Veterans Month
November 2003
Brothers-In-Arms
Slavery, Freedom and the American Revolution
Colonial Williamsburg, Va.
Brothers-In-Arms highlights the challenges, triumphs and contributions of African Americans in the era of the American Revolution. Norfolk Southern has sponsored this annual program at Colonial Williamsburg for two years.
More than 5,000 African Americans fought on both sides in the American Revolution. Brothers-In-Arms, through reenactors, features two colonial military units that were comprised mostly of free blacks, slaves and former slaves. The First Rhode Island Regiment fought for the American Continental Army, and Lord Dunmore's Royal Ethiopian Regiment for the British Army.
The program features military encampments, drills, firearms and cooking demonstrations, and an opportunity to better understand the dilemma of African Americans as it became clear that war with Britain was inevitable. It honors and recognizes those free blacks and enslaved people who actively pursued the principles of liberty and freedom during the American Revolution era as patriots and loyalists.