Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution by Simon Schama

What were the motivations behind slaves as loyalists? Opportunism or was there actual patriotism for the British cause?

The Patriot army was ambivalent toward free blacks until the British courted them in 1775 and 1776. Blacks who previously served were discharged by 1775, and states like NH excluded blacks from serving in militias. Americans saw arming free blacks as one step away from arming slaves and sowing the seeds of insurrection. In November 1775, Lord Dunmore (VA's Royal Governor) promised liberty to slaves who reached British lines and served with the British army.

Blacks were 20% of the entire population of in the colonies and 40% of Virginia's populations. Blacks knew the royal army had a more likely chance of giving slaves liberty than the Patriot army. Slaves knew what they were doing – there was no truth to the myth of black ignorance. They also recognized the hypocrisy in declaring independence for all men and keeping slavery active – even to the extent hunting down runaway slaves to keep the 'particular institution' alive. Patriot leaders also recognized this but tried to spin the hypocrisy back on the British – they started the slave trade after all. There were black petitions to colonial governors for liberation, but they were all unsuccessful.

There was a Patriot fear that the British were starting a black rebellion by courting the free blacks and slaves. There were already slave insurrections in South America and the Caribbean by this point, and throughout 1775, there were alleged black conspiracies to take over America by killing whites in honor of George III. Slaves often learned of British freedom thanks to a pamphlet published in 1774, and in advertisements in colonial newspapers. The British were ultimately not responsible for sowing insurrectionist thought – it was there already.

Both British and American generals saw the benefit, albeit a small one, in raising a black army. Lord Dunmore's threat to liberate slaves was, in the end, an incredible failure. The hope was that slaveholders would stop rebelling – or at the very least he would gain a black army. Instead, slaveholders resisted – and some neutralists joined the Patriots. In their minds, the British were trying to destroy “civil society." The actual number of blacks that went to Dunmore was a very small minority, and more slaves likely took advantage of warfare to run and hide in the deep swampland. Dunmore was demonized by the Patriots, obviously, but at least 5,000 (1/3 of Georgia's slaves) went from their plantation to the British in return for service to the King. George Washington's own slave left to go serve with the British.

In SC, captured loyalist slaves were given as bounties to white recruits, and in GA, every soldier who proved they fought was given a slave. Slaves were sometimes given to soldiers instead of monetary pay. After the fall of Savannah and Charleston, 25,000 blacks left plantations to follow the British. This created a logistical crisis for the British. Many slaves died of smallpox or typhus, some were quarantined to prevent infecting the troops, and a significant portion of the rest remained slaves and worked on public works or were given as rewards to loyalists. Despite these obstacles, to slaves, the British were the enemies of their enemies, and slaves would rather take their chances with the British than continue to be enslaved.

British-controlled New York was a haven for runaway slaves – they could freely worship, get married, and attend the theater. Some blacks from states like NJ, RI, and CT fought with the Patriots, but had little hope of liberation if they were not already free. When the British army came through NC and VA, hundreds and thousands of blacks followed them. A number of slaves followed the British because they were starving on plantations – due to raids, crops were being destroyed and livestock were killed. At the end of the war, black British soldiers were recaptured by the Americans and often auctioned off.

Sentences: Thousands of slaves followed the British for opportunistic reasons - most often and most likely that they had heard of true liberty and freedom for all in Britain, despite the promises from the Patriots. Although slavery was not outlawed in England until the 1830s, several court cases mandated that slaves could not be bought or sold in England, a more progressive stance than any of the colonies had. Any forcible threats by the British to take back slaves or free blacks were met with outrage from the Patriots. Free blacks and slaves also recognized the hypocrisy of the Patriots in declaring independence but keeping slavery alive. Despite poor chances of survival living among the British, due to lack of inoculation and high rates of diseases, slaves would rather side with them instead of the Patriots.