Story Of Enslaved African Who Helped Win The American Revolution (James Armistead)
October 02, 2020 965
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During the battle for American independence
from British rule, in the autumn of 1781, the American colonial army fought in
the Battle of Yorktown. This was the final and arguably most consequential war
for the American army.
This war ended in the surrender of British
General Lord Cornwallis and his squadron of nearly 9,000 troops. It was a
monumental victory for the American army, and it would not have been without
the crucial insider intelligence from an African slave called James Armistead. Armistead
worked briefly as a double agent for the Continental Army throughout the
Revolutionary War.
Before James Armistead chose to fight for the emerging
republic that denied him his freedom, he already had a fairly close view of the
war. After the war began in 1775, his owner, William Armistead was the manager
of the military supplies for the state of Virginia.
Five years later, in 1780, James and William
moved from the Virginia capital of Williamsburg to the new capital, Richmond. The following summer James got permission
to join the armed forces and fight for America’s independence.
At the time, slaves were allowed to fight on
either side of the war, and the incentive for their service being freedom. Although
Armistead didn’t take up arms in the revolutionary war.
Instead, in 1781, James was stationed under
the Marquis de Lafayette, to infiltrate the British army through espionage. Lafayette
was commander of the allied French forces and a key ally of General George
Washington.
A Revolutionary Double Agent
Getting information on their British enemy was
critical to Lafayette, who needed to stop the losses his army was incurring at
the hands of Cornwallis’s larger and better-supplied army. Marquis de Lafayette
was also under instructions to capture the infamous traitor Benedict Arnold,
who was causing chaos after offering his services to the British.
Posed as a runaway slave, Armistead
infiltrated the British forces through Arnold’s camp. While at first, he took
on easy tasks, his vast knowledge of the terrain, later he became useful to
both Arnold and Cornwallis for British intelligence during the war. They gave him
the job of spying on the colonies.
Armistead’s service as a double agent made
traveling between the two camps easier, as he didn’t raise any suspicions as an
intruder to either side. It also made the collection of information on British
forces less dangerous, as long as he was not caught.
The task Armistead was given was a very
dangerous one. He supplied Lafayette with intel about the British through
handwritten notes which he delivered to other spies. And at the same time fed
Cornwallis and his company inaccurate information on the Americans.
One of the most valuable pieces of intel that Armistead
sent was near the end of the summer in 1781. He sent a note to Lafayette, exposing
Cornwallis’s move from Portsmouth to Yorktown. The note said that Cornwallis was
expecting the arrival of 10,000 British troops at Yorktown.
In response to the intel, Lafayette informed
General George Washington and both men made preparations along with French
General Comte de Rochambeau to set up a blockade by land and by sea around the
Yorktown peninsula. The siege on Yorktown, combined with regular bombardment,
weakened Cornwallis’s forces, and forced the British to surrender on October
19.
Armistead’s personal war - Fighting for His Freedom
After the war officially ended in 1783, unfortunately
Armistead was forced to return to slavery. To his dismay, he found out that his
spy work was not recognized under a Virginia law in 1783. The law stated that
slaves who “have faithfully served
agreeable to the terms of their enlistment, and have thereby of course
contributed towards the establishment of American liberty and independence,
should enjoy the blessings of freedom as a reward for their toils and labours.”
On multiple occasions, Armistead petitioned
the Virginia legislature for his freedom, but his displeasure and protests were
continuously ignored. Things only began to look good for him when Lafayette
provided a testimonial in 1784, confirming the spy’s instrumental work. Only
then did the officials take notice of his case.
In the note to the officials, Lafayette wrote “This is to certify that the Bearer has done
essential services to me while I had the honor to command in this State. His
Intelligence from the enemy's camp were industriously collected and most
faithfully delivered. He perfectly acquitted himself with some important
commissions I gave him and appears to me entitled to every reward his situation
can admit of.”
Four years later, in 1787, Armistead became a
free man. In honor of the Frenchman who helped him acquire his freedom,
Armistead changed his name to James Armistead Lafayette.
Armistead moved 9 miles south of New Kent,
Virginia, where he was formerly a slave. He lived a peaceful life as a husband
and father and bought 40 acres of land where he farmed. He also received $40 a
year from the Virginia legislature for his invaluable service to liberate a
nation that, in the end, was so reluctant to grant him his own freedom.
Conclusion
Armistead’s contributions to American victory
is only a pinch of the various achievements and sacrifices by the African
American people in the betterment of America. But what is most painful is that
their sweat and hard work are swept under the rug and their names are forever
lost to history. Or worst still, a colonizer would take the glory for the
efforts.
Stories such as these are important for the
pride and emotional wellness of our people. Many of our people believe that
nothing good can come from a brown/Afro man, and this is due to years of
practicing the colonizer's religion and listening to his lies about Africa.
Africans are great, selfless, and intelligent
people. And the story of Armistead reinforces that fact.