Cornwallis Cave

For African Americans, the Revolutionary War was one of contrasts. While colonies like Rhode Island freed enslaved men who volunteered for the Continental Army, others restricted their service. For enslaved men who went over to the British, they knew they would face renewed enslavement or most likely death if captured. “On the same day of the enemy assault, we drove back to the enemy all of our black friends,” recalled Hessian Jaeger Johann Ewald. “We had used them to good advantage and set them free, and now, with fear and trembling, they had to face the reward of their cruel masters.”