On April 21, 1784, enslaved Continental Army veteran Ned Griffin successfully sued for his freedom in North Carolina.
Ned Griffin’s Petition to the General Assembly of North Carolina, received April 21, 1784. Source: Daughters of the American Revolution
Black soldiers fought on both sides of the Revolutionary War. Enslaved Black men chose strategically: What path was most likely to bring freedom?
In November 1775, Royal Governor of Virginia Lord Dunmore issued a proclamation that offered emancipation to those who would leave their patriot enslavers and join the British forces. Hundreds of Black men enlisted in his Royal Ethiopian Regiment, and thousands more enslaved people sought freedom behind British lines during the war.
At the same time, some Black men joined the Continental Army in hopes that the Revolution would pave a way for racial justice. But George Washington was horrified to see enslaved troops fighting on his side: What if allowing these men to take up arms threatened the institution of slavery?
Two years into the war, desperate for more soldiers, Washington changed his policy and called up enslaved Black regiments. But he did not emancipate soldiers once the war was won. Still, some seized freedom through service in the Continental Army.
Ned Griffin had agreed to enlist in place of his enslaver — in exchange for his freedom. At the end of Griffin’s military service in 1783, his enslaver broke the agreement and refused his emancipation. Griffin submitted this petition to the North Carolina legislature and was granted legal emancipation shortly thereafter.
Read more in the lesson “Founding” Documents We Don’t Learn About.
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