5,000 African Americans Fought For The Colonies

The eighth interesting fact about the American Revolution is that there were 5000 African Americans joined the fight. There were around 450,000 enslaved African Americans in the 13 colonies when the Revolutionary War began in 1775. Congress initially opposed the deployment of black soldiers because they feared an armed slave revolt. However, due to a paucity of men, Congress allowed all blacks, free and slave, to enlist in 1777. Around 9,000 African Americans had fought in some form for the American cause by the end of the war, with around 5,000 on the battlefield and the rest in noncombatant roles. This represents about 4% of the overall population. Slavery was abolished in the Northern States after the war, although individual manumissions flourished in the South. However, the majority of African people remained enslaved.

Furthermore, prejudice against free blacks persisted in practically every facet of society, including work, education, and housing. During the conflict, tens of thousands of blacks left their owners and sought asylum with the British; nevertheless, only a few served as soldiers. The British used the fugitives extensively as teamsters, chefs, nurses, and workers. Approximately 20,000 blacks left with the British at the end of the war. They made their homes in Canada, the United Kingdom, the West Indies, and Europe. Some were sold into slavery again. In 1792, 1,200 black Loyalists from Nova Scotia embarked for Sierra Leone, a British colony on Africa's west coast founded particularly for former slaves.