Episode Details

Between 1775 and 1783, an estimated 230,000 men served in the Continental Army with another approximately 145,000 men serving in state militia units.

But who were the men who served in these military ranks? What motivated them to take up arms and join the army? And what was their military experience like?

In this episode of the Doing History: To the Revolution series we begin a 2-episode exploration of some of the military aspects of the American Revolution by exploring the experiences of the approximately 6,000-7,000 African American men who served in the Continental Army. Our guide for this exploration is Judith Van Buskirk, a professor of history at the State University of New York, Cortland and the author of Standing in Their Own Light: African American Patriots in the American Revolution.

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/157

Sponsor Links

• Omohundro Institute
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Complementary Episodes

• Episode 016: Alan Taylor, The Internal Enemy  
• Episode 118: Christy Clark-Pujara, The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island
• Episode 123: Revolutionary Allegiances
• Episode 126: Rebecca Brannon, The Reintegration of American Loyalists
• Episode 137: Erica Dunbar, The Washington’s Runaway Slave, Ona Judge
• Episode 153: Committees and Congress: Governments of the American Revolution

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