes, the promise of opportunity would be far more complex.

Free in Name but not in Opportunity

From New York, Bristol Mitchel travelled aboard the ship Clinton and arrived here, at Annapolis, Nova Scotia. Murphy Steele travelled aboard the Joseph with Mary Steele, aged 24, who was his wife. They also arrived at Annapolis, Nova Scotia.

The new immigrants to Nova Scotia quickly faced racism and discrimination from the white loyalists and European settlers. They believed that the Black Loyalists taking lower wages were undercutting the market. The Black Loyalists had to accept these wages or have even fewer opportunities to support themselves. Caring little about the Black Loyalist's difficulties, a white group broke out in a riot at Shelburne during the summer of 1784.

This is where the historical record on Bristol Mitchel as a Black Loyalist ends. He does not appear on Sierra Leone records and perhaps stayed in Nova Scotia. His journey as an older Black Loyalist is an inspiring tale of perseverance through the oppressions placed on him.

Short-lived Haven at Birchtown

Black Loyalists who arrived at Shelburne, Nova Scotia soon created their own town at this nearby location. They named the area Birchtown after General Birch who oversaw entries into the Book of Negroes and granted freedom certificates. The Black residents of the town found early success but this was short-lived. Word of Birchtown's spread and white settlers soon claimed that they owned some of the land of Birchtown. This combined with a lack of support from the British government as well as bad soil and climate for growing crops brought residents to the edge of survival.

Most Black Loyalists did not receive the same land grants given to white loyalists. They received smaller plots of land that were less desirable, making success of any sort difficult. Owing to these challenges, many Black loyalists signed contracts of indenture or sharecropping, receiving living accommodations and a small sum of wages.

In 1784, Murphy Steele and Thomas Peters collaborated on a petition to the colonial government asking for the same opportunities as the white loyalists. Peter and Steele wrote that they had answered Henry Clinton’s call to “serve faithfully & truly during the American Rebellion, which when it was over was to be of our own Liberty.” They ended the letter by summarizing their request to ask, “if you would grant to what is allowed by government” (Mitchell, Peters 1784)

Seeing that the British continued neglecting their promise of opportunity to Black Loyalists, Thomas Peters travelled to London, England in 1791 with a petition signed by 200 Black Loyalists. One of the solutions discussed in London was to move willing Black Loyalists to a Sierra Leone settlement. A previous expedition had gone there in 1787, including 347 Black people and 107 white people. For a variety of reasons including disease and invasions by local slave traders, this first settlement dispersed by 1790. The decision was made to found a new settlement in Sierra Leone. Thomas Peters would now recruit Black loyalists willing to leave for a new opportunity on another side of the Atlantic.

Leaving for a New Opportunity

By 1791, most of the Black communities in the Atlantic colonies bordered on famine. By 1792, Peters recruited 1,196 Black people to move to Sierra Leone. They left Nova Scotia in February of 1792 with Murphy Steele on board one of the 15 ships as a captain.